The Best Dog Hotel Near Tokyo – Doggy’s Coast Oarai
Moving a dog from the UK to Japan was never going to be easy, but finding a nice hotel that we could all stay in before the next leg of our journey to Hokkaido was so important for us.
As we would be travelling by ferry from Oarai Port, we needed a dog friendly hotel in close proximity, and Google answered. We stumbled across the Doggy’s Coast Oarai Hotel, and I’m so glad we did.
Not only is this hotel only around 20 minutes walk to the port, but it’s also just around 2 hours away from Tokyo. So, if you’re looking for a weekend break away from the city with your dogs, this could be the answer!
Doggy’s Coast Oarai Hotel
Where: 8234-1 Tokodai, Oarai, Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki 311-1303
The best bits: doggy dining, dog runs, all inclusive food options, quiet, amenities, conveniently located to the port
Dog friendly: 100% – this hotel has been designed literally for dogs
How to book: Online via Doggy’s Coast Oarai Hotel
This hotel honestly felt like the biggest treat for all three of us after we arrived bleary eyed from a 13 hour flight, and 2 hour taxi to the hotel. The grounds to the hotel are impressive, and as you step into the lobby you’re greeted by an immediate sense of calm.
The lobby is open plan, super clean and staff were immediately on hand to take our luggage and transport it to our room in the clever 4 wheel trolleys they have waiting outside the entrance of the hotel.
Check in was easy, and between 2-4pm each day there are welcome drinks and nibbles such as little cakes and hot dogs to eat. The stay was all inclusive which included our breakfast and dinner everyday.
The hotel seems more like a one night stay place as there isn’t tons of stuff to do in Oarai, but as the plan for us was to relax and get over our jetlag before the ferry. We spent 4 nights here before moving on, and I’m so glad we did.
The Room & Facilities For Dogs
Hotel Room
There are a number of rooms to choose from, whilst they’re all dog friendly and the hotel is designed for dogs and owners to have a relaxing stay, you don’t have to be a dog owner to enjoy everything this hotel has to offer.
We stayed in a standard ocean view room, and we had the most beautiful view of the dog run and sea. Watching our first sunrise here was pretty impressive!
So, let’s talk about how well the room is catered to dogs. Before you get inside, there’s a little dog hook outside the room that you can attach their lead to, and actually they have these throughout the restaurant so you can comfortably sit with your dog without having to hold onto their lead the whole time. A small touch that makes such a difference.
And it was very much like this throughout the hotel room, you can tell how this was hotel was designed by someone who has dogs and travels with them often. The hotel was actually overseen by @travelwithdog who stays in over 50 dog friendly hotels each year, so he knows his stuff, and what makes a dog hotel great.
There were two dog bowls with handmade treats waiting for Papi, a dedicated section of all the cleaning items you may need during your stay. Puppy pads, poo bags, a bin for their business, wipes, a lantern for early and late night walks and a lint roller.
As for sleep time, there was a cosy mattress like bed on the floor for Papi, air con, and the cosiest setup by the window which is literally designed for dogs who want to look out over the dog run. All in a stylish, yet wipeable material.
Whilst it was great for Papi, it was equally as comfortable for us! Two very cosy beds, great bathroom facilities, and at the entrance of the hotel there was a huge area for amenities. You could forget everything and still have everything you need here – bath salts, pjs, toothbrush, hairbrush, you name it, they have it. That’s what I love about hospitality in Japan!
Facilities For Dogs
In Japan, dog runs are commonplace where you can let your dog off lead in a gated area. This is the dream for Papi, a stubborn chow chow who has very selective hearing! The hotel had two outdoor dog runs, and a timetable for when small and large dogs can be in the enclosures. Such a smart idea, and there was always one of the other dog runs available for your dog, no matter their size.
As you’d expect, there was everything available you could need including poo bags, dog poo bin, water and water spray for washing down their wee!
There was also an indoor dog run which would be ideal for smaller dogs and rainy days, with a dressing up area for your dogs too. Sadly, Papi was too large to partake in any of this!
For messy dogs, the hotel has you covered with their own grooming room. Up to salon standards, there was two bathing areas with shampoo, towels and blowers available to make your dog look the best.
Most people arrived with their own prams for small dogs, but you could also hire them on site if you needed to which was a nice touch.
The thing we loved the most is how well catered the hotel is for dogs, and that they can be included in everything. The Doggy Dining in the restaurant means that you can quite comfortably take your dog down to dinner. However, depending on the type of guests, there might be a bit more yapping at dinner time than you’re used to! You also have the option of eating in your room which we were thankful to do for the first two nights of our trip.
In the lobby there is also a kitchen for making up dog food, with dog treats available, milk and an area to reheat meals and wash up. This was ideal for us as we were able to make Papi some of his favourite scrambled eggs for breakfast!
The Food (For Humans & Dogs!)
One of our favourites bits was how good the food was, for humans and Papi!
The breakfast was served in two time slots each morning and there were a handful of options you could choose from. As we were there for 4 days, we tried most of the options, and loved the egg, bacon, bread and salad meal, it was so tasty!
There were so many drink options to choose from and added extras such as yoghurt, fruits and granola that you could help yourself to.
During the afternoon there were welcome drinks and snacks. You could have as many drinks, even alcohol as you wanted, and into the evening. You could choose from a selection of mini cakes and bits such as mini hot dogs which was a nice added touch. We missed out on this on the first day as we were all so tired!
We also got to experience both the doggy dining options in our room for two nights, and also in the restaurant. On the doggy dining in the room, we would pick up our bento boxes from the restaurant and warm them up in the microwave on our floor. We got a warm bento which was beautifully presented with meat, vegetables and fish. The cold bento was dessert which had rice with grains and the yummiest selection of fruit.
When you are travelling with a dog, this was so nice to enjoy back in the comfort of your room.
The restaurant offered French cuisine and was over five courses! It was a true tasting meal and included plenty of fresh ingredients such as local beef, seasonal seafood, and seasonal vegetables. Our personal, and very different favourite was the pumpkin soup with cappuccino foam!
We also had the option to order food for Papi whilst we were at the hotel which we took advantage of for dinner as we had limited food for him after arriving from the UK. A nutritionist puts together all of the meal options for the dogs so you know what they’re getting is wholesome, nutritious and delicious.
I’ve never seen Papi eat his food so quickly, his favourite was the rice, pork carrots, sea kelp and eggshell dinner. The hotel has set the bar very high for his new Japanese diet, that’s for sure!
Final Thoughts On The Hotel
At present, we don’t have any other doggy led hotels in Japan to compare to, but we can safely say in comparison to UK hotels, this one blew it out of the park.
You can tell from the outset that this hotel is designed for dog owners, by a dog owner. Every little touch and thing you could need with a dog had been thought of to make your life easier. Even the amenity trolleys that are placed outside of your room if you don’t want a cleaner to come in during your stay made life so much easier.
The hotel room was comfy and had everything we needed, the dining was fantastic and really made our first few days adjusting to our new life in Japan so much easier.
Would we stay again? Absolutely! But until then, we’re off to explore some more dog friendly hotels in Hokkaido, Japan with Papi!
