I just got back from Japan ~48hrs ago, and I would’ve agreed with you before the trip - we did take a taxi to the hotel from the airport with our luggage. It seemed easier.
In Japan, taxis and road travel are VERY expensive (2x big American cities?), and they have amazing transit infrastructure. We took trains from city to city, exploring and staying at different hotels. In America, this would have required driving. japan has amazing transit, so we wanted to avoid getting extra taxis when the trains go exactly where we need. BUT lugging big bags on trains is a massive PITA for everyone, especially when it’s crowded. The trains are great, and they’re desirable if you didn’t have luggage.
Yes, it seems inconvenient, except the framing is bad. We didn’t wait for the bags. We just went about our day, and they showed up in our hotel room when we got back. We took a backpack with one change of clothes, laptop, etc, and the rest of the luggage just showed up later. When it’s time to go to the next hotel, you just pack tomorrow’s clothes, give the concierge your suitcase and start walking. Sure enough, your bag will be there tomorrow when you get back from being a tourist. Until reading this article, I didn’t know they’d hold your bags too, which seems great if you wanna see the city for a few days on a ski trip or something similar where you know you don’t need all your luggage at once.
I’ve never tried leaving them at a hotel for an extended period of time (overnight or longer). Also my understanding from the article is that you can ship them from the airport to the hotel, to arrive in the future at your date of arrival - not sure if this is the same as your experience in Dubai but either way, new to me :)
I wouldn't say normal, it depends on the size and availability at the hotel. I also left some baggage in Indonesia for a month, but the hotel was large and lax. In two other similar-sized hotels they were storing the bags either in the open-air lobby or in a small staff-only hallway. Neither place would be suitable for medium-term storage.
I just got back from Japan ~48hrs ago, and I would’ve agreed with you before the trip - we did take a taxi to the hotel from the airport with our luggage. It seemed easier.
In Japan, taxis and road travel are VERY expensive (2x big American cities?), and they have amazing transit infrastructure. We took trains from city to city, exploring and staying at different hotels. In America, this would have required driving. japan has amazing transit, so we wanted to avoid getting extra taxis when the trains go exactly where we need. BUT lugging big bags on trains is a massive PITA for everyone, especially when it’s crowded. The trains are great, and they’re desirable if you didn’t have luggage.
Yes, it seems inconvenient, except the framing is bad. We didn’t wait for the bags. We just went about our day, and they showed up in our hotel room when we got back. We took a backpack with one change of clothes, laptop, etc, and the rest of the luggage just showed up later. When it’s time to go to the next hotel, you just pack tomorrow’s clothes, give the concierge your suitcase and start walking. Sure enough, your bag will be there tomorrow when you get back from being a tourist. Until reading this article, I didn’t know they’d hold your bags too, which seems great if you wanna see the city for a few days on a ski trip or something similar where you know you don’t need all your luggage at once.