A 3 tatami room

The smallest size of room you're likely to come across: a 3 tatami "Japanese-style" hotel room in Osaka. It's actually more like 4 tatamis in size: at the doorway there's a little, lowered space for taking your shoes off; and to the left of that a small area with wooden flooring where there's a small shelf with a television set. I think there was an air-conditioning unit above the window.

This is a cheap hotel in one of Osaka's more salubrious districts (not far from the laundrypictured here). I think I payed 3,000 yen a night for this in 2002; common toilets on each floor, and there was a Japanese-style bath on the ground floor. Basic, but very clean and orderly, and the staff were friendly enough (as always: it helps if you reassure them beforehand that you're acquainted with the exotic ways of tatami, Japanese baths etc.).