e-Zone Cyber Space – Japan’s first esports hotel just opened its doors

Japan is already a pretty cool travel destination – and for esports fans, it just got a lot cooler. Like South Korea has done, Japan just opened its first esports hotel. Pre-opening events have been running for a few days, and soon the hotel will be open for guests.

Of course, with severe travel restrictions across much of the world, that news won’t do a lot of people all that much good, but the e-Zone cyber space hotel is certainly a ‘must-visit’ for when lockdowns and quarantines are all over.

© eZOne Esports Hotel

The e-Zone Cyber Space Hotel

Based in Osaka, the nine story building has a total of 94 bedrooms available to guests – not that anyone is going there in order to sleep! Of more interest will be the 71 high-spec PC booths around the hotel, along with the high-performance PCs that players can find in each room.

Of the nine floors, the first three will be dedicated to gaming, the ones above as well as the basement intended for normal hotel use.

One thing to know though – since the hotel advertises a shared bathroom in the basement, the experience will be less traditional hotel stay, and more small sleeping pod with a lot of cool esports stuff in the public areas.

While there are some rooms with two beds and dedicated gaming stations, the website also shows small, capsule-like beds, with just enough storage space for some luggage and the person sleeping there.

A unique experience

The e-Zone cyber space will no doubt draw in plenty of guests with its unusual charm – as does the city of Osaka itself. A lovely clash between modern and traditional, the esports hotel just added another point of interest for many, whether they go for the capsule bedroom or the more traditional room.

Prices depend on type of room as well as, of course, date of stay, but we know that capsule rooms (or dorm rooms, split by gender, by the way!) will cost around 40-60€ per night. Full rooms will cost anywhere between 100 and 300 per night, and allow for either 2 or 4 guests per room.

At the moment, prices are discounted quite a lot due to the Covid-19 situation – consider this and local travel restrictions before you book and plan your trip!

True esports hub

Japan, despite being an incredibly popular gaming market, was a little slow to adapt to the esports market. Fighting games tend to be more popular than shooters are, for example, and due to legal restrictions, things like esports betting were initially slow to take off.

Not anymore though – Japan has made a strong effort to catch up and promote esports across the country. They were also among the loudest voices asking the Olympic committee to allow esports into the Olympic events – and not without reason, as the 2020 Olympics (rescheduled to July 2021) will be taking place in Tokyo. Their plight was  unsuccessful however, and esports will not be part of the event, but that doesn’t mean that esports fans shouldn’t visit – not when places like the e-Zone cyber space are starting to crop up!

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