Whats it like staying at J-Village in Fukushima

If you travel to Fukushima specifically to see the aftermath of the nuclear disaster there then you need to spend at least a few days. This obviously means taking a hotel. Alas hotel options here are limited, or just shit.

This in my mind at least makes staying at J-Village the best option. That is not necessarily because it is good, no in fact it is a little weird. But, it is not without its charms and well it does a job.

So, wtf is J-Village?

J-Village opened in 1997 as Japan’s first national football training centre. Covering around 49 hectares, it has multiple football pitches, training facilities, a stadium, a gym, a pool and a hotel with 200 rooms. It has been used by Japanese national teams and professional clubs, but its history took a different turn after the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, when it became a base for workers involved in the Fukushima Daiichi power plant response.

J-Village returned to its sporting role and reopened in 2019. These days, it is both a major football complex and a hotel, which is handy if you need a hotel in a place that has fuck all hotels.

The Rooms at J-Village

The rooms at J-Village are actually huge by Japanese standards, well at least compared to Tokyo. This also means still small by South-East Asian standards. They are also fairly cheap by Japanese standards, which again means the same vis-à-vis South-East Asia.

They all come with a decent bed, fairly large TV, bathroom etc etc. For some reason and like all Japanese hotels you get pajamas, I will never understand that.

There are 200 rooms in total, spread across the Annex, South Wing and North Wing. The Annex has single rooms of around 18 square metres, the South Wing has twin rooms of around 30 square metres, while the North Wing has four-bed rooms of around 32 square metres.

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Room Prices

• Annex single room: from ¥8,910 ($59) per person.
• Annex junior suite: from ¥8,250 ($55) per person when sharing.
• South Wing twin room: from ¥20,680 ($138) per room.
• South Wing suite: from ¥9,900 ($66) per person when sharing.
• North Wing four-bed room: from ¥6,930 ($46) per person when all four beds are occupied.

Rooms rates, get over it. You can read my Fubata Guide here.

Eating at J-Village?

Breakfast is included and is OK, but one of the best things is that weirdly you get a dinner voucher too. Not sure if this is regular, or my local partner just does it for my Japan Tours, but it is a nice touch. Also worth keeping in mind that there is fuck all other options near the hotel, not even a Family Mart.

The voucher covers pretty much anything on the menu, although beers are extra. Weirdly you can’t drink the stuff you buy in the weird gift shop/convenience store at the restaurant. Of course you can order extra and just pay for it.

The.main restaurant is Alpine Rose, which serves Japanese and Western food, including steak, pasta, pizza and a selection of snacks.

Here’s the Alpine Rose/J-Village Menu

Japanese Dishes

• Seafood rice bowl: ¥2,580 ($17.20).
• J-Village special sauce katsudon: ¥1,650 ($11).
• Fried chicken set: ¥1,380 ($9.20).
• Grilled beef harami steak set: ¥2,580 ($17.20).
• Grilled chicken set: ¥1,570 ($10.47).
• Roasted Abukuma pork loin set: ¥1,780 ($11.87).
• Seafood tempura set: ¥1,850 ($12.33).
• Hayashi rice with local vegetables: ¥1,200 ($8).
• Western-style fried rice: ¥1,350 ($9).

Pasta

• Neapolitan spaghetti: ¥1,200 ($8).
• Seafood pescatore pasta: ¥1,480 ($9.87).
• Sea urchin and aosa seaweed pasta: ¥1,480 ($9.87).
• Carbonara: ¥1,350 ($9).
• Vegetable peperoncino: ¥1,350 ($9).

Pizza

• Ebi mayo pizza: ¥1,580 ($10.53) small; ¥1,950 ($13) medium.
• Quattro cheese pizza: ¥1,470 ($9.80) small; ¥1,800 ($12) medium.
• Shirasu genovese pizza: ¥1,580 ($10.53) small; ¥1,950 ($13) medium.
• Iwaki tomato Margherita: ¥1,470 ($9.80) small; ¥1,800 ($12) medium.
• Chicken, corn and teriyaki mayonnaise pizza: ¥1,470 ($9.80) small; ¥1,800 ($12) medium.

Snacks

• Mami-suiton soup: ¥550 ($3.67).
• Seasonal vegetable salad, small: ¥440 ($2.93).
• Seasonal vegetable salad, regular: ¥990 ($6.60).
• Chicken salad with local vegetables: ¥1,290 ($8.60).
• Three-cheese selection: ¥1,650 ($11).
• Three-sausage selection: ¥990 ($6.60).
• Soft-shell shrimp ajillo: ¥1,090 ($7.27).
• Garlic-butter edamame: ¥880 ($5.87).
• Italian prosciutto: ¥1,650 ($11).
• Appetiser platter: ¥990 ($6.60).
• Homemade pickles: ¥660 ($4.40).
• Chicken basket: ¥1,380 ($9.20).
• Potato wedges with dipping sauces: ¥880 ($5.87).
• Tuna croquettes: ¥990 ($6.60).
• Deep-fried mejikari fish: ¥980 ($6.53).
• White fish carpaccio: ¥1,200 ($8).
• Iwaki tomato and mozzarella salad: ¥980 ($6.53).
• Clams steamed in white wine with Iwaki tomatoes: ¥880 ($5.87).
• Fukushima beef stewed in demi-glace sauce: ¥1,200 ($8).

Sandwiches and Other Dishes

• J Victory Sandwich: ¥1,970 ($13.13).
• Omelette rice with demi-glace sauce: ¥1,350 ($9).
• Children’s football-themed lunch: ¥880 ($5.87).
• Children’s low-allergen curry: ¥550 ($3.67).
• Children’s dinner: ¥1,100 ($7.33).
• Sweet potato soufflé with burnt caramel: ¥990 ($6.60).

Set Menus

• Pizza lunch course: ¥1,880 ($12.53).
• Pasta lunch course: ¥1,880 ($12.53).
• Seasonal lunch course: ¥2,380 ($15.87).
• Premium lunch course: ¥3,040 ($20.27).
• Fukushima beef dinner set with Mami-suiton: ¥3,850 ($25.67).
• Seasonal Western-style dinner course: ¥6,600 ($44).
• Seasonal Western-style dinner course with all-you-can-drink: ¥8,800 ($58.67).

Menu items and prices can change, get over it.

Partying at J-Village!

OK, so this place is for sportsmen, not people like me (AKA cunts) therefore you don’t get hammered until 4 am and have hooker do blow off your Johnson at J-Village. OK that was an exaggeration, I don’t do that either. What I mean is there’s not much to do here.

They do though get a sake bar, but with no one serving. This is Japan so you get a vending machine that you need weird store J-Village coins for. There’s draft beer in the restaurant and a whole heap of booze in the weird convenience store. This includes sake from Fukushima! Snacks too and all reasonably priced.

Every time I have been here I’ve ended not using the smoking room, but instead sitting outside and drinking. And that is the story of Jesus! Oh and there’s also a naked sauna/bath/onsen type thing. I will never understand why people like that shit.

So, yeah that is J-Village officially the best hotel when you visit the nuclear reactor in Fukushima.