TOKYO – I am on the eighth course of my omakase dinner, watching the chef set glistening tuna on freshly pressed mounds of vinegared rice.

​

My daughter is getting restless at the sushi counter, having finished her child set meal.

​

Breezily, I wave my three children towards the neighbouring area to play. I am in perfectly relaxed-mother mode because we are not at an exclusive restaurant.

​

Rather, we are dining at a full-fledged sushi counter in the comfort of our hotel room – yes – at Mimaru Apartment Hotels.

​

Mimaru represents a new breed of hotels that caters specifically to families and group travellers in Japan, with all rooms offering at least four beds.

​

Our room with the sushi counter is a special-concept, premium family apartment in Mimaru’s Tokyo Ueno Okachimachi hotel and houses eight travellers comfortably.

​

In Japan, hotel space is a luxury. Many hotel rooms hover between 15 and 25 sq m. I recall having to test my long-jump skills, vaulting over my luggage to navigate tight spaces.

​

Family rooms are rare and booked up early, a Japan-enthusiast friend used to say. Or you can get two small rooms without guarantee of interconnecting ones. Otherwise, try searching for a reliable Airbnb, she would add.

​

But the landscape is now evolving, with the rise of locally owned, apartment-only hotels in Japan. At Mimaru, all rooms offer a minimum of four beds and range from 37 to 90 sq m, which are sizeable for Japanese hotels...

​

... To read this story, please click here to visit The Straits Times.