Are You Ready for Japan’s Robot Hotel?

Robots have been the center of science fiction for decades. But recently Japan has shown the rest of the world just how easy it is to have robots at the center of our own real lives. In the last few years they have introduced all types of robots into the heart of Japanese society. Everything from robots with 24 fingers that will wash your hair at a local hair salon to child size robots who serve lunch at a school cafeteria can be available. The upswing in robots is seen as a solution to the upside down population in Japan where retirees will soon outnumber youth. But in a country where real estate is at a premium and hotels are among the most expensive in the world, it was just a matter of time before someone came up with a plan to replace expensive to pay humans with robots. And this hotel does not just use any robots.

Japan’s Robot Hotel

Now they are again leading the way with a new hotel that is totally staffed by robots. Sound far-fetched? If you have always wanted to be greeted by a dinosaur robot when checking in to your hotel, then Henn’na Hotel (strange hotel in Japanese) is the place for you. For only $80 a night you can stay at a hotel staffed with robotic front desk clerks, robotic porters who will take your bags to your room and a room robot who will turn down your bed and turn off the lights. But don’t take our word for it. Check out this video to see just what Japan’s robot hotel is all about.

From Realistic to Frightening

I have to admit that the idea of talking to a robotic dinosaur front desk clerk when I have just arrived from a cross-Pacific flight jet-lagged and in a foreign country doesn’t really sound like much fun. But you do get a choice of front desk clerks and some may decide the very proper lady robot who bows after giving you your information may be more to their taste. The one thing I want to know is, after that room robot turns down the bed and turns off the lights, does he leave? Somehow I don’t think I could sleep with a robot in my hotel room, no matter how polite he was. But Japan’s robot hotel sounds like a real destination for anyone planning on traveling to Japan this year.