"It Actually Helps if You Take Them": Can You Take Hotel Amenities Home in Japan? Japanese Guests and Cleaners Answer

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 200 of 467 comments

• @渡辺ゆう子-b7f Because it makes managing the expiry dates easier. They order based on the expected number of guests, and if there's free water out, you can take your room's share of that too. What's a problem is the items that aren't individually wrapped.

  ​@渡辺ゆう子-b7f賞味期限の管理が楽だからです、客数を見越して発注しているし、無料の水が置いてある場合も、部屋の分は持ち帰っていいです 困るのは、個包装でない美品ですね

  — @りんご-t7t107 likes

• I didn't know you were allowed to take hotel amenities home, so I was shocked when my parent brought back a ton of the tea. I love tea, so I was grateful.

  ホテルのアメニティ持って帰っていいの知らなくて、親が紅茶めっちゃ持って帰っててびっくりした。紅茶好きだから有難かった。

  — @たるぎ-f8n34 likes

• Some hotels say no to taking things home, but even at the ones that say it's OK, taking the amenities really does feel like stealing.

  ホテルによって持ち帰りNGにしてるところもあるけど、OKにしてるホテルのアメニティを持ち帰ると確かに盗んだ感ある。

  — @ブロピット0 likes

• Feeling guilty about taking the stuff you're allowed to take, so relatable.

  持って帰っていいものに罪悪感感じるのまじわかる

  — @yrch1824 likes

• I get it, even when you know the disposable amenities are OK to take, you still hesitate to take them home.

  使い捨てのアメニティは持ち帰り可能ってわかってても持って帰るの躊躇するの分かりみ

  — @シュミド_shumido2 likes

• I clean hotel rooms, and when every single amenity is gone I think, ah, they took them home, and at the same time I'm thinking to myself, you're not even going to use them, are you?

  ホテルの客室清掃してるけど、アメニティ全部ごっそり無くなってると持って帰ったんだな〜と思うと同時にどうせ使わなくないか〜？とか勝手に思ってる

  — @kurumi-xg0 likes

• In the end you never use the amenities you took home.

  結局持ち帰ったアメニティは使わない

  — @あさ-h6sMost liked1,888 likes

• The "please help yourself" water in the fridge really helps.

  冷蔵庫にある自由に飲んでくださいの水結構助かる

  — @接客中のネッコ473 likes

• Sometimes there's the kind they charge you for if you drink it, so I end up bringing my own drinking water.

  たまに置いてあるけど飲んだら金取られるタイプのヤツもあって結局飲料水持ち込んじゃう

  — @Chase_Burns_CIN14 likes

• I hand out the tea from hotels where I stayed a few nights, calling it a "souvenir." Saves me money on gifts. The green tea I got at the Mercure hotel in Uzbekistan was weirdly, insanely good and people thanked me for it.

  連泊したホテルのお茶は「お土産」つって配る。土産代が浮く。 特にウズベキスタンのメルキュールホテルで貰った緑茶は何故だかバチクソ美味くて感謝された。

  — @onokichi0 likes

• From the cleaning side, we don't really think anything of people taking home the tea, coffee or toothbrushes left in the room. Mugs, and fixtures like shampoo bottles, are a real problem though... What I'd really like people to stop is leaving strong smells, like perfume, fabric softener, or cigarette smoke from smoking in a non-smoking room. Airing it out isn't enough, and we can't sell the room until the smell fades. And people who leave the room covered in excrement or vomit and check out without saying a word should be banned, I think.

  清掃する側からすると 部屋に置いているお茶やコーヒーや歯ブラシくらいは持って帰っても特に何も思わないです マグカップやシャンプー等のボトルとか備品は流石に困りますが…… ただ香水や柔軟剤、禁煙タイプ部屋での喫煙による煙草臭とか強いにおい残されるのは止めて欲しいです 換気だけじゃ対応し切れなくて におい薄まるまで売り部屋に出来ないからです また排泄物や吐瀉物まみれにしておいて 何も言わないでチェックアウトする人は出禁にして欲しいなと思います

  — @Iwasbihindyou-always2 likes

• You're free to take the amenities provided in each room, but for amenities set out somewhere other than the rooms, like the front desk or by the elevators, the rule is to only take what you'll use during your stay 😔

  各部屋に用意されたアメニティは持ち帰っても構わないけど、フロントやエレベーター前など、客室以外に置いてあるアメニティは、滞在中に使う分だけを手にすることがルールですよ😔

  — @user-さわ2 likes

Which hotel amenities can you take home in Japan?

The single-use items: toothbrush, toothpaste, razor and hairbrush can be used and taken home. Fixtures stay, including kettles, glasses, tea cups, hair dryers and the yukata in the drawer. A Japanese hotel cleaner in the thread draws the same line from the other side: tea, coffee and toothbrushes are fine, mugs and shampoo bottles are a problem.

Sources: livejapan.com — checked 2026-10-15

Can you take the toothbrushes and razors from the front desk?

Only what you will use. One Japanese commenter says room amenities are yours to take, but for amenities set out at the front desk or by the elevators the rule is to take only what you need during your stay. Since April 2022 Japan's plastic recycling law has required hotels to cut free single-use plastic items such as toothbrushes, razors, hairbrushes and combs.

Sources: business.nikkei.com — checked 2026-10-15

Is the water in a Japanese hotel fridge free?

Often, but check first. A bottle labeled as free to drink is common, and a Japanese guest calling it a real lifesaver got 473 likes. Another guest (14 likes) warns that some fridges hold water you are charged for, so they bring their own. The commenter with 107 likes adds that the free bottles in your room are yours to take.

Can you walk around a Japanese hotel in the room pajamas?

Usually to the large bath, but follow the hotel's signs. One Japanese guest says walking shared areas in nightwear is normal except where the hotel says no, such as the dining room. Another feels a little embarrassed being the only one in hotel nightwear at the breakfast buffet, and a third (6 likes) complains about not being allowed into breakfast in the room slippers.

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