The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-05-09

Rates at the Japanese Hotels in
Honolulu.
FUR BOARD AND LODGING
Places Visite d-The Rooms and the
Fare - One Select sta bliSh-
ment TranSfentS.

Hundreds of the black haired, merry
Gus, aggressive little men from the
Orient patronize steadily the japanese
boarding and lodging houses with
which the downtown of Honolulu is
| spotted. What manner of living is
there in these hotels? What are the
| rates?
There is but a single method by
| which these narrowed confines may be
| penetrated by a seeker for information
Secure the interpreter, an individual
| ever ready for any enterprise, fix on
ruse and make the visits. An arrange
| ment for deceit is necessary. Your
resident Japanese is not at all simple
| minded. Not at all. He is ever alert
always suspicious. He is not awed by
the white man, because he thinks him
self the equal o; any man. And how
he has mastered knowledge of his
| rights" He more than knows that
his house is his castle.
Take first the little place on Mer-
chant street, opposite the Wowan's
Exchange. 1t is in every way just the
same as many others. The wife Of the
proprietor meets the interpreter and
reporter. She smiles as she listens to
a. request in effect that it is desired to
house a yard boy at the place for a
few weeks.
The husband is called. He smiles,
hears his wife and the visitors, and
then ponders Lodging and very ex-
| cellent lodging can be had for the boy.
But he must find food elsewhere, for
| the place has no restaurant license and
| the policemen pass it often. Well, yes;
of course. But this boy must be fed
and it will only be for a short time.
| All right, but there is risk. Like to
see the room? 1t is inspected. The
| food There shall be plenty of it and
equal in every respect to the fare of
the best Japanese hotel in Honolulu.
The menu will include rice, fish, vege-
| tables, soy and all the tea desired.
| How much? This is a quiet, select
| place and the employer of the boy pays
and wants his servant to receive good
| care. What does he say to twenty-five
cents day for board and lodging?
| There will be lamp in the room and
a mosquito net is supplied. Bath? No,
the bath is not given. However, ten
| tickets for ten baths are sold for
dime, and the bathing place is not far
| distant.
| 1t is all satisfa Glory, and perhaps the
yard boy will come and be guest for
time Is there much business now?
Oh, yes, the hotel is doirg we'll. More
Japanese are coming to town all the
time They come from plantations.
The sleeping accommodations de-
pend on the custom. In rush, room
| must be made Tor all who appear.
None can be turned away. At Lrmes
the Railways and even the kitchen are
used for lodging places. Effort is made
to ventilate. Windows and doors are
left open. There may be three persons
or there may be a score in room
eight by ten feet.
One more hotel will be visited Let
it be several, for there are number
in a group in Chinatown, in the Japan
sea. There are more people coming
and going down in this part of town,
and there are more japanese about the
house. This proprietor does not dellb-
crate and smiles sparingly. He says
his rate is twenty cents a day straight
TO any one and for any length OF time
The figure is the same in all this neigh
borhood. The Merchant street man
had a special price, as we'll as select
place. Perhaps the additional five cents
day was for taking the chance OF
having boarder and no victualing Ii
cense
The twenty cent places are or seem
to be uniform in space allotment and
furnishing There is very little bed
clothing, as it is seldom used. The pill
lows are for the guests to fix COR them
selves. Baths must be taken outside,
and the same price of ticket for ten
bauhs for ten cents is quoted. The in
terpreter says at once and a number of
the boarders promptly testify that the
food is sufficient and of correct variety
and proper serving. And, mark it,
guests without baggage must pay in
advance.
These hotels do great amount of
transient business. This comes from
the plantations in the vicinity of Homo
lulu. Large numbers of the laborers
spend Sunday in the city. They find
the fee of twenty cents a day for board
and lodging quite to their liking. The
great rushes at these places are when
q steamer with free labor aboard ar
rives from Japan, or when a large
number of Japanese come to town as