Recently, I published a post sharing some of my hotel habits, including checking under the bed and in closets as soon as I arrive in a hotel room. It’s probably not totally rational, but for whatever reason, it makes me feel better.
In the comments section of that post, someone mentioned how that reminded them of the story of the woman who noticed a bad smell in her Tokyo hotel room, only to discover a man under her bed. WHAT?!?! I hadn’t heard this story, so of course I had to investigate, and it’s easily one of the creepiest hotel stories I’ve ever heard.
Woman discovers man under bed in Tokyo hotel room
In July 2025, The Guardian ran a story about an incident that happened in March 2025, at a hotel in Tokyo, involving a Ukrainian model who lived in Thailand. More specifically, this happened at the APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Eki Tower.
At around 7:30PM, the woman returned to her hotel room after going out for ramen. She changed clothes, put on a sweatshirt, got into bed, and started researching train times. However, she began to feel uneasy and noticed a strange odor, describing it as smelling like “a dead animal covered in sugar.” Then this happened:
“I decided to check under the bed, even joking to myself that there had better not be someone there. Sprawled on the bed, I craned my neck down to check. Two dark, wide eyes were staring back at me, blinking in the darkness.”
“The intruder climbed out from under the bed, blocking me from running to the door. He was sweating, which I presume was causing the smell. I started screaming and my brain kept repeating, ‘This is not real,’ over and over. I began to hyperventilate and froze on the spot, unsure whether he was about to jump on me, choke me or even try to kill me.”
“There was no space for me to run, and my body felt as if it would collapse in fear. If he tried to overpower me, I would lose. I remained rooted to the spot, shouting for help as loudly as I could. He locked eyes with me and also began screaming. I scanned his face, trying to memorise exactly what he looked like: east Asian, between 20 and 30, slightly overweight, a bowl haircut and black clothes. He ran for the door and disappeared down the corridor.”
The woman kept screaming, and a short time later, other guests were at her door to help, followed by the concierge and police.
This is honestly perhaps the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard happen at a hotel, that doesn’t involve someone dying. What an absolute nightmare.
The police were sort of dismissive about the incident
Police showed up only a short while after the incident happened. While searching the room, they found a USB cable and power bank, leading the woman to believe that the intruder had intended to secretly record her.
The police took the woman’s passport details and email, but warned that they probably wouldn’t find the man, due to lack of cameras in the hotel. They didn’t even ask for a description of the man, and she was shocked at how casually they treated the incident.
As you’d expect, she still has a lot of questions about the incident, and it has caused long term issues for her:
“I had so many questions: how did he get in? Did he know that I would be alone? I couldn’t bring myself to stay at the same place that night, so I booked a different hotel. I had never felt so isolated and scared. When I got to my new room, I asked the staff to stay with me while I searched it. I didn’t sleep because I was still very afraid, and spent the entire night ringing friends and family. I eventually returned to my home in Thailand struggling with anxiety and PTSD.”
Japan is known for being an incredibly safe country, so if you were to be concerned about an intruder in your hotel room, it’s probably not the place you’d expect something like this to happen.
One can’t help but wonder if this really couldn’t be investigated further, or if the hotel and/or police tried to downplay this to avoid the bad publicity? I mean, the hotel really doesn’t have any cameras anywhere that could’ve potentially provided assistance in an investigation, especially given that she knew what the guy looked like?
Also, how did the guy got into the hotel room, how long had he been under the bed, etc.? Admittedly I’m no female Ukrainian model, but this story reinforces my quirky practice of checking underneath hotel beds…
Bottom line
A woman staying in a Tokyo hotel noticed a strange smell in her room, and then checked under the bed, only to find a man with a USB cable and power bank hiding there. He ran out of the room, and while police showed up quickly, they didn’t do a whole lot to help, and didn’t even take a description of the man. What a terrifying incident, and I can totally see how this could cause nightmares for a very long time…
What do you make of this awful Tokyo hotel room incident?
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