Asakusa YOSHII Hotel

Rooms and decor

Asakusa YOSHII Hotel keeps the old Japanese room format completely intact. Past the shoji sliding door is a genkan — a wooden step where you take off your shoes before stepping up onto the tatami — and a faint scent of fresh igusa grass that tells you straight away you are really in Japan. The rooms run 6 tatami mats (about 10 sqm), with a tokonoma alcove holding a kakejiku hanging scroll, a single ikebana arrangement and a low chabudai table for making tea. At night staff come in and lay out a soft futon on the floor for you. Several reviewers say it feels as plush as a ryokan on a hostel budget.

Food and amenities

The Japanese breakfast is the part guests rave about most, served 7:00-9:00 in the first-floor dining hall. The set is yaki-zakana (grilled salted mackerel), miso-shiru with wakame, tsukemono — three pickles: pickled ginger, umeboshi plum and takuan radish — a tamagoyaki sweet rolled egg, a big bowl of hot white rice and sencha green tea. The whole thing runs about $5.40 a person, and it tastes like genuine Japanese home cooking rather than a hotel buffet. A cotton yukata in sizes S to XL is yours to wear free, along with towels and Setta slippers. Bathrooms are shared and split by gender, with a warm shower and a small hinoki wood basin to wash in before you bathe. Wi-Fi is free and there is luggage storage.

Location and getting there

The address is squarely in old Asakusa — a 5-minute walk from Asakusa Station and just 3 minutes on foot to Sensoji and the Kaminarimon gate. Walk those 3 minutes early in the morning and you get the temple before the daytime crowds.

Things to know before booking

It costs about $9-11 a night more than a bare-bones hostel — you are paying for the tatami experience, not the cheapest bed in the area. Bathrooms are shared rather than en-suite, in keeping with the traditional style. And the futon itself is about 8 cm thick; reviewers note your back may ache the first night before you settle in by the second, so it genuinely is not for everyone.

Our take

Asakusa YOSHII Hotel suits couples who want to try a ryokan-style stay, and first-time visitors who want to collect the full experience. At $34 a night it is real value, because finding a genuine tatami room for that money in Tokyo is hard. If you would rather have a modern hotel, choose something else on the list.