&AND HOSTEL ASAKUSA KAPPABASHI — Hotel in Tokyo

For my trip to Japan, I was hoping to use my travel points, and while looking for a place to stay that was cheap but still comfortable, I came across &and hostel Asakusa kappabashi. The hostel is located between ueno station and the heart of Asakusa, a short walk from Senso-ji. If you’re coming from the station a bus can drop you almost in front of it, and the ginza line will drop you off a short enough distance from the location. There are some smaller restaurants in the vicinity, and if you’re looking for a bargain there are a couple of convenience stores a short walk away.

If you’re looking for a nice, quiet neighborhood, this is a great spot. It’s away from the party districts but just a short ride away from them if you’re interested in hitting the clubs late at night The hostel itself is small, but that invites a warm atmosphere, something you notice when you enter the lobby. The staff is very friendly, and although some of them don’t speak English, they make their best effort to help and get you what you need. The first floor has games, book, a small kitchen, washing machines, and even a projector to watch something on the wall.

I was here for two separate legs of my journey, and I was always on the second floor (private room). The rooms are somewhat small, but they aren’t too bad if 1- you’re a single traveler or 2- you carry light luggage. Since this is a hostel, I was expecting a barren, plain room, but it didn’t feel that way. Although minimal, the room was comfortable. You get a small desk and chair, a tv, your sink with some small storage space (has a small electric kettle and hair dryer, and of course your bathroom and shower room. Everything was clean and the rooms were nice and cool after being out in the hot Tokyo sun. They provide towels and some basic toiletries, and if you’re staying for a longer period of time they provide room cleaning and new towels for a small fee.

Overall I think this was an amazing place: great rooms for the price, great location, and a great staff. Thanks to Hokuto for talking with me about the area and practicing English together, to Ai for helping me find where to purchase some essentials, and to Haruka for helping me work out some luggage transfers. Looking forward to coming back here...

It's not really a hostel, more like a budget hotel with some hostel amenities, namely a shared kitchen and "laundry."

You get a private room and bathroom, but it's easily the smallest, most cramped hotel room I've ever stayed in. You'll probably be OK if you're traveling solo and don't have much luggage, but for my wife and I with two suitcases total, we were constantly playing Twister and rearranging the entire room any time one of us wanted to open our bag, pack/unpack, or dress.

I was counting on doing laundry, since we stayed here on the first leg of a long trip. Don't count on doing laundry here. I put our clothes through 4 drying cycles and they still came out musty and damp at the end. After the first two tries, I figured I just had too much in the machine, so I split the load in half and ran it one half at a time. Two more cycles with a half load still wasn't enough. Eventually we just had to press every available surface in our tiny room into service as a makeshift drying rack.

Other than that, the place is fine. The location is good, it's a quieter part of the city with relatively fewer tourists. Metro stations on the Ginza and Oedo lines are a 10/15 minute walk away. The front desk staff are friendly and speak...

It was a pleasant and surprisingly quiet stay (everyone very respectful of their noise level when entering and exiting). They have complimentary toothbrushes, disposable cups, earplugs if you need. However, laundry can be a little tricky as you will need 2 hours to wash and dry your clothes if you plan on using their combo washer-dryer units. Room size is tight but enough space to fit 2 people on the bed (6'2" and 5'2" couple), we chose a unit with our own compact, Japanese-style fitted shower and bidet-toilet, and we were able to fit 2 duffel carry-ons, and a small check-in luggage (carry-on size) into our suite. Front desk staff all speak English well, and are super nice and helpful. They even let you leave your luggage at their desk if you let them know you will be arriving before check-in time.

One miss was the wall AC unit being temperamental: one moment it was be a quiet whir, and next moment it would have a gurgling noise. Maybe it was just our unit...