Kimi Ryokan — Hotel in Tokyo

I started my recent Japan trip with a 5 night stay at the Kimi Ryokan. I absolutely love the place, it's nothing particularly fancy but it has a great feel and the staff are amazing. If you are looking for a home base to explore Tokyo, Kimi is a great spot, its a pleasant 10 mins from the station, tucked away in a quiet alley. Just round the corner is a great little bar that my friends and I frequented called Agulco with great food, music, cocktails, vibe and awesome staff that greeted us when we'd pass the bar on the way back to the Ryokan. I'll come back to some things I loved about the Ryokan, but essentially I left Tokyo for four nights in Osaka, then went camping for the weekend as was intending on spending my remaining nights in Kyoto, but since we encountered rain whilst camping, I decided to hop the Shinkansen to Tokyo and go straight to where I knew I'd feel comfortable, in fact one of the most comfortable places I've ever known. My friend and I turned up without a booking and they were able to check us in for the the night luckily, however I would recommend booking ahead if you want to avoid having to change rooms over night. I was willing to check out at 11 and back in at 3 though since we hadn't booked, they make this easily with an area to store your bags whilst you can go out for the day, or you can use the computers (a little slow but good enough to quickly check emails or do some research). We needed the washing machines and dryers, having a suitcase half full of dirty wet clothes, but thats standard for most accommodation. Our last night we spent in the Ryokan because a typhoon hit Tokyo, so we grabbed bento boxes and a few drinks from the convenience store and settled into the common kitchen area. We had showers (I had a 15 minute soak in the hot bath) and put on the lovely robe provided, heated up our boxes, played cards, watched the weather outside on TV and made some small talk with a couple of Germans and Spaniards (we're Australian) before heading up the nifty elevator to our air-conditioned room. I really couldn't have spent my last night in Japan anywhere else and return home with such a relaxed mind and pleasant memories of my travels. I didn't encounter any bugs (I stayed between 8th - 22nd September) so I imagine they may have solved that problem since 2009. I'd strongly recommend this place to anyone I know and anyone else who has stayed at a hostel, as it's like a heavenly version of a Japanese hostel - reasonably priced, traditional style yet with the practicality of a hostel and probably most importantly it is in Ikebukuro which, if you haven't researched, is the third largest station in Tokyo. It will connect you to anywhere in Tokyo with ease, only a few minutes away from the lively hubs of Shinjuku and Shibuya. Ike is on the main line as well as 3 other key lines so transport is a dream and don't be intimidated by the station it only takes a day to get the hang of it, it's all coloured coded. Anyway, I seriously cannot recommend it enough nor could my friends, we had such a great time, it probably influenced our overall experience of Japan and Tokyo greatly. It's hard for me to imagine not returning to Kimi again. Arigato Chen and the Kimi...

I ended up choosing Kimi Ryokan for my first trip to Japan after looking up dozens of hotels and ryokans in the greater Tokyo area.

My top categories were:

1. Price
2. Cultural Traditionalism
3. Location

Originally, the location was dependent on a friend of mine who we were traveling with and had family in the Shinjuku area. Also, after booking the smallest room to share with my brother and I was a bit concerned about the size as well as the shared bathrooms.

However, once we arrived (took the Narita Express which drops you off directly at Ikebukuro station) we were blown away by the accommodations. Not only were the facilities clean and beautiful but the hospitality of the staff made our two week stay into a trip of a life time. In the end, the small room proved to be no worries. There was an ample amount of storage and the individually controlled A/C and heater made it a very comfortable stay. Also wifi on every floor was a huge plus.

I will start off by saying Ikebukuro is at the NW corner of Tokyo but the neighborhood is extremely conveniently located. It is only a 20 minute train ride too Shibuya/Harijuku; 15 minutes away from Shinjuku.

Kimi Ryokan itself is tucked away in a quiet corner on the same block as Mevius (blue sign) cigarette shop and just a block away from 7-11 (you can seriously live off Japan 7-11). A 5 minute walk you can find restaurants and arcades in the busy section across the station. The train station is a 15 minute walk away. They also have complimentary umbrellas at the entrance which proved very useful since we happened to have landed right after Typhoon Usagi.

The owner of Kimi (goes by Kibo) found us one afternoon hanging out in the lounge and taking advantage of their Sapporo vending machine (yes there is not only a beer vending machine but there is also a hot tea and water dispenser along with the typical juice/coffee vending machine). After chatting with him for a short bit he invited my friends and I to a day trip to the country side.

The trip to Saitama was hands down my favorite experience to break up the rush of Tokyo. Kibo mentioned to us that this is something he is looking to offer to his long term clients but we were lucky enough to be invited to the guinea pig trip. The purpose of this excursion is to bring more tourism to the country side. We had the pleasure of visiting:

-local sake distillery -udon specialty shop -local wood workers shop -mountain side of blooming flowers -a brief hike up a mountain with small streams/ waterfalls and shops -onsen (Japanese baths) -dinner at a beautifully revamped home turned restaurant

To top it all off Kibo picked us up in his awesome VW bus and was a fantastic host!

TL:DR

Kimi Ryokan is well worth the money (people from other hostels were blown away by the accommodations and were paying the same price). If you are staying for a while try to find the owner (he is there a few day out of the week) and ask him about the trip to the countryside!

I love Kimi Ryokan and would not hesitate booking this back on my next...

First of all I have to say that while maybe not your first choice of location Ikebukuro is actually a great location to stay in Tokyo, so for that Kimi is great. There are lots of places to eat/drink/shop near by and access to anywhere from Ikebukuro Station.

My girlfriend and I stayed here in March 2014. First of all if you are looking for an actual Ryokan, this is not one. It is in every way more of a hostel or guest house... you can compare it easily to one of the J-Hopper locations found all over Japan. While yukata are provided, not many of the other things one would associate with a Ryokan are.

Cons:

If you have an idea of what a Ryokan is, this may not be it, just a heads-up. There are no meals available, but a kitchen is available like many hostels have for you to cook in the common area.

Despite the staff's written notices on the walls, the place is VERY noisy. showers and washrooms (and hair dryers) are located directly off many, if not most, of the rooms. Guests use the showers late into the evening and quite early in the morning, and why shouldn't they, except for the fact that there are literally 4 inches of wall between them and your room. we could hear the knobs for the hot water being turned right above our heads. (consequently, don't sing in the shower... you do have an audience!)

the windows are paper thin, and so there was loudness from the rear alleyway as well.

Some of doors of the rooms don't fit quite right, and you can see people/ light right through the door and the jamb...... not great for noise reduction or privacy.

The staff, is mostly helpful but perhaps a little overbearing and seemingly irritated at regular tourist questions.

The staff is very watchful, right down to the list of rules, and they are very strict about guests having visitors, just FYI if you plan on visiting with someone in your room.

Pros:

-Location is fine, Ikebukuro is a neat area.

-the price is right

-There is luggage storage if you get there early and if you leave after check-out

The place is pretty clean....worn out maybe.

the owner seemed nice, but we saw...