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We stayed at Asakusa’s super-narrow, super-cheap, and surprisingly comfortable hotel

Shannon Jun 6, 2024
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We almost can’t believe it’s under 3,500 yen (US$22.57) a night.

Aside from capsule hotels, it’s not often you’ll find ultra-affordable lodging in Tokyo tourism hot spots like Asakusa. Luckily, our Japanese-language reporter Takamichi Furusawa found a hotel just a few minutes’ walk from Asakusa Station that we can confidently say is budget friendly.

Hotel Plus Hostel Tokyo Asakusa 1 just opened five months ago and is already gaining traction for its super-low lodging fee of 3,240 yen a night for a dormitory-style bed.

Takamichi wasn’t only surprised by the price, he was also struck by how narrow the building was. Would he even have room to breathe in there? The sign is easy to miss, so keep your eyes peeled.

His fears were quickly squashed as he entered to find a spacious lobby with a contemporary design of cool concrete and warm wood tones.

One drawback of the cheap price is that many amenities like toothbrushes and bath towels aren’t included, but they have a helpful chart at the check-in counter that lists what they have on offer. 50 yen for a toothbrush is a lot cheaper than what you’d find at a convenience store.

The lounge area has comfortable sofas, counter seats, tables, and even foosball (or table football, depending on where you’re from).

Takamichi thought this would be a good place to get some remote work done.

The lobby also had a few vending machines with drinks and snacks.

Our dear reporter thought he’d found a hidden gem in Asakusa, but as he looked around the lobby, he saw that most of the guests were likely not Japanese. He imagined many of them were preparing to check out Sensoji Temple at night, after the daytime crowds had dispersed.

His inspection of the lobby done, Takamichi headed to his room. The elevator sign has a detailed list of what’s on each floor. As is typical of many hostel-style areas in Japan, the men’s and women’s areas are separated. There’s a even a shared bath and sauna for the respective sexes.

One drawback of the tall and narrow hotel, Takamichi quickly found, is that having just one elevator meant a lot of waiting time. Unfortunately, there was no staircase to use as a shortcut.

He finally made his way to the sixth floor where his dormitory-style bunk bed awaited him. Each bed had a curtain for privacy, a light, and clothing hangers.

There was no locker to store his stuff in the dormitory, so he saw many clothes hanging outside the beds. It looked like a real, lived-in dormitory.

Takamichi’s biggest concern about this hotel is while there are tiny security safes for things like phones and wallets, they weren’t big enough for his laptop. That meant he had to pray his belongings wouldn’t be stolen from his cubicle while he went to the toilet or the shared bath.

The toilets, he found, were extremely clean. It also had an interesting setup because of the building’s width, with a long hall of toilets.

Takamichi headed to the bath. He wasn’t allowed to take photos inside, but he can still write about it! The bath was probably what he was most impressed with; it was a large hinoki cypress tub that could easily fit seven or eight people inside. The warm, woody scent of the tub made him feel at home. The provided shampoo, conditioner, and body soap had a pleasant scent, and the sauna was also enjoyable.

He returned to his bed after a good soak and made his bed with the provided sheet. Luckily, his personal belongings were still fully secure inside his backpack.

However, he appreciated that there were two power outlets–a standard Japanese one and a USB-type–which made it easier to charge his electronics while he slept.

The mattress and blanket were comfortable, but he felt a bit cramped with his backpack at the end of the bed. Please, Hotel Plus Hostel, Takamichi is begging you–get bigger lockers!

All in all, this is a hotel that Takamichi would love to stay at again. He loved how unexpectedly spacious and stylish the interior was, and he highly recommends it if you’re looking for cheap accommodation smack dab in the middle of Tokyo’s tourism action.

Hotel information
Hotel Plus Hostel Tokyo Asakusa 1 / ホテルプラスホステル東京浅草1
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Kaminarimon 2-13-1
東京都台東区雷門2-13-1
Website

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