Asakusa neighborhood is a good base of operations for tourists in Tokyo

By Kristin Jackson
Seattle Times travel writer

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My first night in Tokyo, I stayed in a low-budget hotel in a tiny, windowless room.

I quickly moved to the much more comfortable Toyoko-Inn Asakusa Komagata (www.toyoko-inn.com) in the traditional neighborhood of Asakusa in northern Tokyo.

Asakusa is a good base for visitors to Tokyo, and it's popular with Japanese tourists. There's the huge Senso-ji Buddhist temple, one of the most venerated in Tokyo; lively, narrow streets lined with small shops and reasonably priced restaurants; and quick access via several subway lines to other parts of Tokyo.

The Asakusa Information Center is opposite the massive gate that marks the walkway leading to the Senso-ji temple. The helpful staff, including some who speak English, can give advice and maps.

Rooms are very small at the Toyoko-Inn (large-size Americans will find the bathrooms barely big enough to turn around in) but quiet and spotless. The beds and reading lights were good, and there was free Internet access in the lobby. Rates begin at about $85 for a double room.

Like most of Tokyo, much of the Asakusa area is not architecturally pleasing.

Modern Japanese buildings are mostly undistinguished slabs of concrete and glass; the ancient warrens of streets lined with traditional wooden houses that once characterized Japanese cities were destroyed in the U.S. bombings during World War II or later in redevelopment. However, a web of old-fashioned pedestrian streets still exists in Asakusa around the temple: They're pleasant for strolling and shopping, with dozens of tiny sushi bars, cafes and shops, plus souvenir and food booths near the temple.

One modern Asakusa building, French architect's Philippe Starck's Ashai brewery, is a standout that people love or hate. Built in 1989, it's a shiny black cube with a huge, flame-like gold blob on the roof, a symbol of the beer company.

Other hotel choices in Asakusa:

• For a high-class, and much higher-priced, hotel check the Asakusa View Hotel: www.viewhotels.co.jp/asakusa/english/. The high-rise, 337-room hotel has both Western-style and traditional Japanese rooms; an indoor pool; a half-dozen restaurants; and helpful, English-speaking concierges.

• The Ryokan Shigetsu is near the Senso-ji temple and offers tatami rooms (with futons unrolled onto the tatami-mat floors for sleeping) and Western-style rooms, plus a rooftop traditional Japanese soaking bath with a view over rooftops to the temple: www.shigetsu.com.

• The Taito Ryokan is more basic and cheap, starting at $60 for a double room: www.libertyhouse.gr.jp/

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com

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