trip to japan 2014 - day 1: check-in at kimi ryokan.

our accommodation in tokyo for 3 days 2 nights was.. kimi ryokan! fyi, 'ryokan' means japanese-style guesthouse which uses tatami floors, futon mattress. even their staffs wear yukata! we made a right decision to book this place, cause it was really nice! worth every single yen and very suitable for budget travelers like us. kkk. booked this hotel through its website - kimiryokan.jp few months before our trip.

the first thing we saw............. the entrance door is there.. STAIRCASE??? OMG

the lobby (?) lol

small kitchen area. there's microwave, hot/cold water dispenser & fridge

lounge area~ can watch tv here

we took '6 mat room for 3 guests' type of room. it's quite small, but still can fit in 3 of us (and our luggages lol). there is no bathroom in your room, ofc most hostels/guesthouses practices shared toilets/bathrooms. if you're not convenient with this condition, this may not be a good option for you. kkk. our room is located on the 3rd floor. but yes they do have elevators! well that is the mosttt important thing any hotel/guesthouse should have (LOL don't let me start with our osaka hostel that doesn't have elevatorsss!!).

elevators! no need to worry about your 40kgs luggages lol

our futon mattress

there's yukata for you to try too kkk

summary of what we have to pay for our 3 days 2 nights stay here :-
'6 mat room for 3 guests' room: 9500 yen (per night)
TOTAL for 2 nights: 19000 yen
TOTAL for 2 nights (with 5% tax): 19950 yen
TOTAL for 2 nights (per person): 6640 yen (~ rm203.70)

a bit pricey~ but since our budget is rm100 per night, so it's still considered OK! hehe. plus we don't have to pay any deposit to reserve. full payment is only required upon check-in :)

another extra point about this hotel is.. they do have a storage room! we arrived there around 11am, but their check-in time only starts at 3pm. so we can leave our luggages first in the storage room (for free ofc, and don't forget to lock your luggages lol). and they can help us to print our flight itinerary too, for free (maybe if you just need to print 1 copy lol). just email them things you need to print and they'll help to print it for you.

our luggages stored in the storage room

there's a shared pc in the storage room (the OS is in japanese btw, change it to english or use your common sense to locate the right button/function lol)

anddd.. it is located just few mins away from ikebukuro station. well ikebukuro station which is known as the 2nd busiest railway station in the world after shinjuku station, serves multiple lines e.g JR yamanote, narita express, seibu, tobu tojo, tokyo metro marunouchi subway etc etc. so it's really convenient cause basically you can use any line to get here (and can save time used to change train instead). yup it's complicated at first, but getting easier after few days.

how to go to kimi ryokan (from ikebukuro station):

1. look for C6 exit (it's few mins walk underground if you get off from JR line/narita express cause basically this exit is closer to their tokyo metro subway line).

C6 exit

2. walk straight for few meters (you will see 7eleven & family mart on your left).

family mart on your left

3. walk again until you see a main 4 junction (pasela restaurant). cross then turn left.

cross this 4 junction (there's another 7eleven there too lol)

4. walk straight and turn right at the 3rd intersection (mevius cigarette store).

turn right when you see this cigarette store

5. turn left at the 1st intersection. kimi ryokan is on your left.

turn left at this intersection

welcome to kimi ryokan!~ lol

to make reservation, just search for room availability on their websites then email them - info@kimiryokan.jp

btw kimi ryokan, this is not a free promotion, so please give me a free 1 night stay in my next trip ok LOL. coming up in my next post - day 1: ueno park & sakura frappucino. til then, good night!