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In the heart of Asakusa lies one of Tokyo's most stylish hostels called Bunka Hostel Tokyo. It is situated in a building that used to be a pachinko parlor, and the whole building has been renovated for the convenience of foreign travelers. The name of the hostel comes from the Japanese word Bunka (文化), or culture, and when you're inside the building you can feel the cultural mix between Japanese tradition and modernity. In addition to offering 128 beds for travelers looking for reasonable accommodation at a good location the property also has all the amenities and facilities needed to enjoy a comfortable stay in Tokyo included free 24-hour front desk, multilingual staff, and free WiFi.

Entrance decorated with flowers

I went to Bunka Hostel for their grand opening reception on December 14th along with a couple of colleagues, and we were met by excited and friendly staff who were doing their utmost to ensure a successful reception. The lounge area was filled with guests; It had apparently been quite easy to attract people to come thanks to the property's exquisite style and convenient location, and we could meet a lot of interesting people in addition to the hostel's staff.

The reception desk with shelves symbolising Mt. Fuji in the background

The whole first floor is used as a cafe/Japanese style Izakaya, so guests can enjoy a drink or two here in the company of other travellers. You can actually enjoy your day/evening at the bar/cafe regardless of wether you spend the night here or not, but access to the guest floors is limited to guests only (see further down the page for information about rooms).

A globe at the reception desk

One of the main themes of the hostel is Japanese rice wine, sake, and Bunka Hostel has their own special variety of sake prepared for its guests. The taste is not that sharp, so it is especially a great chance for foreigners who haven't tried sake before because of its milde aftertaste. Instead of glasses we were given a square wooden box called masu (枡; see picture below) with sake in it, and the smell of wood added an extra dimension to the drink.

A pyramid of masu

One-cup Bunka Hostel sake & masu

Performers wearing Japanese masks and dancing a sake dance

Speech

Sake barrel used in the Kagami Biraki ceremony

Bunk beds

The 4th floor guest floors

One of the beds

One of the bunk beds decorated with a Japanese ornament

Performance artist playing with the light

Disco bed

An art performer in one of the rooms wearing a traditional mask

In addition to the guest rooms, there is an available kitchen usable only by the guests staying at Bunka Hostel. The kitchen doesn't have a stove but is equipped with a refrigerator and other necessary amenities such as a microwave oven and a toaster.

Kitchen

Kitchen

From the bathroom area

The hostel comes with shared bathroom for the people who stay in the bunk bed section. With a large number of toilet rooms and showers available it is likely that people will be able to use these facilities without having to worry about availability. For those who don't like to share common facilities with other guests it is, however, possible to rent the hostel's one and only exclusive family room where, in addition to more privacy, you'll have a great view of the Sky Tree from your bed.

Sky Tree seen from Bunka Hostel

Bunka Hostel Tokyo's Family Room

Asakusa is located in Taito ward, which is the most popular area in Tokyo for foreign tourists. Using this place as the base for your stay will grant you easy access to many of Tokyo's best tourist spots, including the Kaminari gate (雷門) which is only a couple of minutes away by foot. In the table below are some of the features you can get at Bunka Hostel.

The world-famous Kaminarimon

Book your stay at Bunka Hostel here!

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Bora-Naya restaurant with the original fisherman's hut in the right corner

The entrance to Bora-Naya

Bora-Naya was constructed by the Kii family (near the present-day Wakayama) in 1627. Later, several extensions and structural alterations were carried out on the building. The bora (striped mullet) fishing industry operated under the protection of the Tokugawa Shogunate. During the seasonal migration of the bora, the villagers would live here and while repairing their boats and nets, went out fishing with the signal of a trumpet shell or flag.

It has been said that bora caught here were sometimes taken to distant Edo to enliven the dining table of Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was the third generation Tokugawa Shogun.

From Bora-Naya's homepage

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Entrance to Ryugu Sea Cave by the roadside

"Submarine volcanic landforms became uplifted in the process of the collision between the Izu block and Honshu across several million years. The landforms exposed due to upliftment then underwent erosion by wave action, and the weaker sections were washed away quickly. This process created sea caves. Subsequently, as the erosion expanded and the cave grew bigger, the roof partially fell off, creating this large open topped cave. From the watch point above the Ryugu Sea Cave, it can clearly be seen how erosion proceeded in two directions. This appears like the shape of a heart, and you can probably imagine how this sea cave looked like in ancient times before erosion brought it to its current shape. You can also enjoy different appearances of the cave depending on the direction of the sunlight or high and low tides."

On the way into the cave

The structures of Ryugu Sea Cave can be observed through a gaping hole, which is about 40 meters in diameter. At the cliff, the strata of subaqueous fallout ash and volcaniclastic flow are observed.

The waves eroded the weak parts of the strata, and formed the cave that divided into two directions. Eventually the cave ceiling became unstable, and collapsed and this skylight was formed."

Ryugu Sea Cave is shaped like a heart if you look at it from above

"Sandback for skiing: A steep (about 30 degree) sandbank with a width of 100 meters, formed and maintained by upward migration of sand particles because of strong winds. You can enjoy skiing on its slope and may be charmed by the beautiful structures of submarine volcanoes around here.

There is a habitat of crinum lilies along the trail to the sandbank. The plants are designated as a natural monument of Shizuoka Prefecture and you can find their blooms during summer to autumn every year."

Slope for sand skiing

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