When I initially arrived in Tokyo I spent a few hours wandering the streets for an internet cafe where I could spend the night. After having found one and settled in; the next thing I wanted to try to accomplish was to locate an affordable hostel/hotel. As anyone who has visited Tokyo can attest it can be an expensive city. It was with this in mind that I stumbled upon the New Koyo Hotel. It advertises itself as a hotel but the rooms reminded me much more of a university dormitory.
A single western or Japanese style (tatami matts) type room would run you 2,500 Yen (approximately 30$ Canadian). For an individual room this was the best rate I was able to find. After having checked out a few reviews online with many of them stating “it’s a clean cheap bed” I headed their way early in the morning.
I found the establishment to be exactly as advertised and I believe it was run by a British Japanese man and a Japanese women. Both were friendly and spoke English (the British or UK man was much more fluent).
The rooms were small but clean, had a window and small television. There was a men and a womens washroom and two small showers. The building is definitely old and one example of that was all the paint chips falling in the mens washroom. Being a typical guy, paint chips falling from the walls or bathroom stalls didn’t really bother me much. The bathrooms themselves were respectively clean.
The showers were clean (but a little moldy) and the kitchen area was sufficient for any backpacker. By no means is this a luxury motel but they did a great job in keeping the area’s clean and the front door locked by itself. You were provided a code along with your room key to access the building after hours.
For all the pictures and cost inquires I suggest you visit their website at http://www.newkoyo.com/.
You should note that the neighborhood is located in one of the poorer districts of Tokyo. I never once felt afraid or intimidated by the homeless and drunk people that could be found wandering the alleys. I also saw several women travelers at the hostel and they didn’t seem very intimated by the neighborhood either.
Finally if you’re going to be staying at the new Koyo hotel, make certain to stop at the Lyphard bar/lounge for the best atmosphere and bar tending team in Tokyo!
You can see better pictures of the facilities on their website but here’s one I snapped from inside my room:
