Old school charm to modern towers in central Tokyo
Located in eastern Tokyo, Asakusa is one of the iconic tourist destinations in the metropolis, attracting many visitors with its temples and old-town charm. The most well known landmark in Asakusa is its Kaminarimon Gate, which leads to Sensoji Temple. Asakusa and its surrounds are walkable districts that still retain much of their old school charm with plenty to see and do. Within walking distance of Asakusa is the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest structure in Japan, as well as Kappabashi, a street lined with many shops selling all kinds of wares one would need to furnish a commercial or home kitchen.
Many travelers typically visit Asakusa on a day trip, but the district is suitable as a base to stay when traveling in Tokyo. For this article, I stayed overnight at MONday Apart Premium Asakusa, a newly opened apartment style hotel, and spent two days exploring the neighborhood.
Those who want to follow this itinerary should book their accommodation through the official website. Booking directly from the official website of the accommodations outlined in this article ensures that you get the best and cheapest rate, and those who sign up as members will get an additional 10 percent off their reservations.
Asakusa and Kappabashi
My trip started at MONday Apart Premium Asakusa, which opened in July 2024. The apartment-style hotel offers travelers a home away from home experience. The spacious self-contained rooms at the lodging sleep up to four people and offer amenities like washer-dryer machines, fully equipped kitchens, refrigerators, microwave ovens and toasters. All rooms have balcony space, which is quite uncommon for a Tokyo hotel. Not only that, there are two premium rooms that contain ensuite saunas, a luxury in central Tokyo. Detailed access information can be found below.
After leaving my bag at the hotel, I made my way to the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center to get a nice view of Nakamise Street and Sensoji Temple from the observation deck. Designed by acclaimed architect Kuma Kengo, the architecture of the tourist information center is an attraction in itself.
From there, I made my way back down and dove straight into Kaminarimon and Nakamise. Souvenir and local food shops flank the approximately 300 meter long Nakamise street, and there was a lively atmosphere in the air. It was not long before I arrived at Sensoji Temple, the oldest temple in Tokyo. The main hall is open to the public, and many go there to pray for good fortune.
Lunch time beckoned, and I decided to go for tempura, a local specialty in Asakusa. Many tempura places in Asakusa serve Edomae tempura, which contains of fish and vegetables fried in sesame oil as opposed to modern tempura that is typically fried in a neutral oil. Ordering a tempura rice bowl is a good way to experience Edomae tempura, which was what I did.
Following that, I continued my walk to Kappabashi, a street lined with many shops dedicated to kitchenware from knives to dishes to aprons to customized cookware. This street is where restaurateurs and home cooks can find anything and everything they need to furnish their kitchens. As someone who is very interested in knives and kitchen gadgets, Kappabashi was heaven for me, and I felt like I could have spent an entire day scouring the shops for interesting tools.
I returned to my hotel for a rest from all the walking before dinner at Hoppy Street. Located midway between my hotel and Sensoji Temple, Hoppy Street contains many local restaurants, making it a perfect place for dining out.
Cherry blossoms and Tokyo Skytree
For breakfast, I decided to whip up a simple breakfast with ingredients I had bought at the nearby 24 hour supermarket after dinner yesterday. As the weather was nice, I had to take advantage of the balcony space and had my breakfast there.
After checking out, I decided to walk along the streets I did not pass yesterday. My walk brought me past hotel MONday Asakusa, a sister hotel of the one I stayed at that is a standard hotel accommodation with a restaurant and shared facilities like washing machines. One nice draw of staying here is the rooftop on the 12th floor that is open to staying guests, which is a nice location for enjoying the Sumida River fireworks that happens on the last Saturday of July.
My 15 minute walk brought me to Sumida Park, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in Asakusa along the bank of the Sumida River. There are numerous cherry trees in the park, including some early blossoming ones, and it is a nice place to get cherry blossoms and Tokyo Skytree in the same shot.
I continued on across the river towards Tokyo Skytree via the Sumida River Walk and Tokyo Mizumachi, both of which run under the Tobu Railway train tracks. The first is a pedestrian footbridge across the river, and the latter is a recently redeveloped shopping and dinning space under the train tracks. There was no fear of being lost as it was a straight path, and all I had to do was walk towards the large tower.
Tokyo Skytree is Japan's tallest structure at 634 meters, and contains two observation decks at 450 meters and 350 meters respectively, as well as a shopping and dining complex and an aquarium at its base. I went to the uppermost observation deck, and was treated to a sky high view of the metropolis.
It is easy to spend at least half a day in Tokyo Skytree, and I spent the rest of my day here after taking in the views from the observation decks. It was nice to walk around like I lived there, and be close to some of the icons of Tokyo and Japan. I was glad for the two leisurely days spent in the Asakusa area, and would not hesitate to repeat it!
Hotel information
Operated by JHAT Co., Ltd, the hotel MONday Apart brand offers self-contained apartment accommodation with in-room amenities like a washer and dryer machine, fully equipped kitchen, and typically accommodate four people in each room - some rooms can sleep up to eight people with additional futons -, while the hotel MONday brand offers standard hotel accommodation and also has a hotel restaurant. Both brands can be found in Kyoto and Tokyo. Two other hotel brands operated by the same group, ICI Hotel and Gate Stay, can be found in Tokyo and Osaka.
Visitors who want to shop and stay in hotels within easy walking distance to the shopping areas can consider staying in the Ginza and Nihonbashi neighborhoods, which are home to many department stores, boutiques and flagship stores. The following properties operated by JHAT Co., Ltd are conveniently located in the vicinity of the two shopping neighborhoods: MONday Apart Premium Ginza Shintomicho, MONday Apart Premium Nihonbashi and MONday Apart Nihonbashi Suitengumae. The last is located near the T-CAT bus terminal, providing easy access to both Haneda and Narita airports by bus.
For other seasonal travel inspiration, check out our spring article in Ueno, summer article in Kyoto, and autumn article in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Access
hotel MONday Apart Premium Asakusa
MONday Apart Premium Asakusa is a short walk from Asakusa (ten minutes on foot) or Tawaramachi (five minutes on foot) stations on the Ginza Subway Line. All the spots visited are within 5-15 minutes walk of one another.
Approximate walking times
- MONday Apart Premium Asakusa to Kaminarimon: 10 minutes
- Kaminarimon to Sensoji Temple: 10 minutes
- Sensoji Temple to Kappabashi: 15 minutes
- Kappabashi to MONday Apart Premium Asakusa: 5 minutes
- MONday Apart Premium Asakusa to Hoppy Street: 5 minutes
- MONday Apart Premium Asakusa to Sumida Park: 15 minutes
- Sumida Park to Tokyo Skytree: 15 minutes