Anime and Manga in Tokyos traditional Asakusa area!

Asakusa – this area is known as the must-go sightseeing spot when you come to Tokyo.

But have you ever considered staying there also? And what about mixing up the old Japanese traditional culture with Japanese pop-culture such as Anime and Manga? If you decide to stay at the Share House Akogareya, you can discover Anime and Manga as well as the old Buddhist temple Senso-ji which is 10 minutes walk from your location.

Asakusa is a district in Taito, Tokyo in which the past decade atmosphere of the city has survived.

During the Edo period (1603-1867) Asakusa was the famous entertainment district. The neighborhood Kuramae was an area for rice storehouses. Rich rice keepers (fudasashi) stored rice for a fee or exchanged the rice for money to the local margins.

Due to the stable income of the fudasashi theaters, restaurants and geisha houses started to spring up at nearby Asakusa. In fact, the oldest Geisha district can be found in this area and nowadays 45 Geisha are still actively working.

If you want to read about the golden years of the district, I recommend you the book “The scarlet gang of Asakusa” by Yasunari Kawabata (1930). However, during World War II the area was heavily destroyed by air raids. Even though a reconstruction helped to rebuild the old Asakusa area, Shinjuku became the new pleasure district of Japan’s capital city.

Nowadays Asakusa still has the charm of old Tokyo, and it features a lot of historic sights. You can visit the Buddhist temple Senso-ji or take a cruise boat down the Sumida river until you reach Odaiba bay. Kappabashi, a district close to centre Asakusa is a major cluster of domestic kitchenware stuff and highly recommended if you search for good knives and pans.

In this historical centre of Tokyo we found a charming and newly opened share house equipped with dozens of Mangas and Anime figurines.

The owner is a very kind Japanese man, who sells Mangas and Anime goods and even ships them to foreign countries. He is definitely a professional concerning Japanese pop culture, so if you decide to stay at his place, you can probably ask him about your favourite Manga or Anime.

Newly opened on the 26th of June, we were the first ones able to visit the premises.

The share house stretches over 3 floors, with a lounge and three rooms on the first floor. Two showers and two sinks can be found on the 1st and 2nd floor, on the third floor you have a small, cosy kitchen with a lovely balcony and even a small bathtub behind the kitchen, if you prefer a bath over shower.

On the 2nd floor there are also three rooms, two of them were beautiful Japanese-style rooms with Tatami mat and paper-windows. Lovely details like a fan, Japanese style curtains or pictures created a really charming image of the whole property.

The kitchen on the 3rd floor is already equipped with anything you need – dishes, forks and knifes, a microwave, a small oven, a rice-cooker, knives and cutting boards. A washing-machine with a dryer can be found besides two TVs in the lounge rooms.

Blankets, pillow-covers and table cloths have -of course- Anime prints on them. In the lounge and the kitchen you can find several Mangas and famous Anime figurines you can buy as a souvenir if you grow very fond of them during your stay.

The rooms are dormitories, but if you agree with the owner on a different price, you can use one room all by yourself.

The shared house is brand new opened and you will be able to be one of the first people staying there, if you do a reservation for you rooms soon. Contact us on Tokyoroomfinder, if you are interested in staying at the property!