Have you stayed at Dormy Inn Expres s Asakusa ?
 

If you have stayed at Dormy Inn Express Asakusa could you please comment on your stay.. Would 2 adults find it comfortable for a 4 night stay-re size of room and comfort of beds? We will be out of the
room from 8am til 6PM, but would like a comfortable room for relaxing at night and sleeping.

Also, do you have any recommendations for dinner in that area?

Yes but back in 2012. If I recall correctly, they had different room types available and I booked a combined western and tatami one, that was larger than the basic double or twin. It was sold as suitable for 3 adults with one on a futon on the floor. It was fine for us for our 4 nights. We like their clever use of space, they always seem to have enough storage space etc. We liked the location too.

Btw on our recent April trip this year we stayed in (and loved) the Richmond International Premier Asakusa which is new and very very well located! It's just opposite the older Richmond International Asakusa, so location of that one is also excellent.

Thanks for your reply, Kavey.

If we stay in Asakusa it will be to be within walking distance of the Asakusa Tobu Nikko line to go to Nikko. I believe the Tobu Nikko station is very close to the Dormy Inn. Is the Richmond Hotel within walking distance of the Dormy Inn? I have a cancelable Queen size room booked at the Dormy Inn which is larger than a regular room, but not quite as large as the tatami room, which is not available for our dates.

Our alternative hotel is in Shinjuku, in which case we would have to rely on JR trains from Shinjuku station to get to Nikko which is more limiting than going from Asakusa. The Shinjuku hotel is one we stayed at several years ago, and which we liked very much.

Shelley, I hesitate to chime in here, since I have stayed at other Dormy Inns, but not the one in Tokyo. I find them to be functional, well run hotels, but certainly not fancy. There is little space in the lobby for a bar, or sitting, but the rooms are clean, and adequately sized.

On a positive note, I do find them to be a pleasurable place to stay. There are typically three ladies at the front desk at all times ready to assist, and that means such services as drawing elaborate maps and flow charts. Also, the free breakfasts are really something to behold--there are little elfs grilling fish and vegetables, a guy making omelettes to order, and lots of other goodies. There is also free ramen at 9 PM, and most Dormy Inn's have free onsen. So I have found the experience to be quite pleasant.

There are a bunch of small restaurants on the streets of Asakusa where you should have no trouble finding dinner.

Hi Shelley

We walked from the station by Dormy Inn over to Richmond International Premier Asakusa but it took about 7 minutes and we only had one suitcase between us, as we had used the takuhaibin (luggage forwarding) to send the other case ahead to the next destination. For us that walk wasn't a problem, and the location of the Richmond was so much in the heart of the neighbourhood that it was worth it. But the Dormy is right by the station, so it's handier for both your Nikko visit and getting around the rest of Tokyo.

I don't think you will go wrong really but I will say that a queen room will certainly feel a bit tight, especially if you are used to American hotel rooms. There is absolutely enough space in the room for you to sleep and for your luggage, if you don't have tonnes of it, but the regular rooms are not designed for people to chill in, there aren't easy chairs or sofas or anything. That said, we happily lounge on the beds with a book when we need to chill in a smaller room so it really depends on your mileage and we've stayed in few Dormy Inns, where the larger 3-4 people rooms were not available. Not the smallest rooms we've had in Japan by a long shot!

Other places I looked at in this immediate vicinity were The Gate Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon by Hulic and B:CONTE Asakusa.

By the way, we came in from Nikko to Asakusa this time, on that same Tobu line. :-)

You are very concerned about the train to Nikko it seems via JR lines from Shinjuku. Its been a very long time since I have worried about train travel in Japan and when you get home from this trip you will see that there was really nothing to worry about :)

That said I like both areas you are thinking about staying in especially Shinjuku with soooo much to do, see, shop and eat there lol. Quite a few trains leave from Shinjuku to Nikko

https://www.eki-net.com/pc/jreast-sh...u_d/index.html

and return there

https://www.eki-net.com/pc/jreast-sh...u_u/index.html

rhkkmk and I will be doing the Shinjuku to Nikko thing next April during Golden Week on one of these trains how fun :)

Aloha!

ht, that is interesting. hyperdia should show all of those l'ex trains with a search: 6AM dep, Shinjuku - Nikko, uncheck all of these: shinkansen, Nozomi, Ordinary Train, Private Railway. Route Outputs=10

But it only shows the Nikko 1 train. Only two other trains on that first timetable actually stop at Nikko. Search with Private Railway checked and there is a transfer from JR to Tobu at Tochigi.

Nikko 17 and 63 run on special days and have the same times (except Ikebukuro is one minute later on Nikko 63. They must run on different days. They weren't running on May 2, during GW, so I wonder what those special days are. Maybe some big Nikko festival.

Anyway, that timetable table gives an idea on a Nikko trip that I am planning, probably from Shinjuku. That idea is to go to Kinugawa Onsen on JR first and then to Nikko.

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/routemaps/nikko_kinugawa.html

Tobu trains run out of and into Shinjuku station for a while now. There is a Tobu ticket office and gates located in Shinjuku station. We will be renting a car in Nikko and driving up to the falls and Kinugawa Onsen. When are you going mrw?

Aloha!

the trains are direct from Shinjuku they just change tracks JR to Tobu outside of Tokyo

Hi ht-Acoording to hyperdia, from Shinjuku, there is only one morning Tobu train (at 7:30am) and one afternoon Tobu train (at 4:40) in Nov. They run more trains up til the end of Oct., but that doesn't help me in Nov.

Sounds like you and Bob have another fun trip planned together. But Japan during Golden Week...oy vey. Good luck with that. Will Prince Robert be willing to share the trains with the crowds he will inevitably encounter, or is he reserving a private car for the 4 of you.lol

BTW-The hotel we have tentatively reserved in Shinjuku is the Citadine's where we stayed 3 years ago. We stayed there on your recommendation. It worked great for us.

which is why I showed you the up to date JR East schedule for these trains. Hyperdia although very good is not the perfect animal. I see 7:30, 10:30 and 1:10 every day in the morning and November is the start of the peak fall travel season so the other three trains should be running at that time even if not showed on hyperdia. If there are schedule changes to the current train schedule this site I show is the site that will show the changes not hyperdia. This company runs these trains hyperdia only shows hyperdia's version of current schedules. Hyperdia will usually pick up schedules of these special private line run trains only periodically or seasonally.
Famous last words....trust me on this :)

We will travel against the "flow" of people and on the off days so we should be ok in GW. We will have Robert out front leading the block and clearing the way for us to travel more smoothly haha :)

Aloha!

>> I see 7:30, 10:30 and 1:10 every day

I'll take a JR timetable for JR trains over hyperdia any time they conflict, BUT am not sure there is any conflict.

ht where do you see the 10:30 and 1:10 trains? That JR timetable shows 10:31 and 13:01. If you mean those, then they don't stop at Tobu Nikko, according to that timetable.

HyperDia does show those two trains and the third "Kinugawa" train on page 2 - when the destination is KINUGAWA-ONSEN.

The JR timetable shows three Nikko trains, Nikko 1, 17, and 63 that terminate at Tobu Nikko. Only Nikko 1 is daily.

The last two run on peak and special days only (and my guess is that they never run on the same days). If I knew what those days were then I would wager that they appear on hyperdia.

>>They run more trains up til the end of Oct., but that doesn't help me in Nov.

shellyk, when, for example?

ht, I am planning to be back in Japan in early April. Got a nice C fare on ANA: LAX-NRT-ITM, NRT-LAX. Thought I might finally get to Unazuki Onsen but it is too early in the season.

mrw-I think there is an 8:21 train that get in at 10:21 that runs until the end of Oct.

mrw-I am going to Nikko as a day trip , so I need a train that arrives in Nikko in the morning so I have at least 4 or 5 hours in Nikko.

>>there is an 8:21 train

Ok, thanks, that is the JR Ltd Exp Nikko 63. Found it on hyperdia on some days in Sept. (the 17th-19th).

I believe hyperdia is not missing anything in this case (the case of Shinjuku->Nikko on JR L'Ex).

From Nikko, the JR timetable shows 3 trains: one daily and two non-daily (same dep times), like the northbound timetable. Nikko 64 runs on Sept 17, according to hyperdia.

IOW, if hyperdia is only showing you only the Nikko 1/8 trains on both of your day-trip days then those are your only options for a trip from Shinjuku with no transfers.

But, you could leave Nikko later and make two transfers. Leave at 19:03 and your travel time is 2 minutes shorter on the three trains than on the one ltd exp. Would be dark by 7PM, but maybe they light things up.

IOW, I believe that if hyperdia ...

Shigetsu Ryokan is in Asakusa. That place was being recommended here by someone maybe 10 years ago, maybe longer. A couple people took that recco and liked it. I saw that name at japaneseguesthouses yesterday and thought I'd mention it here, FWIW.

idk I read

"The Nikko and the Kinugawa are trains that debuted in 2006, limited express trains providing service from central Tokyo to the World Heritage Site Nikko. Departing from Shinjuku, the trains stop at Ikebukuro and Omiya before transferring to Tobu Railway tracks, where they proceed to Tobu-nikko Station and Kinugawa-onsen Station. "

But I'm done

Aloha!

We used to stay at Shigetsu Ryokan all the time. It was quite nice, the included breakfast was great, and their Japan style room was perfect for our family of four.

Take this with a gran of salt, as our last time here was probably in 1994, but we didn't enjoy it as much then. They had gotten very popular with foreigners and had raised prices sigficantly and no longer included breakfast. Worse, they started posting "rules" and were not as friendly as before.

Asakusa is a terrific spot, especially when you are new to Tokyo, but we started trying places in other parts of the city and never returned to Shigetsu.

Hopefully, they are doing better now.