Review of the Kamogawa ryokan in Asakusa, Tokyo
The Kamogawa ryokan is located along a side street of the Nakamise dori, the most famous street of Asakusa, a short walk from the Sensoji temple and 200 meters far from the metro station (Tokyo metro Ginza line and Toei Asakusa line).
The location of the ryokan in the context of the district of Asakusa is excellent, I can say even perfect, very close to the most popular area and metro station. My opinion is different about staying (everywhere) in the district of Asakusa, which can be a little inconvenient to reach some areas of the city, but I will not dwell on this topic.
This is a family-run ryokan, the staff at the reception (which are the owners) were very kind and spoke english the minimum necessary to welcome and give information.
On the ground floor there is a kind of cafe where they serve western breakfast, included in the price if you have booked directly with them or paying 600 yen if you book through a some website like expedia. The traditional Japanese-style breakfast costs 1000 yen, and I think you can also have kaiseki style dinner.
On the ground floor there is also a ofuro, the traditional Japanese bath, which can be used privately closing it from the inside.
I stayed in the cheapest room available, the single room without private bath.
Despite this, the size was quite acceptable (for Japanese standards I mean), below you can see a short video I shot inside. Rooms for two or three persons are much larger.
In the room I found a thermos full of hot water and a tea service with bags of green tea and roasted tea.
Then there was a tv, a fridge, telephone, heating/air conditioning with remote control and a basket with a yukata, a towel and various things for the bathroom (toothpaste, shampoo, etc).
In the entire building there is free wifi available.
A few steps from my room there was the public bathroom with sinks, showers and toilets. The public toilets aren't widely used because most of the rooms have private bathroom, and was quite clean, like the rest of the ryokan.
There is no curfew, but around 11:00 pm the owners go to sleep and the main entrance gets closed. You can still enter at any time from the back entrance through an access code. If they don't tell you this and you are going to be late, remember to ask them to explain you how to enter from the back.
Final judgement: This is surely a good accommodation although the price is a little high, but it can be partly justified by the location right next to the Nakamise Dori.
However if you are looking for the true spirit of a ryokan you definitely won't find it there (and perhaps nowhere else in Tokyo), I think it's better to call it a "nice little hotel furnished in traditional Japanese style" rather than a "ryokan".
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