The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon

Guys, I have sooooo many Japan stories to tell! I must let loose on the world the delicious food I had, the sights I visited, my public transport experiences and all the places I rested my head on a pillow at. Let’s kick off with Gate Hotel Kaminarimon, a boutique hotel located on the main and most vivid street of Asakusa – this place is the traditional temple town of Tokyo (now that’s aliteration!). Well, to be fair, it’s also got its fair share of modernity, but the temples are the main draw and there’s still festivals that take place in and around the shrines through the year.

We stayed here for one night. The Gate Hotel is designed to be looked at, no, I mean stared at, especially the reception on the top floor, which I’ll let the picture do the talking, as I can’t find a good enough adjective!

Aside from the room being a nice place to relax after our long journey (I can’t sleep on planes sadly, so I needed a bit of time to relax), there was lots of space for our three suitcases, and more importantly….the Tokyo Sky Tree and the Senso-Ji wasn’t too bad of a view.

Staying At The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon

The bed was my favourite though, it was just a shame our schedule was so full, the bed would have been a good tourist site to visit. Wi-Fi was good too and didn’t explode with three people uploading photos, checking Facebook and generally FOMO-ing.

Now, let’s talk about the toilet! Yes, I know that’s a weird way to start a sentence, but this thing had a control panel you probably need to go to university to understand completely. Thankfully no one in our party managed to crash or break it!  The shower was pretty much all you need after two long flights. (Well, except Ryan Gosling … )

The terrace was where we spent an evening drinking, and it might have been the cocktails, but I was definitely bowled over looking across the sea of neon lights that is Tokyo.

Breakfast At The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon, Tokyo

Breakfast was a fusion type thing – West meets East and all that. Because our itinerary was so packed we didn’t managed to grab any other meals at the hotel but if breakfast is something to go by, we missed out.

Things To Do Near The Gate Hotel Kaminarimon in Asakusa

Location, location, location is a mantra to live by right? Well, this place was a quick walk from Asakusa Station (which is served by three metro lines) and near to 6th century AD Senso-Ji Temple – one of the city’s oldest religious sites, Otori-jinja Shrine where you can pray to one of the lucky seven gods of fortune and touch the shrine’s famous mask., and the Nakamise Dori shopping street where everything from clogs (Dutch connection!) to dolls, hairbrushes and local sweets are on sale.

So this is one Gate I’m gonna leave open … I shall return.