NUI. HOSTEL & BAR LOUNGE FOR SOLO TRAVELLERS (TOKYO, JAPAN)

by - Friday, February 03, 2017

Bar Lounge X Hostel 

Nui.Tokyo Central Hostel looks strangely out of place despite its modern forward-facing exterior with the ceiling-to-floor glass windows. Perhaps due to the location. Nested among the quiet neighbouring district of  Kurame, off Asakusa district, you will find local estates nearby (more about its surroundings later). Location wise it is definitely a prime spot to get you to downtown Tokyo within minutes. 
 (Check out the latest pricing for your upcoming travel dates.)


Concept

Nui is an integrated hostel with bar lounge services come night time. What greets you at the 1st level of the main lobby will be the stylish, contemporary interior. Makes you feel right at home, right? 


Bar Lounge

A popular waterhole bar for the working class, the bar was filled to the brim when I returned "home"  every night during my stay. The crowd was definitely not rowdy and they were all pretty decent, talking and drinking. For female travellers, there should be no worry about safety as this was unlike a club/dancing setting. If you are not exhausted, join the crowd and enjoy the live band music! 

Sound Proof

From the lobby/bar area, take a lift and head to 2nd level and up, to where the rooms are. The noise gets filtered out and there was no disturbance at all. For someone who is especially sensitive to noise, I can certainly testify to the sound-proof abilities. By the way, the patrons of the bar do smoke indoors as I noted. 

In the morning coffee and breakfast are served at the bar counter but at an additional charge.


Price

A mini lift serves hostel guests up to different levels. I spent a total of SGD $113 for 4 nights, about SGD$30+ per night for an 8-bed all female dormitory, which was fairly reasonable for a night stay in Tokyo.

Room Tour

Once up, you will spot many other family/couple rooms along the corridor. It was not appropriate to take photos inside the dorm with the occupants, but well it was made up of 4 double bunk beds with a middle walkway. You know typical arrangements. 
Each bed came attached with a bed lamp, charging ports and free wifi. There were also common cupboards and locks for safe keep your items. 
The bed was fairly comfortable enough and came with everything a dorm needs, warm enough from the outside cold.
My room of 8 beds were all taken up and so were the other rooms when I was there in April.


Common Area

Washroom/Toilet

Each level comes with one common washroom/toilet. Amenities like soap, laundry baskets, hairdryers are available and fairly clean. No towels provided to guests, you may purchase with them if necessary. 
 It was stated that after 2300 and before 0500~0600 in the morning, the hairdryer should not be used in case of disturbance to other guests.
Take note: Toilets are shared among males and females so this might be a problem for some females due to privacy.
 However, often, when I had my showers, there was only 1 or 2 person in the spacious washroom and there was no mad rush. With many shower stalls of about 10 (?), I did not have to queue with a bunch of people to fight for showers.  In terms of privacy, I felt quite safe somehow and was not worried about someone peeping. Their staff often make rounds to the bathroom too.
The couple/family rooms will have their mini bathroom within. 


Kitchen/Pantry

You can cook, boil water or use any of the kitchen utensils/ equipment. A huge common fridge is also available.

Condiments like oil, sauces were also available for use.
All utensils were neatly categorised. 


Lounge

Just beside the kitchen on the highest level, is the lounge/seating area. 

 Tourists information booklets were readily available.

Books for your browsing.

 You can come up here if you need to do some reading or research, sunlight is ample in the day and the whole area looks lovely enough to spend a morning in if you have the time to linger.


Location

In the day, it is a quiet neighbourhood among residential, mini-shops, kindergartens and even a fire station.  The hostel is a short walk of 15-20 minutes to Asakusa when you stroll along the Sumida River.


Spotting Nui.

 Nui. may look 'hidden' among the similar looking buildings, spot the fire station and Nui. will be the first building right around the corner right across.
 The nearest station will be Kuramae Station on either Oedo Line or Asakusa Line.

This is the Fire Station facing Nui.


Surroundings

Bicycle rentals were available at the hostel. In a little enclave, surrounded by shops and residential units, Nui. is a quiet place to be away from the hustle of the city area without compromising on the location and convenience. Just to add on that the staff were well-spoken in English too.

I walked around the neighbourhood and spotted a kindergarten, bright and cheery.

It was not opened on weekends so did not spot any adorable kids around.


The Sakura however made a lovely complement with the school 

I next spotted a communal park/sports facility.

And there were children playing baseball.

Spotted pretty Plum Blossoms (Maehwa) in bloom.

The pretty pink and white.
These Maehwa blooms were so vibrant and strong, they were even better than the other withering Sakura blooms I saw during my trip.




 Nui.Tokyo Hostel & Bar Lounge is definitely a worthy place to consider for your stay in Tokyo — dorm or private room style. They have it all and the prices are reasonable too. Do consider!


Nui.Tokyo Central Hostel.,

 2-14-13 Kuramae Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan.


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