Hello, and welcome back to my series about ryokan and hotels in Tokyo! My name is Roza Akino, and I live and work in Japan. I love staying at traditional inns, ryokan, whenever I go on a trip, and am excited to introduce you to some lesser-known ryokan and hotels in Tokyo. Let’s dive in!
So far, the two places I visited have been on the traditional side, but today’s location is actually a hotel. The Ueno First City Hotel, to be precise. Comparing the feel of the hotel versus a ryokan should be interesting, as I’ve never thought about it too deeply before.
As I walk the few minutes it takes to get to the hotel from Yushima Station on the Chiyoda line, I pass by a variety of stores, some modern but some very traditional-looking. There is an antique store with a tatami display case, and next to it, an ancient-looking shrine. It almost looks out of place in its city surroundings, and yet fits right in just perfectly.
Ancient looking, right?
A view of the 6-floor hotel from the outside
I arrive at my destination and climb up some steps to meet with Noritake-san, the owner of the hotel, in the hotel café next to the slightly fancy-looking lobby.
A Hawaiian theme –
The café is very bright with some natural wood accents – the cups and plates, the tables, the chairs, even the countertop where the food is brought out from the kitchen are all white. It makes for a very simple yet clean feel, comfortable to be in without any distractions. On the walls hang some Hawaiian-themed paintings. The crisp clean bright atmosphere of the café is a welcome respite from the messy reality of this time of COVID-19.
Michiyo-san
My eyes can’t help but to wander to the photos of the menu food on the wall…but that can wait. Noritake-san greets me at the entrance, and introduces me to his wife, Michiyo-san, who is in charge of everything that happens in the café: from the design to the cooking.
Despite its un-traditional name, Ueno First City Hotel was originally a traditional Japanese inn named Fushimi Ryokan, built in 1950. As I listen to Noritake-san, he explains that during the 1980s many ryokan were renovated into hotels because they lost popularity among the general Japanese population, especially in Tokyo. More and more guests were preferring beds over futons, and so Fushimi Ryokan turned into a business hotel.
Noritake-san and I
However, even though the ryokan itself is gone, the spirit behind the lodging has stayed the same. Ueno First City Hotel has retained its family-run feel, and this is especially apparent in the care that Michiyo-san, puts into the café menu. She does all of the cooking, and I can tell she feels a sense of pride by doing so.
The café menu
This café is a relatively recent addition to the hotel, and is a way for the owners to show their omotenashi – hospitality – toward the guests. It is also of course open to people who aren’t staying at the hotel. There’s free Wi-Fi, and each seat at the bar-style table has an outlet, which makes it the perfect place to get some work done. There are no unnecessary distractions either – except for maybe the delicious smell of the food your neighbor is eating.
Each seat has an outlet
I ask Noritake-san what their most-recommended item on the menu is, to which he replies that the breakfast is quite popular. In fact, if you look at the restaurant tab on their site, the very first image that will pop up is a mouth-watering photo of grilled salmon. The salmon is part of the traditional Japanese breakfast served here (in a breakfast hall separate from the café), and many of the guests stay at this hotel just to enjoy it, especially since most hotels don’t serve this type of Japanese-style breakfast. Michiyo-san starts cooking the fish once the guests take their seat, so the salmon is hot and fresh off the grill. At a very modest price of \900, it’s great for your budget as well. I quickly make a mental note and add it to my “to try” list.
Suppressing my urge to ask if the breakfast would be possible to try at two in the afternoon, I decide to indulge my sweet tooth and go with the French toast, which uses a special ingredient: shio koji, a seasoning made from fermented cooked rice. For the topping, you can choose between honey, maple syrup, brown sugar syrup with kinako powder, or agave syrup.
I decide to try the brown sugar syrup with kinako.
French toast in the making – don’t worry, no trade secrets were revealed here!
Michiyo-san personally selects the tea on the menu
Some herb tea as I wait
The smell is just divine
Kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup) with kinako French Toast à la Mode
The French toast is made from scratch, so it takes a little while to come out. When it finally does, I take my first bite – an explosion of flavors and textures comes over me as the warm bread collides with the cold ice cream. It has the perfect balance of sweet, with a hint of salt from the shio koji which is its (not so) secret ingredient (it’s written on the menu). There is also a crunchy texture that goes well with the soft part of the bread. Another characteristic of the French toast is that Michiyo-san is very particular about the type of bread she uses. Her choice is a bread that falls somewhere between soft white bread and French bread, making for a final product that is perfection.
Some of the best French toast I’ve tried!
Pillows!
With my belly full, I ask Noritake-san to show me the rooms. As we move through the beautiful lobby, the wall catches my eye. What’s this? Pillows?
Here at Ueno First City Hotel, you can choose from a variety of four pillows. Personally, I have never stayed at a hotel where I could have my pick of pillows, so to me this is very exciting. Not only that, all of the beds here use a Simmons mattress, ensuring a good-night’s sleep for all of its guests.
They take sanitization seriously here – there is even an alcohol sanitation pump in the elevator!
One of the larger rooms that was renovated into a modern-style Japanese room
Although this hotel was originally a business hotel and had only single rooms, five years ago it was renovated to make bigger rooms to accommodate travelers and families. Out of the 77 rooms here, there are 5 large modern Japanese-style rooms fit for multiple people, the biggest of which accommodates up to 6 people.
Simplicity and tradition
A traditional Japanese tatami room
Another room with beautiful aesthetics
And the bath is quite spacious too!
The area surrounding the hotel is notable as well. During the Edo period, this was an area where samurai lived. Even now, you can find many traditional old shops that have been here for generations, for example a nearby traditional Japanese sweets shop, and a shop that sells traditional boxwood combs. Despite that it’s only a 6-minute walk from the Okachimachi station on the bustling Yamanote Line, the neighborhood is relatively quiet.
I think I will definitely have to find some time to stay here, even if just for a change of scenery (and delicious breakfast of course). Hopefully you’ll have a chance to check it out as well!
Until next time…
supported by Tokyo Hotels and Ryokans Association