HomeikanvsRyokan Sawanoya
Both Homeikan and Ryokan Sawanoya are highly recommended by expert reviewers. Overall, Ryokan Sawanoya scores slightly higher than Homeikan. Ryokan Sawanoya scores 80 with recommendations from 7 publications like Fodor's, Rough Guide and Time Out.
Homeikan
5-10-5 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033
From $135/night
- Hot Tub
- Air Conditioning
- Refrigerator
Concierge
"The rooms are all Japanese-style... either "ordinary" for budget travelers or the marginally more expensive "authentic and traditional." Opt for the latter."
i
Homeikan also offers massage services, as well as Japanese breakfasts and dinners on request.
Lonely Planet
"Atop a slope in a quiet residential neighbourhood, the venerable Hōmeikan is a beautifully crafted wooden ryokan." Full review
DK Eyewitness
"Designated as an “important cultural property” is this atmospheric old wooden ryokan with a Japanese garden."
Time Out
"This wonderful old ryokan in the sleepy streets of Hongo looks just like a Japanese inn ought to: wooden, glass-fronted and with an ornamental garden at the front." Full review
Frommer's
"This lovely place is my number-one choice if you want to experience an authentic, traditional ryokan in a traditional neighborhood." Full review
Ryokan Sawanoya
2-3-11 Yanaka, Taito, Tokyo Prefecture 110-0001
From $0/night
- Hot Tub
- Free Internet
- Laundry Service
- Laundy Room
- Multilingual
- Air Conditioning
Rough Guide
"Though nothing fancy, it offers good-value tatami rooms."
Fodor's
"The shitamachi area is known for its down-to-earth friendliness, which you get in full measure at Sawanoya.... it is very popular with budget travelers." Full review
Lonely Planet
Top choice
"The Sawanoya is a budget gem in quiet Yanaka, with very friendly staff and all the traditional hospitality you would expect of a ryokan." Full review
DK Eyewitness
"A great place to meet fellow travelers, this long-established ryokan is popular with foreign guests."
Time Out
"One of the few ryokan in Tokyo to cater almost exclusively for foreign visitors, Sawanoya has a small library of English-language guidebooks and provides its own map of the old-fashioned Yanaka area." Full review
The Telegraph
8.0
"One of Tokyo’s most charming family-run traditional ryokan inns – clean, friendly, comfortable and quintessentially Japanese." Full review
Frommer's
"This is a great place to stay thanks to Sawa-san's enthusiastic devotion to his neighborhood... Highly recommended." Full review