Nov. 23, 2015
Photo: Kastuhiro AOKI ©RSTORE 2015
Have you ever wanted to spend the night in a bookstore or your favorite library? Well have we got the perfect hotel for you.
The newly opened Book and Bed Tokyo is a twist on the typical Japanese capsule hotel, where guests sleep in small, bunk-like spaces surrounded by books.
Photo : Kastuhiro AOKI ©RSTORE 2015
According to the hotel’s website:
The perfect setting for a good nights sleep is something you will not find here. There are no comfortable mattresses, fluffy pillows nor lightweight and warm down duvets.
What we do offer is an experience while reading a book (or comic book)… the blissful “instant of falling asleep”.
It is already 2 am but you think just a little more… with heavy drooping eye lids you continue reading only to realize you have fallen asleep.Dozing off obliviously during your treasured pasttime is the finest “moment of sleep”, don’t you agree?
As with most capsule hotels or hostels, a night at Book and Bed Tokyo is fairly affordable: around 28 to 36 USD per night. Amenities include a vending machine, shared bathrooms, free wifi, and most importantly, books! The lobby’s bookshelf space contains about 1700 titles in both Japanese and English, provided by Shibuya Publishing & Booksellers. And judging by the posts already populating Instagram, people love it.
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| Instagram photo by @alfaromeo_julia |
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| Instagram photo by @usi_uni_u |
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| Instagram photo by @kuwaharai |
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| Instagram photo by @herocy01 |
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Instagram photo by @yuma_matsumoto |
Photo courtesy of BOOK and BED TOKYO ©RSTORE 2015
The PR photo of what the beds at Book and Bed Tokyo look like…
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| Instagram photo by @yascoffeee
…contrasted with a slightly more realistic pic from Instagram user @yascaffeee.
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If you’d rather not forgo a comfy bed, but still want to experience the hotel, you can spend a few hours there during the day for only about 12 USD.
Book and Bed Tokyo’s design by Suppose Design Office is warm and cozy. The open bookshelf lets you peek into the bunk beds behind, and the lobby’s communal seating area is furnished by deep sofas that are perfect for sprawling out and nodding off. Books hang artistically from the ceiling and the space blends natural wood with industrial details.
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| Instagram photo by @key5dk |
Book and Bed’s minimal but stylish door sign.
Photo courtesy of BOOK and BED TOKYO ©RSTORE 2015
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| Instagram photo by @yuma_matsumoto |
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| Instagram photo by @keiichiisoiso |
The hotel itself is on the seventh floor of the Lumiere office building. The elevator opens onto this tight check-in space. The beds and lobby are behind a key code entry door.
Nearly bed time!
The concept of Book and Bed, as explained by So Rikimaru of the hotel’s managing company, R-Store, started with his own experience:
When I go to five-star hotels, the bed is lovely but I find myself wanting to sleep in the bar. Even if there is a comfortable bed, sometimes you still want to be in a more interesting place.
As someone who would gladly spend most of the night hanging around in a bookstore rather than a hotel room while I’m traveling, I’d have to agree with Rikimaru on this one, and go a step further to say this idea is GENIUS.
Book and Bed is located in Ikebukuro, a neighborhood in the northwest section of Tokyo.Trip Advisor users have described the location as “perfect”: quiet, close to trains, etc. According to reports, Book and Bed is already booking up months in advance, so reserve your bed early!
About Tasha Brandstatter
Tasha Brandstatter is a freelance writer, art historian, and bibliophile who blogs about books at Truth Beauty Freedom and Books. She will work for champagne and then tweet about it: @heidenkind.
From: Book Riot
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