The journey began with a question of how Japan could be better introduced to foreigners through my job. Ryokans in Japan were disappearing at the time, and the number of ryokans keeps decreasing each year. I believe the best way for foreign visitors to understand Japan, and people of Japan is to stay at a ryokan to experience our lifestyle, culture, and prevalent hospitality. My wish was to build a ryokan in Tokyo, and Tokyo's first designer ryokan was established on June 12th, 2003.
We are located within a 5-minute-walking-distance from the Arakawa Line Minowabashi Station and the Hibiya Line Minowa Station where it has a friendly shitamachi (traditional working-class neighborhood) atmosphere. We are also near Ueno and Asakusa, and a 15-minute-walking-distance from the JR Minamisenju Station. Tokyo Skytree is within 2.4 km radius, and can be viewed from our open rooftop terrace. We hope that the visitors from all over the world as well as from Japan relax at Andon and enjoy exchanging travel stories.
Andon Ryokan was established on June 12th, 2003. Our journey began with a simple question of how Japanese lifestyle could be introduced to foreign visitors whether on their business or leisure travels. When Andon Ryokan took its first step, there were many Westernized hotels newly built, and traditional wooden ryokans were disappearing. We believe that the shortcut to understanding of Japanese lifestyle is better accomplished in a ryokan than a hotel. We had the opportunity to meet the famous architect, Professor Masayuki Irie of Waseda University and we requested that he designed our ryokan. When discussing the design of our ryokan, we showed him "Ariake Andon (bedside lamp)", a favorite piece of our antique collections. He then suggested that we designed our ryokan with the image of this andon (lamp.) Our building is modern and comfortable, with sound proof to support pleasant sleep, and decorated with a collection of Japanese antiques where guests can enjoy beauty of traditional Japanese arts. In 2005, Andon ryokan was awarded a prestigious prize winning in the architectural contest organized by the Architectural Institute of Japan. In January of 2009, pop artist Mie Ishii created an artwork on 4m Arita Yaki (Japanese traditional porcelain) tiles in Atelier Fukushima. His artwork completed the renewal of one of our baths available for private parties. By providing safe and comfortable atmosphere, let us help you further enjoy your stay in Japan and make unforgettable memories. There are some ryokans in Tokyo however we think our ryokan is one of the most unique ryokans in Tokyo. We are looking forward to hosting you as our guest at Andon Ryokan.
