Budget Hotel in Tokyo

In Tokyo, reasonably priced quality hotels like the Andon Ryokan are rare. A modern interpretation of the traditional Japanese inn, the five-storey Andon contains 24 rooms on three floors. Space is optimally used. The units are only seven square metres in size, with sanitary facilities grouped together in a core in the building. The steel structure is enclosed within a facade of translucent and transparent glass, metal panels and wooden lattice grilles. The corridor soffits are clad with expanded-metal mesh. Every room has a DVD-player, and there is a whirlpool bath on the third floor. As in traditional Japanese houses, the dimensions of the tatami mat (roughly 90 ? 180 cm) determine the standard module for the rooms. Apart from a small inbuilt cupboard, there is no furniture. The futon is simply rolled out in the evening. White surfaces and full-height sliding windows lend the rooms a bright, airy quality. The reception, breakfast area and kitchen form a compact space that can be divided by sliding expanded-metal elements reminiscent of traditional paper-covered walls. Scarcely larger than a phone box, the reception is closed up in the evening like a cupboard. In the corridors, which are finished in black, ceiling lights gleam brightly in the darkness, lending the interior a mysterious note. Even the name of the hotel conjures other associations: “andon” means a simple lamp that showed the way to travellers in former times.