When staying in Tokyo for an extended period, options typically include business hotels or weekly mansions.
However, even if you find a relatively affordable business hotel for 7,000 yen per night, that’s 49,000 yen for a week.
Most weekly mansions, including cleaning fees, end up costing the same or more.
In recent years, due to the increase in foreign tourists and resulting hotel shortages, especially on weekends and holidays, regular business hotels often exceed 10,000 yen per night—outrageous prices.
So I decided to stay at affordable accommodations in Minami-Senju, which also helped me during job hunting.
If you search, you can find places from around 2,000 yen per night, saving money, and the transportation is convenient since you can quickly get to Ueno.
It’s a doya-gai (skid row), so there are many homeless people and day laborers around, but I personally haven’t experienced any particular danger or high crime rates, and statistically, the crime rate doesn’t appear to be especially high either.
I think it’s a viable option for those wanting to stay in Tokyo on a budget!
Tokyo’s Largest Doya-gai: Minami-Senju
The area south of Minami-Senju Station is called “Sanya,” known as Tokyo’s largest doya-gai where many day laborers live.
“Doya” is “yado” (inn) spelled backwards, referring to cheap lodging houses.
Because there were many cheap inns, workers began gathering here, and it became known as a yoseba (a place where day laborers stay, commonly called doya-gai) in Tokyo’s Taito and Arakawa wards (former place name). Due to convenient transportation and budget hotels, it has also become popular with backpackers since 2000.
Sanya (Tokyo) – Wikipedia
This might raise concerns about safety, but unlike Osaka’s Airin district, the crime rate here doesn’t appear to be particularly high.
In fact, while I occasionally passed somewhat unsteady older men or saw people sleeping on the streets, I wasn’t bothered or witnessed any dangerous places or situations even once during my 16-day stay.
※Of course, crime isn’t nonexistent, so please be sufficiently cautious
The area has many cheap accommodation facilities like these:
There are also convenience stores, supermarkets, and some bars and diners that feel a bit intimidating to enter, filled mostly with local older men.
This is also the setting for “Ashita no Joe,” where Namida Bridge is located.
The famous eel restaurant “Obana” I wrote about before is also in Minami-Senju. Having a high-end eel restaurant near a station with a doya-gai right nearby creates quite a chaotic situation.
Three Recommended Hotels I’ve Stayed At
Just wandering around and finding accommodation on the spot would be quite challenging.
So here are three hotels I’ve stayed at and can recommend.
※Most accommodations in this area have shared toilets and baths, lockable shower booths, and rooms about 3 tatami mats in size. Many have Wi-Fi, and all three below are Wi-Fi equipped.
▼ Kangaroo Hotel
About 3,000 yen per night, the stylish “Kangaroo Hotel” with exposed concrete.
It was apparently created to help people enjoy Tokyo more affordably.
Rooms go up to the 3rd floor, but note there’s no elevator.
The 1st floor has coin laundry and showers, with microwaves, toilets, and washbasins on each floor.
The room interior. It’s small, but all accommodations in this area are similar.
Being a new building, it’s both stylish and clean.
While the area has many foreign backpackers, I noticed particularly many at this hotel.
▼ Economy Hotel Hoteiya
“Economy Hotel Hoteiya” where I stayed for about two weeks this time.
While not as new and stylish as Kangaroo Hotel, it’s cheap at 2,700 yen per night and has adequate facilities like showers, coin laundry, and microwaves.
The air conditioning seems a bit dated.
Occasionally passing hermit-like long-term residents is a bit surprising (and they smell quite a bit), but it’s fine for sleeping and light work.
Among the three I’m mentioning, this is probably the most authentically doya-gai-like accommodation.
▼ Business Hotel Fukusen
“Business Hotel Fukusen” offers reasonably clean rooms at affordable rates.
I stayed here about 8 years ago during job hunting, and I remember it being very clean, close to the station, and quite useful.
This one has an atmosphere I could recommend even to women.
Accommodation costs around 2,800-3,200 yen.
Note that there’s a curfew (23:00).
Using Airbnb is Another Option
From the perspective of staying in Tokyo cost-effectively, the home-sharing service “Airbnb” is also a viable option.
You can choose from room sharing to entire apartments or houses, with various price settings. There are expensive luxury apartments as well as budget options.
From my research, bookings are less likely to fill up compared to hotels, so even when hotels are unavailable on weekends, Airbnb often has availability. Worth checking out.
Afterword
There are many other accommodations besides those mentioned above, so you could search and book through websites, or if you’re adventurous, try walking around and looking on the day of.
Personally, when going budget I want to go really budget, and when going luxury I want to go all-out luxury, so for the former case, these cost-effective hotels are appreciated.
Please use this as reference when you want to stay in Tokyo affordably for extended periods!
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