It was a lifelong dream/bucket list item of mine to live in a bookstore, so when I found out about Book and Bed Tokyo, a hostel in Tokyo that lets you stay and sleep among books, it was a no brainer ━ I had to do it. And if I had to drag Fafa to it, so be it. Fast forward to one winter afternoon in Tokyo; right after the obligatory New Year’s Day sushi lunch, we checked into Book and Bed Tokyo Asakusa branch.
A dream came true in Book and Bed Tokyo Asakusa
The place was as amazing as I visioned it to be—books and bookshelves everywhere, including Western books with plenty of reading nooks. In addition, there were a communal table, seperate sofas and a cafe! We spent the rest of the day chilling and chit-chatting there, changing from one spot to another on the floor.
I read – from Banana Yoshimoto to Doraemon, while Fafa listened to music on his phone. He drank copious amounts of coffee and had a black bun burger while I face-timed my parents and took a hundred pictures of the place. Those hours truly were some of the highlights of our honeymoon trip.
They also offered Book and Bed brand PJs rental, which of course, I had to get!
Eventually, the day turned darker, and we got ready for bed, brushing our teeth, changing into PJs in the communal bathroom and climbing into the bunk bed.
You know what? I have gone through Book and Bed Tokyo pictures gallery plenty of times. So yes, I knew we would sleep in a capsule bedroom. I was even excited to compare it with Millennial Shibuya, the capsule hotel we stayed in the day before. And I had taken a few peeks at our bed earlier in the day. So, in theory, it was all good!
The Nightmare in Book and Bed Tokyo
But, it was then, when I had to crawl inside the closed-up rectangular-shaped triplex box, I was hit with a somewhat unfamiliar feeling: claustrophobic.
Staring at the triplex ceiling that I could touch lying down if I stretched my hand a bit, I felt so uneasy. It was virtually a well-lit king-bed-sized coffin. With three closed walls and Fafa beside me, I was completely surrounded.
I had always prided myself on being “highly adaptable” ━ well, after the night in Book and Bed Tokyo, not anymore! For the first time, I also learned about what claustrophobia would be like.
I was so uncomfortable and trying my best to manage the ongoing mini panic attack without telling Fafa about it, as I knew how much he hated the concept of a capsule hotel, to begin with, and the only reason he agreed to this was that I wanted it.
Finally, not sure when, we fell asleep, only to be woken up by the loudest tourists who came past midnight, whose bed was on top of ours.
First, they dragged their luggage up, one by one. Then they kept going up and down the shared ladder. Finally, once they settled into the bunkbed, they kept moving around and chit-chatting throughout the night with not even an ounce of consideration that they woke up all the guests.
I spent the rest of the night in the dark, staring at the coffin-like ceiling, waiting for the morning to come and get the f out of there ASAP.
At the same time, I was acutely aware Fafa was doing his best not to blow up; for that, I was grateful. But that’s where my gratitude stopped.
I couldn’t understand the logic of the Book and Bed Tokyo hostel management allowing guests to check in after a particular time as it was a semi-open space, more so allocating the top of the bunk bed for late check-in tourists, essentially waking up everyone sleeping around them.
Also, tourists, can we all do better and stop being ignorant tourists, please?
If you enjoy this post, read: South Korea Hostels Dwellers Tales and 4 Friends And 1 Night At A Singapore Hostel.
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