SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: When I first started out at Jungle Reds, I wrote a post called, Literary Hotels: Would you Stay? In it, I wrote about the Libary Hotel in New York City; the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Nye, Oregon; and the Akwaaba Inn in D.C.—all book-themed places that look absolutely lovely.
And so when I read about the Book and Bed Hostel in Tokyo, I was intrigued. Now, it's a hostel, not a hotel, so the amenities are different. The bed "areas" are small — it's a pod hotel, with bunks rather than rooms per se. There's free wi-fi and shared bathrooms. It costs around $40 per night.
However, the great thing is that it's set up to look like a bookshop. There are lots and lots of books (1,700 in different languages), and you're welcome to take whatever you'd like and read yourself to sleep.
Because that's the concept here, according to the hostel's web site: “dozing off obliviously during your treasured pastime in the finest ‘moment of sleep.... It is already two a.m., but you think, ‘Just a little more…’. With heavy drooping eyelids you continue reading only to realise you have fallen asleep.”
Lovely Reds, what do you think? Would the books be enough of a draw? Or would the lack of amenities put you off? (I'm intrigued and it's an amazing price for Tokyo. However, I'm a little concerned about the lack of doors and locks....)
Would you stay here? Do you think there's a market for something similar in the U.S.? Tell us in the comments!
