Family-Friendly Hotels in Asakusa: Old Tokyo Charm by Sensoji Temple

When you start looking for a family hotel in Asakusa, it is hard to know what to judge it by. What makes this area distinctive is that Kaminarimon Gate, the Nakamise shopping street, and Sensoji Temple all sit together in one cluster, so the sights are packed into a stretch that even a small child can cover on foot. Tokyo Skytree is close by, just across the Sumida River, which makes it easy to cut the day into short segments and easy to plan around a child whose nap time you cannot predict.

The appeal of the Asakusa area is that the sightseeing is dense while the pace of getting around stays gentle. Buy a snack on Nakamise and eat as you stroll, rest for a while in the temple grounds, then catch the breeze on the waterfront along the Sumida River. Half a day goes by on that alone. Because you spend long stretches pushing a stroller, whether you can get back to your room and lie down right away has an outsized effect on how satisfied you feel, and where you base yourself translates directly into how tired you end up.

Since you can reach Asakusa from anywhere in central Tokyo, your choice of hotel is not limited to the blocks right in front of the temple. The city has districts such as Shinagawa, Odaiba, and Roppongi, Tokyo Station, Ginza, and Nihonbashi, and Shinjuku, all linked by rail. The 56 properties covered on this page are gathered with Asakusa sightseeing as the anchor but spread across the city, so you can weigh an easy route to Sensoji first thing in the morning against a room where you can truly rest at night.

On the facilities side, it is reassuring that the basics for traveling with a baby are widely available. Crib rental is offered at 39 properties and bed guard rental at 25 properties, which makes it easier to set up a safe sleeping spot once your baby has started rolling over. Some hotels, however, set month or age limits for their cribs. For families who want tatami mat floors, there are 18 properties with Japanese style or Japanese Western style rooms, including hotels with Japanese style guest rooms such as Tokyo Dome Hotel and The Prince Park Tower Tokyo. Nursing rooms and formula preparation spaces are available at 6 properties, and 18 properties have a kitchenette or allow you to cook for yourselves.

Meals tend to be the biggest hurdle on a trip with children. Here, 14 properties accommodate food allergies, 9 properties offer a toddler menu, 17 properties serve meals in your room, and 6 properties have a private or semi private dining space.

Looking at individual hotels, MIMARU Tokyo Ikebukuro, MIMARU Tokyo Ueno East, MIMARU Tokyo Kinshicho, MIMARU Tokyo Asakusa Station, and Asakusa View Hotel all lend cribs and bed guards free of charge. Supplies are limited, so you need to contact the hotel or reserve ahead of time. The four MIMARU hotels have age limits for safety reasons, and because Ikyu's listing describes the baby items at Ueno East as equipment reserved for the baby plan, it is essential to confirm when you book. At Asakusa View Hotel, the crib cannot be used by a child who can pull up to stand and cannot be placed in a Four Room. All rooms at the four MIMARU hotels have a kitchen, so you can prepare hot water for formula and meals for your children in the room. At Asakusa View Hotel, preschool children can share a bed with a parent for free without separate bedding (up to one child per bed), and there are nursing rooms inside the women's restroom on the 1st floor and next to the cloakroom on the 4th floor (usage hours may be limited).

Our 5 picks in Asakusa, and why

If you only have a minute: these five are where we would start. Ranked by what families actually booked and what each hotel verifiably offers for babies and toddlers.