Jimbocho, the World's Coolest Neighbourhood: Where to Stay
In September 2025, Time Out named Jimbocho in Tokyo the number one entry on its list of the World's Coolest Neighbourhoods for 2025, ranking it first among 39 neighbourhoods worldwide. Borgerhout in Antwerp, Belgium, came second.
Why Jimbocho?
Time Out judged each neighbourhood on culture, community, liveability, nightlife, food and drink, street life, and a sense of the present moment. Jimbocho won not as a polished tourist district, but as a working neighbourhood.
At its centre is one of the largest concentrations of second-hand bookshops in the world, with around 130 stores. In an age of generative AI, a district built on printed paper took the top spot. That contrast is much of the story.
Jimbocho has been a student and publishing quarter for more than a century. Universities and publishing houses are still here, and so are the people who work in them. The old coffee houses, the European-style curry restaurants, and the independent bookshops down the back lanes are part of daily life rather than a display for visitors.
What you can do there
- Browse around 130 second-hand bookshops, many specialising in a single field such as art books, foreign-language titles, ukiyo-e prints, or antique maps
- Spend an afternoon in a coffee house that has been open since the Showa era
- Eat your way through the curry restaurants — Jimbocho is known for them
- Walk the back streets, where independent bookshops and small galleries sit side by side
Many bookshops close on Sundays, and opening hours vary from shop to shop. If you have a particular store in mind, please check before you go.
Getting there from D-RYOKAN
D-RYOKAN Myogadani Korakuen is a 9-minute walk from Myogadani Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line, in the quiet academic district of Koishikawa, Bunkyo City. Jimbocho is about 15 minutes away.
How to get to Jimbocho
Take the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line from Myogadani Station to Korakuen Station (one stop, about 2 minutes). Korakuen Station connects underground to Kasuga Station on the Toei subway. From Kasuga, take the Toei Mita Line two stops to Jimbocho Station.
Our own neighbourhood belongs to the same world of universities and old bookshops. The Koishikawa Botanical Gardens and the cherry-lined Harimazaka slope are within walking distance, the University of Tokyo is about 18 minutes by train, and Korakuen Station for Tokyo Dome is about 2 minutes by subway.
Why a longer stay works better here
Jimbocho is not a place you finish in a day. With 130 bookshops, no itinerary is ever long enough. You look through one shop, rest in a coffee house, and come back the next day for a different street. The district rewards that pace.
All 14 of our rooms are private and lockable, and we welcome long stays.
- Self check-in, available from 15:00 until 5:00 AM the next morning. Entry is by keypad, so a late arrival is not a problem
- Shared kitchen with an induction hob, for travellers who would rather not eat out every night
- A desk and free Wi-Fi in every room, for reading what you bought and for work
- Luggage storage from 10:00 to 22:00. Free on the day of check-in and the day of check-out; JPY 500 per day otherwise, payable at the property
Bathrooms, toilets and the kitchen are shared. That is how we keep this location at this price.
For stays of 7 nights or more, a cleaning service including bed linen change is provided every 7 nights, at an additional charge of JPY 1,500 per person per bed, payable at the property. Guest rooms are not cleaned during your stay. Shared facilities (toilets, shower rooms and kitchen) are cleaned daily.