Quirky art hotel in residential part of Tokyo where you become an art patron

BnA_WALL - Art Hotel / Tokyo / Japan

To find hotels is not difficult. If you don’t care too much where you lay your head, it isn’t difficult at all. Booking sites has made it incredibly easy to find and book hotels. The challenge is if you are looking for hotels that aren’t on these sites. The (often) small, unique, independent hotels that want to do their own thing usually takes a little more effort to find (and this is where I hope this blog can provide some ideas and guidance). In Tokyo there are a dizzying array of mega-hotels spread over town, but there are not too many (and I can say this after some extensive research) of the independent boutique hotels that I really love to stay it. One of them, is this one, BnA Wall Art Hotel.

This 26-key hotel is located in the historic Nihombashi district. Although it is central, the neighborhood where the hotel is located in feels residential and calm for a city of this size (which is something I appreciate). The idea behind this hotel is that it isn’t only a hotel with art but you actually get to stay IN an art piece. Their tag line is; stay in an art piece, become a patron. What this means I will share below.

The hotel has a small bar/cafe and is also a mural art factory. There is a huge wall that stretches from the basement to the ground floor and every three months there is a new mural created here to allow different artists to showcase their craft.

All the rooms at BnA Wall Art Hotel are unique and have been created by 14 Tokyo-based artists. And to come back to the patron-part of the tagline which I wrote about above. The thing is when you stay in a room, a percentage of your booking goes to the artist responsible for creating the art in the room. I love this idea! We stayed in ”The room with the pink carpet”. When booking our room I feel for the softness, the warmth of this room. I thought it could be a good contrast to the busy Tokyo vibe. And I was right. It was a joy to come back to the stillness of this room after spending all day and evening exploring this magnificent city.

This giant mural in the lobby area is changed every three months.

The soft pink tone of our room was so pleasant for the eyes.

You almost need a PhD to go to a Japanese toilet. :-)

Morning has broken and it is time to hit the streets of Tokyo.

We were lucky that we managed to time our visit to cherry blossom season.

Maybe a bit sad to go to an Australian breakfast place when in Tokyo but bill’s is a place we have loved since we went on our honeymoon to Sydney many, many years ago. So we couldn’t resist.

There are so many great places for coffee in town. This is from Blue Bottle. Loved these cups so much that we bought a couple to bring back home.

We travelled with our friends the Westlund family, and Fredrik found this great hot pot place in Shibuya.

Back at the hotel and time to call it a night

RG inside info

This place is perfect if you…

…want to stay in a calmer, more residential part of Tokyo where art plays a central role. If you like independent hotels with an urban edge, you are going to like this hotel.

My favorite thing about this place…

…is the location. I love the energy and the tempo of the Japanese capital. It is almost intoxicating. But with this said, it is nice when it is time to call it a day to be able to return to a place that feels quiet and calm to rest and recharge.

What not to miss when staying here…

…is to bring comfy shoes. Tokyo is one of those cities that are great to explore on foot (does not apply to all big cities). So I recommend to bring some solid trainers and hit the pavement. When it comes to things to do, where to even start!? My suggestion is to just start walking, keep your eyes open and find your own gems.

If you like this hotel you might also like:

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Tipografia do Conto / Porto, Portugal

Piet Hein Eek Hotel / Eindhoven, Netherlands

Flushing Meadows / Munich, Germany