I was so looking forward to this place, it looked so charming and atmospheric from their website. But it's a fairly typical attitude to old buildings in Japan, they never clean or maintain anything, they are squeezing the last yen out of it before they demolish it. The manager spoke English but sat in his office and never came out and treated you like a nuisance if you came in. Our room smelt of urine, everything was old and dirty but the WORST, probably the WORST thing I have ever seen in any accommodation at any price was a sign on the handbasin saying "Do not [--] in here". (They used the real word but Trip Advisor won't let me put it in) Maybe it was 'lost in translation' but how welcoming is that?

Taito came highly recommended to us by a friend who had stayed there previously, so despite the ringing in my ears of "gets what you pay for" we booked in for our first 4 nights in Japan. We arrived early and were told to wait in a room just opposite the office that doubles as reception. The furniture there was wrecked and the cushions on the collapsed remnants of what was once a wicker seat clearly hadn't moved / been fluffed up in a long while. The guy at reception (who seems to be the manager too) wasn't best pleased we had turned up early, even though he knew our flight details and made no mention that we shouldn't arrive until he said so.
After a short while, we were allowed into our room which was of an adequate size but entirely devoid of any furniture. Our sleeping mats were there and had clearly seen some action in there time - fortunately the sheets looked freshly laundered and despite being a bit thin would do the job. I'm not sure what room number we had, but it was the first on the right as you go up the stairs. Overall, the room was a dump. The walls cracked and yellow, where they weren't black from dirt that is... the mozzie screen had holes in them so we would clearly be considered dinner.. At this point it's worth noting that the Lonely Planet guide says bugs aren't too much of an issue in Tokyo - what a lie that is. They have Tiger Mozzies by the billion. I can wander around in Florida for a week and not get a single bite so I'm not the type who usually gets eaten alive. Tokyo I got regularly munched on and when a Tiger Mozzie bites, you know about it the next day. Anyway, back to the room; We had an airconditioner that was at least 25 years old. It worked, but only until the thick layer of fluff on it iced up, then it became useless as the air no longer flowed. Just to make things that little bit better, our window looked into an 8 foot square stairwell, where the restaurants downstairs left their rubbish. So, we have a hot, dirty room with mozzies, stinks of rotting food and no furniture - gonna be a good one this....

After a deeply uncomfortable night on a wafer thin and tired bed mat we asked if we might be able to have another mattress each (since we'd found a cupboard full of them). We were met with a disgruntled and abrupt "No, one each only" response - thanks for that then..

Facilities are basic. During our stay there was just one shower and one toilet available - happily it wasn't a squatting pan :) The shower is accompanied by a japanese bath set into the floor. Don't wander when you're washing your hair as you could fall in the bath! The shower room has a private annexe to it where the washing machine lives, so if you're timing is right, you get the washing machine pump out (cold) soapy water into the shower room and fill it up to your ankles. Nice! Like our room, the shower room was old, worn out and much of the tiling was cracked and dirty. On the plus side, there seemed to be no end of hot water.

In summary - don't bother. It might be the cheapest joint in town, but you really aren't getting much for your money. I wish I could say something positive about Taito, apart from it's location, but frankly, I can't... Spend a bit more and you can get so much more for your money.

Stayed here on 24-25 July for the Sumida River Fireworks, biggest fireworks in Japan, before moving on to Shinjuku.

Location: Fantastic!!! 10-15min walk to either Asakusa or Ueno Sations. The small lane the ryokan is on is lined with other hotels and restuarants. Turn to the left at main street and a wide range of great affordable food (look at pics : ) available. There is even a grocery mart for you to stock up on fresh fruits, snacks, drinks etc. 10 min away is Nakamise Shopping Arcade for local/traditional snacks, handicraft, trinkets, clothes etc. Busiest in the day, esp weekends. This leasd to Kannon temple and the park that surrounds it. 15-20min to attractions at Ueno, especially Ameyoko Street: cheapest shopping in Tokyo. Stocked up on souveniers and snacks for family and friends and still had cash to spare!

Service: Great to have English-speaking manager of ryokan who provided maps or gave directions. Guidebooks on Tokyo could also be found in the living room.

Room: Stayed in a basic but clean air-conditioned room. No sign of cockroaches. Can be noisy as walls and windows are thin. Pillows are a tad uncomfortable but was generally too tired from exploring the area and feasting till late to be too affected by all this : ) And ours was the room next to the bathroom! Moreover, I really relished staying in a house that was built in the 1950s and experiencing what life might have been like then for the locals!

If you like comfort, a neat place and clean bed: don't go to Taito Ryokan.
But if you don't expect to much comfort and don't mind run down places but do like typical and a bit old fahioned places, you'll have a great time at Taito. It's well located, with friendly and helpful english speaking staff.