Tokyo hotel recommendation?

May 25, 2016 5:54 PM

Please help me find a hotel in Tokyo! (details within)

I usually get hit by jet lag very hard, so I'm planning 2-3 days in a Tokyo hotel while I get time adjusted before I head to rural Japan (Shikoku) for my activities. But Tokyo is so sprawling that I'm suffering from mega information overload.

I'll probably get a prepaid SIM, do a little shopping, eat some food, maybe go to that owl cafe in Akihabara, but besides that, there's nothing I *have* to do, so I don't even know which neighborhood to look in for a hotel.

I've heard from various places that Ebisu, Ikebukuro, Otsuka, Shimokitazawa, and Koenji are all fun/nice areas, but it would really help my information overload if someone just said "I stayed at hotel ____. It was great. You should stay here too."

I'm not fancy. My only requirements are clean (no bed bugs!) and wifi. Price: more than a hostel (I'm too old for shared accommodations with strangers) but less than the Park Hyatt Tokyo, which I'm just going to assume is mega expensive.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

posted by bluecore to Travel & Transportation around Tokyo, Japan (13 answers total)

I always stay at the Prince Hotel Shinjuku. The rooms are small and comfortable and it's on top of a major metro station. If you want to relax and get a drink you can go around the corner to the St. James and have a mojito or a pint. It's a bit of a tourist district but this is Tokyo - there's nowhere you can go that feels like you're in some kind of cordoned off American Disney zone.
posted by ftm at 6:12 PM on May 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

I stayed at Park Hotel in Shiodome. It was the best hotel experience of my life. The rooms are incredible. Mine had a postcard perfect view of Mt. Fuji. The room service is tasty. And the immediate area is very cool architecturally (if a little sterile culturally, but it's a very short walk to Ginza, and close to everywhere by subway).

It's around 200USD a night for a single room. It's not clear if that is out of your price range.
posted by 256 at 6:19 PM on May 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just got back from a trip to Japan last week and I recommend Dormy Inn Shibuya without any reservations.

Rooms are small but well-designed. Clean, comfortable, great location (walking-distance smack in-between Shibuya and Harajuku... super for eating and shopping but can also escape to Yoyogi Park for some green space), free breakfast, and a free in-house onsen/ sauna.
posted by kitkatcathy at 6:24 PM on May 25, 2016 [1 favorite]

I stayed at an AirBnB in Tokyo near Asakusa that was quite nice - there were three of us, so that's probably too much space for you, but it was much better than a hostel and much less expensive than a hotel.
posted by mogget at 6:28 PM on May 25, 2016

When Ms. Ghidorah and I travel domestically, we tend to end up at APA Hotels, which are pretty much everywhere, clean, and easy to check in and out. They aren't the cheapest business hotels out there, but they do have a decent English website. Shimokitazawa and Koenji are nice places, but sort of distant from central Tokyo. Either way, it's more than likely that near any decent sized station you're looking at, there'll be an APA hotel there.
posted by Ghidorah at 6:36 PM on May 25, 2016

The Park Hyatt is actually nice, and if you're only there for a day or two it's indulgently fun.

But more practically, I'm a big card-carrying fan of the Keio Plaza (Shinjuku), which has so much old-school European hotel sense and service it hurts. They repaired my jacket, for crying out loud, when I snagged a hole in the shoulder. I was placed there for work a couple times many years ago, and since then I just default to it on pleasure trips as well. Great location, half the price of the Park, etc. Couple very very good restaurants and an in-house conbini, even.

For Hyatts and Hiltons, if you're into the whole loyalty points thing, the Hyatt Regency (not Park) and Hilton Tokyo are exactly what you'd expect anywhere else in the world, and are also much more affordable than the Park, especially offseason. I've stayed in each more than once. These are also both in Shinjuku. I like it there.

Way down by Shinbashi and the fish market, I also really liked the Park Hotel (no relation), a needle-shaped boutique place in a neat location. Ginza's a ten minute walk away.

There are ten others I could remember if I tried, but these were all five-star no-complaint experiences I can recommend without caveat.

(PS though you did not ask: my best prepaid-SIM experience came from eConnect Japan. Order online now and it'll be waiting in your hotel room when you flop down. Great signal everywhere in the megapolis.)
posted by rokusan at 10:42 PM on May 25, 2016 [2 favorites]

Seconding rokusan's Park Hotel by Shiodome. We stayed there for a few nights and it was pretty comfortable and convenient.

Also seconding eConnect Japan. I got a data SIM for my phone and a mifi device, and both worked very well.
posted by adrianhon at 1:41 AM on May 26, 2016

Hotel Century Southern Tower is a reasonably-priced upscale Western businessman hotel right next to Shinjuku Station. I've stayed there and was quite happy with the place.
posted by GamblingBlues at 4:41 AM on May 26, 2016

Great timing as I've been spending hours paralyzed by choice picking a hotel for my next trip to Tokyo. The Park Hotel Shiodome is a top contender this time so I'm glad to see the recommendations here.

I've stayed at the Villa Fontaine Shiodome (across the street from Park Hotel), which I would recommend - Villa Fontaine is a business chain but the Shiodome hotel is a more upscale than most of their other locations. The location (for PHS or VFS) is fantastic for transit, and walkable to Tsukiji which is important if you want to line up for early morning sushi before the subway starts.

Most recently I stayed at the Hotel Sunroute Higashi-Shinjuku which is right on top of two subway lines, and a short walk to the Yamanote line and the Chuo line that takes you to Koenji/Nakano/Kichijoji. Also a short stumble back from the Robot Restaurant and Golden Gai. Both VF and Sunroute have free breakfast which is handy.

If you're just doing a short stop I'd stay in the Shiodome/Shimbashi area - it's easy to get to and from the airport (especially Haneda), easy to access the Shinkansen, and easy to get around the city.
posted by Gortuk at 6:48 AM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

I was pleased with this Hotel Sunroute Plaza location in Shinjuku back in 2014. It's a 5- to 10-minute walk to the train station, but I liked that it was on a quieter side street, and my beloved Family Mart was right across from it. It was $100/night for two good-sized beds, definitely clean and with solid wi-fi. Caveat: you'd have to be okay with six inches of space to maneuver past said beds to the desk.
posted by Recliner of Rage at 9:24 AM on May 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've always liked the Ginza area, and the hotel I stayed at the last time I was there, the Hotel Gracery Ginza, was pretty nice. I can't remember about wifi, but I think it had it. It has good transit access, there was a reasonably close Denny's for some cheap breakfast.
posted by that girl at 10:20 AM on May 26, 2016

I stayed at Recliner's Hotel Sunroute on trip two and it was just fine.

Last time I stayed in Akasaka -- I like the fact that it's relatively quiet and well connected to other places. Hotel Monterrey Akasaka has free wi-fi. I don't know how much it costs, but it's not Park Hyatt expensive.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 10:58 AM on May 26, 2016

I'll second the recommendation for Keio Plaza. I always stay there, they have big rooms (for Japan) and nice beds for not cheap but not crazy prices. Ive spent at least 2 months combined there in the last 3 years or so.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:11 PM on May 26, 2016