I recently received an e-mail from a friend asking me about hotels in Tokyo. A lot of people have asked me about where to stay in Tokyo but I find it difficult and delicate to recommend a hotel or restaurant that afterwards won’t meet expectations. Let’s try! 😉
Now it gets complicated: hotels, by reading your books I can’t decide, I don’t know which one is the “best” neighborhood for us. We are looking for a neighborhood with nightlife. Shibuya? But the hotels in Shibuya don’t look as good as the hotels in Shinjuku. How is the public transport at night? The train/metro is closed as, for example, in Madrid?
Neighborhoods, trains, public transport at night
In Tokyo I usually recommend staying in Shibuya or Shinjuku, as both have the best atmosphere in the city. Another option is to look around in the Ueno/Asakusa/Akihabara area or near Tokyo station where the hotels are somewhat cheaper in general; however you will be half an hour away by train from Shibuya/Shinjuku/Harajuku. Shinagawa is also an area that is well connected and with good hotels. As a general rule, any hotel located inside the Yamanote line circle could be considered to be in a good location.
Regarding trains, the lines close between 12:00pm and 1:00am (depending on the line) and open again starting at 5:00am. Using taxis is quite expensive.
Cheap hotels (below 10,000 yen per person/night)
- Shinjuku area: Shinjuku Higashi hotel (It is not far from Shinjuku station as you can get there walking without problems)
- Ueno area: Tokyo Edo Sakura
- Tokio station area: HoridomeVilla
- Akihabara area: Khaosan Ninja
- Kourakuen area: Toyoko Inn (There are hotels of the Toyoko Inn chain in many places around Tokyo)
- Shinagawa area: Fresa Inn (Located near Hamamatsucho, very well connected with Haneda airport)
- Different areas: Sakura hotels (They have backpacker style hotels in different locations around Tokyo)
Mid-range hotels (between 10,000 and 20,000 yen per person/night)
- Shinjuku area: Sun Route Plaza Shinjuku
- Shibuya area: Granbell (Good, cheap and next to Shibuya station)
- Shibuya area: Shibuya Tokyu (Sometimes it can go above 20,000 yen per night, but it’s one of the best located hotels in Shibuya)
Expensive hotels (More than 20,000 yen per person/night)
- Roppongi area: Hotel Okura (Where Steve Jobs used to stay in Tokyo)
- Shinagawa area: Shinagawa Prince Hotel
- Shinjuku area: Park Hyatt Shinjuku (Where Scarlett Johansson stays in Lost in Translation)
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