💡 The Short Version: For a first visit, stay in Shinjuku: the Narita Express arrives in one seat, the Odakyu line to Hakone starts there, and the JR Yamanote Line reaches Shibuya, Harajuku, Ueno and Tokyo Station. Stay by Tokyo Station for Shinkansen days and the Narita Express (53 minutes to Tokyo at the fastest). Choose Asakusa or Ueno for old Tokyo and the Skyliner, Ginza for a central base with no JR station of its own, and Shibuya for evenings out (Shinjuku or Shibuya). Check the walk to the station: it is on every hotel below. Private rentals need a registration number beginning M13. Rooms are small, and a hotel may add Tokyo’s accommodation tax at ¥10,000 or more per person per night.
The areas, compared
| Area | Stations | From the airport | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku | JR Shinjuku; the Odakyu line to Hakone | Narita Express in one seat; limousine bus to the big hotels | A first visit, a Hakone day trip, late nights |
| Shibuya | JR Shibuya | Narita Express in one seat | Nightlife and the crossing |
| Tokyo Station and Marunouchi | JR Tokyo (Shinkansen, Yamanote Line); Otemachi | Narita Express, 53 minutes at the fastest | Shinkansen days, an early train |
| Ginza | Metro Ginza, Marunouchi and Hibiya lines; Higashi-Ginza | Access Express from Narita; the Keikyu through train from Haneda to Shimbashi | A central base, shops and restaurants |
| Asakusa | Metro Ginza Line; Toei Asakusa Line; Tsukuba Express | Access Express from Narita; Keikyu from Haneda, about 40 minutes | Senso-ji and old Tokyo, ryokan, hostels |
| Ueno | JR Ueno; Metro Ginza and Hibiya lines; Keisei Ueno | Skyliner, 41 minutes | Museums and the park, an easy Skyliner arrival |
| Akihabara | JR Akihabara; Metro Hibiya Line | Skyliner to Nippori, then the Yamanote Line | Electronics and anime shops, two stops from Tokyo and Ueno |
| Roppongi | Metro Hibiya Line; no JR station | Skyliner and a change, ¥2,970 in all | Art museums and night views |
The hotels
Walks to the station are from each hotel’s own website, or from GO TOKYO where it says so. The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com, apart from MUJI HOTEL GINZA, which Hotels.com does not list.
Shinjuku
The Narita Express, the limousine bus and the Odakyu line to Hakone all come to JR Shinjuku. Kabukicho, the nightlife district north-east of the station, is loud late. A “Shinjuku” hotel can be a walk from the station, so check the minutes. Shinjuku or Shibuya compares it with the alternative. On foot, the Shinjuku night walk covers Omoide Yokocho, Kabukicho and Golden Gai, and the free decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are in the observation decks comparison. From here the JR Chuo Line reaches the Ghibli Museum in about 20 minutes, and the day trips to Hakone, Mount Fuji and Mount Takao all leave from Shinjuku.
Boutique luxury hotels and shopping avenues in Ginza. Photo: Kakidai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Hotel Gracery Shinjuku
5 minutes from the JR Shinjuku East Exit, 3 from Seibu-Shinjuku · 970 rooms · Hotels.comad
A large hotel of 970 rooms in the Shinjuku Toho Building, in Kabukicho.
Shinjuku Granbell Hotel
4 minutes from Higashi-Shinjuku Exit A1 · rooms of 22.5 to 23.4 m2 · self check-in · Hotels.comad
A design hotel within walking distance of Shin-Okubo’s Koreatown. It is not at Shinjuku Station, and check-in is on a kiosk with a QR code emailed about three days before you arrive.
Park Hyatt Tokyo
Nishi-Shinjuku · the Narita limousine bus stops at the hotel · Hotels.comad
A luxury hotel among the skyscrapers of Nishi-Shinjuku, west of the station. The limousine bus from Narita stops at its door, which saves the change at Shinjuku Station (Narita Airport to central Tokyo).
9h nine hours Shinjuku-North
Capsule hotel · availability shown separately for men and women · Hotels.comad
A capsule hotel, which means a sleeping pod with shared washrooms. A women-only sister, 9h nine hours woman Shinjukuad, takes only women.
Shibuya
The crossing, the shops and the nightlife, on the JR Yamanote Line. Works round the station are long running, so check each hotel’s own notice. Shibuya Crossing and Shibuya Sky are at the station, the Meiji Jingu, Harajuku and Shibuya walk ends here, and the street kart tours start in Shibuya.
Shibuya Granbell Hotel
3 minutes from the Shibuya Station New South Exit · check-in 14:00, check-out 11:00 · Hotels.comad
A mid-priced hotel that warns of large-scale redevelopment work round the station and the hotel.
The Millennials Shibuya
Smart pods run from an iPod handed over at check-in · breakfast 7:30 to 9:30 in the 4th-floor lounge · mobile check-in · Hotels.comad
A pod hotel, where the sleeping pod is controlled from the iPod you are given at check-in (livelyhotels.com).
Tokyo Station and Marunouchi
The business district beside Tokyo Station, with the Imperial Palace gardens a short walk away. It is the base for Shinkansen days and the Narita Express. The Imperial Palace East Gardens are free but closed on Mondays and Fridays.
Tokyo Station’s Marunouchi building. Photo: awoi sinomiya, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Palace Hotel Tokyo
8 to 10 minutes from the Tokyo Station Marunouchi North Exit; direct from basement 1 to Otemachi Station · 266 rooms and 18 suites · Hotels.comad
A luxury hotel with a direct link underground to Otemachi Station (palacehoteltokyo.com).
The Tokyo Station Hotel
Inside the Marunouchi station building, directly connected to the Marunouchi South Exit · ten restaurants and bars · check-in 15:00, check-out 12:00 · Hotels.comad
A hotel built into one of the city’s landmarks, with connections to both airports and to the Shinkansen lines (GO TOKYO).
HOSHINOYA Tokyo
Otemachi · 10 minutes from the Tokyo Station Marunouchi North Exit · an urban ryokan · Hotels.comad
A ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn, in the middle of the business district. Each floor is a private six-room ryokan with a tatami-matted lounge, and there is a rooftop onsen, a hot-spring bath (hoshinoresorts.com).
Ginza
Shops and restaurants, quiet at night, with the Kabukiza theatre and the Tsukiji market area close. Ginza has no JR station of its own: the metro does the work, and Yurakucho and Shimbashi are a walk. Kabuki at the Kabukiza is here, and so are Ginza Kyubey and Tempura Kondo, which book overseas guests through a concierge service (omakase in Tokyo). The Tsukiji outer market is close: Tsukiji and Toyosu says which market is which.
Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier
Lobby on the 16th floor with views of the city · rooms of 26.3, 30.1 and 40.0 m2 · the Narita limousine stops here · Hotels.comad
A hotel on the Ginza and Shimbashi-Shiodome side, with rooms from 26.3 to 40.0 m2 (gardenhotels.co.jp).
MUJI HOTEL GINZA
79 rooms · the smallest room is 2.1 m wide · MUJI HOTEL GINZA site
MUJI’s hotel above its Ginza store: compact rooms in the brand’s plain style. Book on the hotel’s own site.
Asakusa
Senso-ji and the old east side of the city, with cheaper hotels, ryokan and hostels. It is on the Ginza Line and the Toei Asakusa Line, not the JR network, so a Japan Rail Pass does not help here (is it worth it?). Senso-ji is the neighbourhood sight and the Asakusa, Ueno and Yanaka walk starts at Asakusa Station. Tokyo Skytree is the next station on the Tobu line, and the Tobu Spacia train to Nikko leaves from Asakusa.
Hotel Gracery Asakusa
3 minutes from Asakusa Station on the Toei Asakusa Line (exits A4 and A1), 5 from Exit 2 of the Metro Ginza Line · Hotels.comad
A small hotel on the Kaminarimon side of Senso-ji.
Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu
1 minute from Nakamise-dori, 5 from Senso-ji · Japanese-style rooms · a cypress-wood bath on the 6th floor · Hotels.comad
A ryokan with yukata robes, Airweave mattress pads and a Japanese cypress-wood bath on the sixth floor with views of the Skytree and the temple’s pagoda (shigetsu.com).
K’s House Tokyo Oasis
3 minutes from Asakusa Station on the Tsukuba Express, 9 from Tawaramachi, 13 from Asakusa Station on the Toei line · check-in 15:00 to 19:00 · Hotels.comad
A hostel with dormitories and private rooms that have their own toilet and bath. Check-in closes at 19:00 and check-out is at 11:00, so tell the desk if you land late (kshouse.jp).
Ueno
The park and the museums, with a Skyliner arrival 41 minutes from Narita and the JR Yamanote Line on to Akihabara and Tokyo. The Tokyo National Museum is closed on Mondays: see Tokyo’s museums and gardens and Tokyo: what to book before you go. The Asakusa, Ueno and Yanaka walk runs through Ueno Park.
Nohga Hotel Ueno Tokyo
3 minutes from Ueno Station, Exit 3 of the Ginza and Hibiya lines · Hotels.comad
A hotel a few minutes from Ueno Station on the Ginza and Hibiya lines.
Akihabara
Electronics, manga and anime shops, two Yamanote Line stops from Tokyo and from Ueno. One of the street kart tours starts here.
Akihabara Washington Hotel
1 minute from the JR Akihabara central gate, 2 from Exit 5 of the Hibiya Line · Hotels.comad
A hotel at the station in a district of shops rather than scenery (washington-hotels.jp).
Roppongi
Art museums, bars and views, on the Hibiya Line, with no JR station. Kamiyacho, on the same line, is the station for teamLab Borderless and a 7-minute walk from Tokyo Tower.
Grand Hyatt Tokyo
Roppongi Station, Hibiya Line Exit 1C, 3 minutes on foot · ten restaurants and bars, a spa and a granite indoor pool · Hotels.comad
A luxury hotel on top of the Roppongi Hills complex, which has about 200 shops, an art museum, a cinema and an observatory (GO TOKYO).
Before you book
- Rooms are small. Granbell Shinjuku’s are 22.5 to 23.4 m2, Mitsui Garden’s 26.3 to 40.0 m2, and MUJI HOTEL GINZA’s smallest is 2.1 m wide. Twin-room beds at Mitsui Garden are 1,230 mm wide.
- Private rentals need a number. Private lodging, called minpaku, in an apartment or house must be registered. In Tokyo look for a registration number beginning M13, or a permit number that mixes numbers and kanji, and avoid a listing that shows neither: GO TOKYO warns of cancellations, poor fire safety and no emergency contact at unregistered places (GO TOKYO).
- The accommodation tax is extra. Tokyo may levy it when the room costs ¥10,000 or more per person per night, and the hotel adds it to the bill (same page).
- Check-in times. Typical hours are 14:00 or 15:00 in and 11:00 or 12:00 out. Cheaper hotels often use self check-in, and a hostel desk may close in the evening: K’s House Tokyo Oasis stops check-in at 19:00.
- Baths and tattoos. Public baths and onsen ask you to shower first and to wear no swimsuit, and some refuse entry to anyone with a tattoo (GO TOKYO). Ask before you book a hotel for its bath.
- Smoking is prohibited in principle in hotels and other accommodation except in designated areas.
- Airport days: the Narita Express and the limousine bus reach Shinjuku in one ride, and the Skyliner reaches Ueno; from Haneda the Keikyu through train reaches Shimbashi and Asakusa. See Narita and Haneda.
For getting between the areas, see Tokyo public transport. The 3 days in Tokyo itinerary shows which area each day starts from, and an eSIM for Japan keeps the map working. For what to book before you go, and the days the sights are shut, see Tokyo: what to book before you go.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Tokyo for a first visit?
Shinjuku, for most first visits: the Narita Express runs to it in one seat, the Odakyu line to Hakone starts there, and the JR Yamanote Line reaches the rest of the loop. Stay by Tokyo Station instead if your days are Shinkansen trips, or in Asakusa or Ueno for old Tokyo and the Skyliner from Narita.
Should I stay in Shinjuku or Shibuya?
Shinjuku if you arrive at Narita or plan a day in Hakone; Shibuya if the evenings are the point. Both are on the JR Yamanote Line and take the Narita Express in one seat. See the Shinjuku or Shibuya guide for the hotels in each.
Is it better to stay near a train station in Tokyo?
Yes. Every hotel on this page gives its walk to the nearest station, and the difference between 1 minute and 10 matters when you carry bags. A hotel called 'Shinjuku' can be some way from Shinjuku Station.
Is a private rental in Tokyo allowed?
Only if it is registered. GO TOKYO tells visitors to look for a registration number beginning M13, or a permit number combining numbers and kanji, and to avoid anywhere that lists neither.
Is there an accommodation tax in Tokyo?
Tokyo may levy an accommodation tax when the room costs ¥10,000 or more per person per night. The hotel adds it to the bill.
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