Hotel in Shinjuku or by Shimbashi Station?

26 comments

1. Location-wise it doesn’t matter where you’re staying if it’s near a station that’s on the Yamanote line. The only exception is if you wish to be out after the trains stop running for the night (usually around midnight) in a certain area then you’ll want your hotel to be there.

2. All of these hotels are fine places to stay. They are all fairly different though, so some of this is up to you and how you like to travel.

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   JR Kyushu is a nice 3* , it is well located quite close to the station, comfortable and won’t break the bank. Its just nice and solid!

   The Keio Plaza is not a 5*hotel. It is a standard 4* hotel. Comfortable, and nice for sure- but huge and anonymous. Think the sort of place you hold conventions. It’s also a bit further from the station. Not the worst, but the immediate area is kind of boring. It is often a good value though, so if you want a larger hotel with amenities but don’t want to pay through the nose its not a bad idea.

   The Shibuya Stream is newer and feels more boutique and modern. It’s on the other side of the station to the Scramble and the heart of Shibuya proper, but its only an 8 minute walk there. I aways liked staying in Shibuya myself.

   As the other poster noted, at the Blossom Hibiya you’d be close enough to Shimbashi station that you can easily access the rest of Tokyo at need. But I would say that its a pretty boring neighborhood overall. You’ll sleep there, and maybe eat there, but theres not a lot of interesting things to see right there.

3. >Most sites recommend staying in Shinjuku or Shibuya. I would love a place with good connections

   Just stay literally anywhere on the Yamanote line. If your “West Tokyo” is out of the 23 wards, preferably near the Chuo/Sobu interchanges (So like Yoyogi). If it’s just Shinjuku/Shibuya/etc, anywhere on that western edge of the Yamanote line is totally fine.

4. Really liked Hotel Sunroute Plaza

5. The big reason to stay in Shinjuku and Shibuya is that it is close to nightlife area and there is lot of shop and restaurants around. So it is for sure a good choice if you want to stay outside late, like pass last train, so you can realistically walk back to the hotel after going to bars and izakaya.

   Yes, they are also well connected and there is a direct route from there to most of the places you want to visit, but that would also be true for Shimbashi station.

   I would totally stay around Shimbashi station as one more advantage is that the station will be much smaller than Shinjuku station, that is huge and can be confusing.

6. Look at Google maps.
   For example, I stayed at an Airbnb in Nishi-Shinjuku and Higashi-Shinjuku last year.
   I needed to take a train 1 minute train ride to get to Shinjuku Station or else it would’ve been a 15 minute walk. So small details matter.

   I suggest anywhere close to Shinjuku though. All the train stations are there and it’s a 20 minute train ride to Shibuya.

7. >JR Kyushu Blossom Shinjuku hotel

   Good location for easy access. My go-to is the Sunroute Plaza hotel thats around the block (been there like 5 times). Another one thats even closer to the stations/takashimaya is the Hotel Century Southern Tower which is really solid but tends to get pricey (I’ve stayed there twice)

   >Keio plaza hotel

   kind of far away from the station IMO

   >Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu

   on the wrong side of the station IMO. though I haven’t been to that side since Shibuya Sky opened up. Great location if you love Gyukatsu though.

   >The Blossom Hibiya

   Shimbashi isn’t convenient to the west side IMO.

8. Shibuya has the Ginza line that takes you across to Asakusa and Ueno, and Akihabara is probably an easy transfer once you’re heading that way. You can also do Yamanote to hit Ueno and Akihabara and, with 1 transfer and 1 stop, get to Asakusa. It’s not super fast to go around, but it’s okay if you’re only going to the east side once or twice.

   I stayed in Shinjuku and I loved being right on the Yamamote line for going places like Ikebukuro or down to Shinagawa or Shibuya. Train station is busy but it’s so convenient.

   Can’t speak to any of those hotels, but it’s best to be close to a train station to minimize walking every day to get on the train. You might wanna take a peek around those hotels and see if there’s some easy restaurants between you and your closest station. You’ll find yourself lazy and tired some days and will want something quick to eat without another train ride or more walking.

9. If you are in Tokyo, Shinjuku is the best (from my experience)

   If you have JR pass, even better. The Yamanote line covers most of central Tokyo, but Shinjuku station is huge.

   If you are planning to travel using Shinkansen, you can take the Yamanote to the appropriate station.

   Shinjuku is a very (at least when I was there before the pandemic) vibrant area offering late night stuff and food. Ueno and Akihabara are not far by train.

   After my two week long trip to Japan, I would end my stays in Shinjuku because the N’EX can be taken from Shinjuku station to Narita airport.

10. We stayed in shinjuku near the Okubo train station in an apartment at the Hundred Stay Hotel. It was 1 bedroom with two beds, a loft with 2 beds and a part below the loft bed is also a big bed or lounge area. Loved it. We had a kitchenette, washer and dryer. Very clean and cute area. NOT in downtown Shinjuku, but a nice walk to it. There is a Lawson, drug store, Cat Cafe, nice grocery store, Okubo station close by, McDonald’s, pachinko near by, and quite a variety of food options.

11. Can you expand on:

    1) How important is budget to you?

    2) How is your (I assume) mother’s mobility?

    3) What kind of atmosphere would you prefer (for night time)? Is it important to you that it be pretty lively or very quiet, for example?

    4) How much time do you plan to spend in the hotel? I personally spend basically as little time in the hotel as I can but not everyone travels the same. If you’re not going to be in there long then the room itself is less important, right? Whereas if you plan to go out for dinner at 6, back by 7, and then hang out for 4 hours then it’s probably more important.

12. Location wise I’d recommend shibuya stream Tokyu or if you want something a bit more cool/hip then Sequence miyashita park

13. Lol most sites are wrong if they recommend Shibuya or Shinbashi because everything is way more expensive there when you could take a train ride from a cheaper area on the Yamanote line.

    As an example (hotel prices fluctuate), but lodging in Shibuya will cost you $100 vs lodging in Uguisudani will be like $30 and it’s only a few train rides from Shibuya and 1 train ride from Ueno.

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    Don’t listen to those travel blogs for Japan, they’re like always 100% wrong and run by people being paid big bucks to travel so they don’t factor what normal people would spend.

14. Kanda. Great small hotels, quiet neighbourhood, easy walking distance to restaurants, and metro + Yamanote, Chuo, Keihin-Tohoku access. Outside the Yamanote it’s basically all retail, corporate offices and hotels and quiet as a mouse at night. Go to the other side of the station and that’s where the bars and restaurants are, literally 3-4 blocks difference.

    Although nowadays I say fuck ‘downtown’, Kamata is the place for me.

15. I particularly dislike Shinjuku station, and Shibuya isn’t much better – both are very busy, and Shinjuku is a little confusing. I stayed by Akihabara and, as others recommended, would say to just stay by somewhere with access to Yamanote line unless you want to spend lots of time in Shinjuku/Shibuya.

16. I’m partial to the hotel gracery in kabuki cho. They have great Japanese style wet bath and shower and good rental for wifi hotspot

17. I stayed at the shinjuku granbell and thought it was lovely

18. I stayed at Keio Plaza in 2019 and loved it. It’s a quick walk to the station, which is a huge central hub, and there’s plenty of things to do in the surrounding areas. Not sure why another commenter is saying there isn’t, maybe our idea of “things to do” is different — in less than 5 minutes, you’ve got cafes and food; in 5-10 minutes, you’ve got the station, Lumine Est, shopping, etc.; in 15-20, you’re in Kabukicho. Very walkable area.

    Keio Plaza itself is a large hotel. It feels a little fancy, with most of the guests I saw being businessmen. The breakfast buffet is delicious, and we ordered room service a handful of times and really enjoyed it. There are also some good restaurants on the lower level of the hotel, and a small conbini-type store.

    If I go to Japan again, I’ll probably stay at the same hotel.

    Edited to add: I was able to take a direct charter bus from Haneda to Keio Plaza and vice versa. It was pretty cheap, too!

19. Shimbashi is a business area, there’s not much interesting in the neighborhood. It is quite close to Odaiba and Hamarikyu gardens, but I imagine you’d only visit there once.

    Shinjuku is better location wise, a lot to do, but perhaps too busy after a long day. I always lived in the suburbs and it’s nice to get home away from the busy streets. Somewhere along the chuo line between Kichijoji and Nakano would be good imo!

20. Yoshiwara is nice. Pretty reasonable as well.

21. This is easy. **Keio Plaza Hotel**. This is my go-to. I actually would rate it at 4 1/2 stars. The rooms are just not EXTRAVAGANT like the Shangri-La or the Mandarin Oriental (both 5 starts). Trust me, you’ll get more for your money and still be in a Top Notch hotel. Try to get an Executive Level room. This entitles you to the Executive Club, and free nightly drinks/snacks when you’re tired. The Hotel has a great infrastructure, with a good variety of restaurants and bars/lounges. The concierge is very helpful. The rooms are spacious, clean, comfortable, and quiet. If you get the Executive Level, you’ll have 24 hour room assistance, where you can ask for any service and the staff will accommodate. (At 11:30 at night, I asked for an iron and an ironing board, and they delivered it in five minutes.)

    I think the location is fine. Truth be told, you’re just not going to find a hotel that is in the middle of EVERYTHING. Keio is close enough to Shinjuku Station and the shopping area. It’s close enough to Kabukicho. Transportation will never be a problem. Shinjuku or Shimbashi?? Shinjuku hands down.

    I’ve tried the other hotels you mentioned (except for The Blossom), and nothing has the all-encompassing atmosphere of the Keio.

    Tip: After a hard day of sight-seeing when you feet hurt, you’re sweaty, and your damp underwear sticks to your butt, check out the main bar “Brilliant”. Nice, cozy, air-conditioned, cool-looking staff, with nice piano music. I always finished up my day there. If you want something a little more celebratory, check out the Sky Lounge “Aurora”. Nice views, nice food, and excellent service. Quiet and happy. Oh, and did I say NICE views?

    Hope you choose Keio. When you get back, write up a travel report for us!

22. I usually stay around Shimbashi, there are no real attractions besides the Ghibli Clock but there are tons of great bars and places to eat near the station and further towards Yurakucho. Shimbashi station is on the Yamanote line so you’re all good with connections. Shibuya and/or Shinjuku are good bets too though. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the above options.

23. I know this isn’t on the list of hotels you’ve listed, but I’m personally a huge fan of the Prince Gallery Kioicho. Probably my favorite hotel in the world. You can get some really good corporate rates here (<US$200 a night with some companies if you look it up)

    It’s in a central area, but not super touristy (next to the Parliament building), with easy access to the Akasaka Mitsuke station (relatively easy to get to from the airports) and easy to get to Shibuya / Shinjuku too.

24. Before I continue, I should explain that Shinjuku is very different depending on which side of the station you’re on. West of the station is big office and government buildings. Northeast and east is tons of shopping, food, and nightlife. South and southeast (close to Shinjuku Gyoen or Meiji Jingu) is comparatively quiet and more residential. I should also mention that I’m a noted hater of luxury hotels. If you’re going to spend that kind of money, I would much sooner go for a vacation rental (very good option with a group) or ryokan or something. To be honest I tend to enjoy stays at nice hostels or minshuku much more than high-end hotels, and it’s not like I do much more than sleeping at the hotel anyway.

    With that said, I have stayed at the Keio Plaza Hotel. It is in the heart of the government and big business district on the west side. Given my own choice and given the price I would not choose to stay there again. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, but I would describe it as boring and stuffy. It’s the kind of place where weddings or professional conventions are held, and the dress tends to be very up, so it can be hard to feel relaxed. It’s also not the newest hotel in the world (it was somewhat famously the first high-rise hotel in Japan), but it’s not really old enough to have any particular charm (it was built in the 70s). It has some restaurants and shopping nearby, but it has fairly few choices in the immediate vicinity compared to the east side–and it can actually be quite a trek to get from one side of the station to the other.

    I haven’t stayed at any of the other hotels, but I can give my impressions based on location. The JR Kyushu Blossom Shinjuku is in a quieter corner of west Shinjuku and given the choice between it and the Keio, I would go with the Blossom Shinjuku (especially given the price difference). One nice thing about it is that it’s fairly close to Meiji Jingu, which is really nice for morning walks. That said, I would personally prefer something on the east side (AKA, the fun side) of the station to either of these choices.

    I don’t really have an opinion on the Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu. It’s very close to the station, which is convenient, but also means you’ll be right in the middle of commuters constantly. Shibuya also probably wouldn’t be my top choice of stations to stay at, but it’s not bad if you’re looking to stay somewhere very active and central. I just tend to find it less interesting and less varied than Shinjuku, so I would usually lean in that direction.

    As for The Blossom Hibiya….well, I can’t honestly say there’s anything that stands out as particularly attractive about the area. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, but I tend to think of that area of the city as a bit boring. It’s close to Nagatacho and Kasumigaseki, which I mainly associate with big government and administrative buildings…Hibiya park is basically just a big city park…Shimbashi is fairly unextraordinary.

    In general I suggest east side of Shinjuku, south side of Ueno, or any side of Shibuya for big city atmosphere and endless food, shopping and entertainment choices; Iidabashi, Ebisu, Nippori, Naka-meguro for something a bit quieter while still being central.

    Edit: If you’re going to be mostly on the west side, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ebisu, and Iidabashi are probably your best bets out of those. Also, if I had to pick from the 4 hotels you listed, the Blossom Shinjuku would probably be my choice.

25. We stayed near Shimbashi rail station both times we were in Tokyo. It’s good for most places.

26. I don’t know about the hotels specifically so I don’t have much to add to what others have said there.
    BUT if you’re traveling with your family, I would suggest Shibuya over Shinjuku, unless everyone loves nightlife. Shinjuku has always felt kinda seedy to me, at least the area by the station. Shibuya is a bit nicer in my opinion, particularly for such a wide range of ages.
    That’s just my preference though, everyone likes different experiences! Both are pretty central so in terms of a starting location for those other places you’ll be set either way.