If you’re trying to figure out where to stay in Tokyo, below we’ve listed a few places we’ve stayed and why you might or might not consider staying at each place. And below that, we list out or things to know before going.
Shinjuku, Tokyo – Shop til you drop, quite literally, you can easily spend a few days ONLY shopping, if that’s your thing. Isetan is not that expensive and has some good Japanese brands. There’s a lot of ridiculous fashion (like anywhere in the world), but there’s also some very trendy but unassuming local designers that are excellent. Victoria Golf is a building of about 8 floors dedicated to just golf, lots of Japanese brands but don’t expect to find bargains here.
When you’ve had enough, head to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for some green space. At night, head to Kabukicho which will give you a good taste of local Japanese nightlife. If this is your first visit to Tokyo and you want to know where to stay in Tokyo, I’d recommend staying in Shinjuku. It can be pretty full on, but it has it all – parks, shrines, culture, art, thousands upon thousands of restaurants, excellent shopping, and easy access to get to pretty much every other part of Tokyo, Check out my review of an okay AirBnB in Shinjuku (for 1 person) and Keio Plaza in Shinjuku.
Ginza, Tokyo – Upscale shopping at it’s best. Bring your credit card and expect to spend up large. There’s also a lot of film camera shops here, which are on Toucan’s Tokyo Map. Get yourself over to the Imperial Palace for a break. If you need to know everywhere you’re going before you go, check this out – Things to Do in Ginza. Unfortunately now, in April 2018, Ginza seems to have become the number 1 destination for Mainland Chinese to do their shopping. Still it’s worth a visit and near Tokyo Station for easy access to either Narita or Haneda Airport. we’ve stayed in Ginza on a number of occasions, near the Imperial Palace and right next a very decent park, and despite it becoming a hub for Mainland Chinese, I’d still stay here again. If you like brands and international fashion and want to know where to stay in Tokyo, you can’t go wrong with Ginza. Check out my review of The Peninsula Tokyo located in one of he best locations in Ginza.
Odaeba is out of the main center of the city and if you’ve been to Tokyo a number of times and looking for something different and somewhere that won’t be on every Tokyo Travel Guide’s list of where to stay inTokyo, it’s not a bad place to stay. You can get to all the main areas in central Tokyo relatively easy via the train, and there’s a bit of shopping nearby although not that great. You would stay here if you enjoy being out of the action and away from the crowds. There’s a bit of a beach or shoreline and some wide open areas you can have a good time with kids.
Roppongi – Stayed in a nice serviced apartment here a few times. Roppongi is not my favourite place in Tokyo and I wouldn’t choose to stay there but the area is nice enough with a big fancy shopping mall (Roppongi Malls) and it’s quite a nice area to walk around. This is, although I’ve never really noticed it, where a lot of the expats and westerners hang out. So if that’s your thing, and you’re wondering where to stay in Tokyo, consider here.
Midtown Tokyo – Artsy trend area walking distance to Roppongi and worth a visit if you don’t want to be right in the thick of things.
If you want to get out of the city a bit, head to one of the Outlet Malls, which are bloody fantastic, these are not your average outlet malls that only stock XXXXL orange and yellow jeans with pink fluffy balls on their bum, these are the best outlet malls in the world, well not that I’m an expert on outlet malls, but the best that I’ve seen. It puts CityGate in Hong Kong to shame.
Our typical trips to Tokyo are 2-3 days then we head out of the city, or at the least spend a day shopping and gorging on Japanese BBQ, then spending the rest of the time in parks. If you live in the polluted shithole that is Hong Kong, you will appreciate the clean green wide open parks and can enjoy them even more.
Depending on the area, a lot of restaurants are packed during lunchtimes and dinners, even before 6p.m, especially at the big malls like Isetan, so try and book ahead or you’ll have to wait to get in.
Tokyo is by far, the best place to take babies, toddlers and younger kids with baby changing areas almost everywhere you go including shopping malls, places of interest, attractions, parks and well, everywhere you can think of. A lot of restaurants will give out kids sets with little toys or colouring in books to do and most have kids menus. If you want a place to travel with newborns or infants, Tokyo is it.
Anywhere else in Japan and we usually hire a car, but Tokyo traffic can be a bit of a nightmare, we once took an hour and half just to get out of the city because we took a wrong turn. If you’ve always come in from either of the airports via train or bus, you probably won’t notice the traffic much but if you drive, you’ll know that traffic in and out of the cities on the highways can get pretty bad.
Haneda Airport is much closer than Narita so try and get a flight into that if you can, it makes quite a bit of difference. When I’m thinking about where to stay in Tokyo, I don’t usually think about how close it is to the airport bur rather how can I avoid flying into and out of Narita.
Take a trip out to one of the Outlet Malls, they’re the best in the world and reachable in less than an hour by bus or train.
You’re in Japan, the most polite population in the world, so behave accordingly and leave the singlets, ripped shorts and jandals at home and don’t be absolute cock and go topless because you think you have a good body.
Public holidays in Japan can get busy, very busy. It’s all very civil and operates on a completely different level than China, but it can still be quite an effort dealing with the crowds if you come from a place like New Zealand or anywhere quiet.
Taxi’s can be quite expensive, probably the most expensive of any city in Asia, so figure out the Tokyo metro, once you get the hang of it it’s dead easy to get around.
Get yourself to a Japanese BBQ, order up some Karubi and you’ll be hooked. Generally, the more expensive the meat, the fattier it’ll be. This is better than any steak you’ve had and if you manage to get a good one and order the right meat, it’ll literally melt in your mouth. Once you’ve decided where to stay in Tokyo, a Japanese BBQ won’t be far away. Excellent ones include Bulls in Roppongi Hills and the Chain Jojoen, which can be found all over Tokyo (three in Shinjuku alone).
If you’re a skinny runt like myself and find it difficult to find clothes that fit you, Japan is the place to save up your money and go wild when you get there. I don’t buy any clothes in Hong Kong or elsewhere, but when I go to Japan I bring a massive suitcase because it’ll get filled up when I come back. The clothes are slim fitting because you’ll notice there’s not many obese or even remotely fat Japanese men there.
For more information about where to stay in Tokyo, or to find out more about before visiting, visit our Tokyo Travel Guide for Kids home page or ask us a question on Twitter.