Whats your budget? How long is your stay? Do you have any major hotel points?

What hawaii said.

But honestly, the metro lines are so prevalant and varied in their courses across and around the ciy, and the Yamonate rail line goes all the way around Tokyo, so you can pretty much get to anywhere you want to go from amywhere in the city. You will need to use the public transportation no matter where you are.

I would get the best deal on a comfortable hotel and not worry too much about where it is as long as it is in short walking distance to a subway/rail line. We stayed in Ebisu which didn't look like best location on the map, it is on the west side of the city and is not known for much in particular, but it turned out to be a great hotel and a great location and access to public transportation for us. Much quieter than SHibuya or Shinjuku, which we liked at the end of the day after the throngs of people and public transportation.

Answer hawaii's questions, and get online and find a good public transportation map that includes the Yamonate line and all the different subway lines, and then start thinking of where to stay.

I've stayed in a Japanese-style inn in the Yanaka area which is not far from Ueno and more of a residential area; five minutes in one direction is the Metro and ten in the other is the Nippori station on the Yamanote line - also convenient if you are using the Keisei line to access NRT.

roppongi is an excellent area. lots of very good restaurants, mid town complex, roppongi hills, and the art museum are located there. the last time i stayed there about a year ago, they had the van gogh exhibition.

if you stay there or not, go to Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier at Roppongi Hills for lunch. excellent value for lunch. its in roppongi hills.

ht, if you are going to be at the hyatt again this year, be sure to have lunch or dinner there. also, just across the hotel is kurosawa, an excellent soba restaurant.

roppongi is very easy to get to on the tokyo metro.

@hawaiiantraveler - oop! I forgot to provide the important info. Ok, I'm looking at a budget of at least $1,000 (give or take +$100 or anything below that) over the course of 7 nights. I have no hotel points. I have been poking around the booking.com site and have seen some interesting hotels, but again from everything I've read, the Shibuya and Shinjuku areas seem to be the 'popular' areas.

@emd3 - I've been looking at the maps on japan-guide.com to get a sense of the public transport. One thing I did read was that I guess Tokyo is a city that you really don't walk around in to get from one point in the city to another - for which I could take as if I were to stay in Paris, I wouldn't be the best thing to walk from Notre Dame to Sacre Couer (which makes sense). I'm just trying to get an idea of which area as the major touristy things to see and do and then branch out from there.

Again, I would be a first timer there and am looking for a good typical starting area. Thanks in advance for all your answers and help!

That is a somewhat tight budget for Tokyo; budget will be your determining factor, I think. Personally I'd look for the best hotel in that price range and make sure it is in acceptable walking distance to a good subway or rail line, in a safe area for nighttime w/dining options nearby, and stay there.

Two yrs ago when I was considering a 3rd trip to Tokyo, I looked at hotels in that price range. I recall I looked at the Hotel Metropolitan in Ikebukuro. It runs about $143 USD for a single now, which would fit your budget. Ikebu. offers 5 subways and 3 train rails at the stationm w/good access to Shibuya and Shinjuku. It is not the "best" area for Tokyo (re the vibe of the area itself) but I thought that looked like a good hotel and location, and the services and ammenities at that hotel are good.

There are hotels in that range in other places. Perhaps you might want to find some that look good to you on booking.com and come back and ask about them? You also might want to get the name of that hotel Mara stayed in and check it out. I know she liked it and I also looked at that one two yrs ago. It is much different from the western style hotels, IIRC.

Another area worth looking into IMO is Shinagawa. Good access to Narita and Tokyo proper. I looked at Shinagawa Prince Hotel, very good reviews and the PRince hotel chain is highly regarded. It seems to be running about $145 a night for a twin single now.

I am a total stickler re hotels. If I don't like the hotel and area around it then I am not happy. I thought those two above looked good and had very good reviews (total ratings from views on booking.com > 8) and had good transportation options for Tokyo.

BTW, I have been using booking.com for hotels in Mexico lately. I find their descriptions and user reviews to be very useful. Unlike tripadvisor, the only way to get a review up on booking.com is to book a reservation w/them and then actually fulfill the reservation and stay at the hotel. Then you get an email from them asking for your review.

PLEASE let us know where you end up, as I am talking about another Japan trip, this time taking my husband along now that we are empty nesters.

There are also some no frills "business" hotels well within your price range also. But they have always seemed pretty sterile to me. That is just me, as i said I am a stickler for hotels, and I want a nice (not spectacular, but nice) place to come home to after a full day out.

trafaelwyr,
I don’t know if I can give an opinion of the BEST hotel location in Tokyo, I can only recommend where i stayed and its close proximity to a vital metro station. I stayed at the Grand Hotel Palace.

http://www.grandpalace.co.jp/english/index.html

This hotel is near a few metro stations, the best in think being the Kudanshita station. This is a pretty centrally located statin that is a main artery to all of Tokyo. IT was pretty much the only station i used to get to all of Tokyo and right by the hotel!! And pretty reasonably priced (for Tokyo standards) Hope this helps.

It helps when you are quoting figures to quote in the currency of the country you are visiting (in this case yen) so those of us who don't work in $US can help out too.

It's not just a matter of money but also what you expect for your money in terms of space, services and level of luxury. Do you want traditional Japanese style, modern Japanese style or an international (ie - just like home)type?

Every time I've been to Tokyo I've stayed in different areas. I aim to spend less than 8000yen p/n. Those "sterile" business hotels are good enough for me - I'm never in my room anyway.

As others mentioned, you need to have good access to Yamanote and subway. That's one of the reasons Shinjuku and Ueno get mentioned as they are transport hub, but very busy and wouldn't be my recommendation for a first timer. You are right in that Tokyo in more a collection of mini cities than a place like Paris or London with a central area and walking to sites isn't an option - though you'll also have to do plenty of that.

I've stayed at Hotel Excellent in Ebisu. Just opposite the station but I didn't love Ebisu. I've stayed twice in Ikebukuro and although some think it's a bit grungy, I felt quite safe there and it's lively at night. Lots of budget options. Last time I stayed at Shinagawa and at Shinjuku. The Sunroute Shinjuku is near the station so it's very convenient if the crush of Shinjuku station doesn't faze you (if you can cope with Chatelet in Paris, you can cope with Shinjuku) All these locations were handy for getting on Yamanote line which I prefer to use rather than subway if I can.

I also stayed at Toyoko Inn in Korakuen Bunkyo

http://www.toyoko-inn.com/e_hotel/00081/index.html


I really liked this area - it's near Tokyo Dome and on a subway line so not the most convenient option but quiet at night - I think it's mainly a business district. I still haven't found MY favourite area.

Friends of mine prefer the Asakusa area but I don't think the transport options there are as good. There are plenty of budget choices there and in Ueno.Really there are so many accommodation options. To me your budget looks quite generous. It probably also depends on how long you'll be there are where you are coming from, going to. Shinagawa worked well for me for an overnight stay before catching shinkansen to other parts. An overnighter before heading to the airport might influence your choice too. For a longer stay, space and comfort become more important.

Have fun looking Rakuten is another booking site you could try.

I stayed for two nights at the Shibuya Tobu Hotel earlier this month. I found it to be a pretty good location and fine for the price. The express train from the airport goes straight to Shibuya so made the arrival easy as it is a short walk from the station if you dont have much luggage. Also within easy walking to Harajuku, Omotesando, and of course Shibuya. I was heading to Kamakura for a few days and the train there left from Shibuya as well. Even though I am not a shopper, Shibuya was a good location for the most part for just two nights. The hotel is really basic and the rooms are as expected, small - but it was a good place if you needed something easy. I am sure there are more interesting places to be found, but I had no complaints.

There are many places in that price range in Tokyo, just not the 4 & 5 star places but with that budget you didn't expect it any way.....

Mentioned above are the Toyoko Inns which are a good choice along with the Comfort Inns, both chains provide a clean room with breakfast in the mornings. So do the Washington chain of hotels

http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/

http://www.comfortinn.com/sitemap-japan-JP

http://www.wh-rsv.com/english/

A step above those are the Bhotels and the Ishin Group of hotels including the Sunroute and Chisun(part of the Solare group) hotels which I like too.

http://www.theb-hotels.com/en/

http://www.ishinhotels.com/en/index.html

http://www.solarehotels.com/english/

But the ones I like the most of the budget or business hotels are the Dormy Inn hotels with their onsens onsite
You can book Dormy Inns on Rakuten, Agoda or Kayak dot com

http://web.travel.rakuten.co.jp/portal/my/info_page_e.Eng?f_no=819

All of the above business hotels are clean to a fault, serve breakfast included in the price (except the Dormy Inn)conveniently located and cheap(comparably).

Aloha!

For a week's stay I would not be thrilled with a Toyoko Inn even though I have stayed in many of them, but usually only for a night or two - they have no real place to store clothing except you can push your suitcase under the bed. I don't know if any of the other hotels listed above have better facilities as far as that is concerned and maybe it is not a big issue with you. The inn that I have stayed in twice - most recently last November for four nights - is Annex Katsutaro in Yanaka - I like it there because the room is fairly large but it is Japanese style - i.e., sleeping on a futon on the floor....which I find comfortable....whatever, enjoy your trip!

Thanks to all who have replied! I shall now digest this info and try to plan accordingly. Incidentally, it would be my sister and I that are going, so I've been using booking.com and compiling a spreadsheet of possible hotels. If I don't go this year, then at least I'll have done quite a bit of research and prep for the trip next year (but I'd like to go this year!).

My first visit to Tokyo I stayed in the Asakusa area (aside from the first night in a Toyoko Inn), which was convenient for transport to Haneda airport and for a day trip to Nikko. Plus there were lots of eating places around, and it was an interesting area. I stayed at http://www.f-kamogawa.jp/home/top/index_e.php but they only have Japanese rooms.

I didn't care that much for Tokyo, and woud throw in a complication by suggesting that you split your time between Tokyo and Kyoto.

if there are two of you always ask for a twin room and not a double. if you reserve a double room you will get the small rooms that Mara gets

Aloha!

Ok fellow travelers, here's the latest on my intent to visit Japan. My sister bailed on me, said she has other things to take care of this year, not to mention going on a cruise with our mom. So, this leaves me solo. I haven't done solo in quite a long time and I really enjoyed having a family member or friend with me to share in my travels. That being said, I had to go back and revisit hotels I had been looking at. With each hotel I had to consider a variety of factors: cost, location, how many stars, ratings, size of room, etc. I've narrowed my list down to these contenders:

Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku (Shinjuku area)
Toshi Center Hotel (no breakfast included) (Chiyoda area)
the b ikebukuro (Toshima area)
Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku (Shinjuku area)
Shinjuku New City Hotel (Shinjuku area)

They're all within my budget and range between $580 - $765 for 7 nights. Is having a buffet breakfast necessary? I mean, I'm sure I could probably stop in at a restaurant or into a 7-11 to get something to start my day. Some of the hotels include the VAT, service charge and city tax per person per night. Comments?

You can certainly do breakfast on your own quite easily, but Japanese breakfast buffets are actually a nice introduction to the place, as breakfast there is so different from what we're used to here in the U.S. (where I assume you live based on your use of $ to express prices). There are usually some western items like coffee and OJ and pastries, but they'll also typically offer miso soup, salad, pickles, and rice. Higher end places will have grilled fish and so forth.

I think it depends on how much you like a large breakfast to start your day. Do you typically enjoy a hotel buffet breakfast?

I stayed at Sunroute Shinjuku and thought their breakfast much too $$ when I just want a fast, small starter. I'm sure it was lovely. There are numerous options very near the hotel (Starbucks is right around the corner.

Of course you can mix it up, you don't have to prepay. And if you got a good deal with breakfast included, I'd go with that.

One lesson I've learned is that sometimes once I'm out the door I don't want to stop for breakfast and then I'll be sorry. I think breakfast of some sort is essential when you're travelling and a hotel breakfast makes that easy. I just feel I never get my money's worth at a buffet.

I happened to stay at the "b ikebukuro" in 2009. Rooms are okay in size, and it's fairly close to the trains, and very close to "Bic Camera" in the area. I think it's definitely fine for that price. A few pictures of my room in the first part of this album of mine:

http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/tokyo0809

That looks like a nice compact room for one person. Thanks for sharing the photos! Very nice view from the room also.

I plugged in March 18 and pulled up a rate in yen equivalent to $105 for a nince single room w/comp. internet access, LCD w/CNN, and they throw in an insultaed coffee tmbler to use for the free coffee in their lobby. Looks pretty good for that price and location.

I LOVE the lifesize Gundam in Odaiba. We went to the Bandai museum in 2006 in Tokyo and loved it.

rkkwan, any more japan pics? You take great pics.

emd3 - click the link to back up a folder and you can see the other albums from that Japan trip. Tokyo, Hakone, and Kyoto

how much extra are they charging for the breakfast?

@hawaiiantraveler - here's the breakdown for each hotel:

The Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku says that Western and Japanese breakfast foods are served at Royal Host Restaurant. I don't know if this is included in the price (which I don't think it is) or they're just letting potential hotel guest know that. A single room is $493.

At the Toshi Center Hotel, if I didn't get the breakfast it would be $523, but with breakfast it's $975.

The b ikebukuro has breakfast included with it's superior single room and the room would be $532.

The Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku indicates that the Renoir Cafe serves breakfast daily, but it doesn't sound like it's free, plus the a single room is $612.

And finally, the Shinjuku New City Hotel says that a buffet breakfast is available daily at Restaurant Mermaid, again it doesn't sound like breakfast is free and a single room is $652.

Mind you, the price I've listed for each hotel is for a 7 night stay.

My dilemma is this - now that I've looked at the hotels again - I'm becoming quite partial to the Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku as well as the b ikebukuro. They're roughly located around the same area. On the other hand, the Toshi Center Hotel is pretty much central Tokyo from what I could see on the map and is only about a 10 minute walk from the Imperial Palace. Despite that, I think I've narrowed it down to the Sunroute and ikebukuro. Decisions, decisions!

@rkkwan - great pictures! I really, really, really want to go to Japan....the only problem is that I would feel a bit out of my depths getting around being that everything is pretty much in Japanese. It's like when I went to Egypt - I knew I couldn't do that country solo, so I went with Contiki Tours (this is eons ago). I don't want to go with a tour group to Japan - but there's that part of me that wants a travel companion to be with me. Grr! Calgon, take me away!

Argh! I only had 6 nights plugged in. Here's the actual cost of 7 nights at each hotel:

The Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku: $577

The Toshi Center Hotel, if I didn't get the breakfast it would be $611, but with breakfast it's $1,137.

The b ikebukuro has breakfast included with it's superior single room and the room would be $620.

The Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku indicates that the Renoir Cafe serves breakfast daily, but it doesn't sound like it's free, plus the a single room is $714.

And finally, the Shinjuku New City Hotel says that a buffet breakfast is available daily at Restaurant Mermaid, again it doesn't sound like breakfast is free and a single room is $756.

The prices I have listed are all U.S. dollars.

What are you doing in Tokyo? Are you hanging out?
I like Ginza and love Roppongi. Tokyo is a very expensive city but I am sure a local can help you make your stay more
fun.
www.couchsurfing.com

Other recommendations if you can't reach your budget is Beijing, Beihai neighborhood area.

Gee, I hope that's a typo - over $500 for breakfast for 7 days at the Toshi Center - I don't know that hotel but that really seems expensive - something doesn't seem right.....

If I don't have breakfast included like at the Toyoko Inn, I just eat out - there are always a lot of places you can stop in particularly around stations - never pay more than 500 JPY. Plus every room I've ever stayed in has a tea pot and tea....

In the Sunroute Hotels that I have stayed at breakfast has been included in the price of the room which I booked online.

The Higashi Shinjuku Sunroute is just bordering the red light district of Kabuki-cho which is not as bad as it sounds especially in Japan.

I would, like you, have the bIkebekuro or the Sunroute Shinjuku circled of the choices you present. Either one is close to a subway line which is crucial to ease of transport in and around Tokyo and both are in very vibrant areas of the cities where shopping and dining opportunities are literally endless.

Aloha!

Ok, so after hemming and hawing about if I was really going to go through with booking a flight to Japan, I finally bit the bullet yesterday and did it! I tried to buy the ticket online at the JAL site (for North America), but the site was a bit quirky and kept giving me this error message about the passport name and credit card name not matching (the suffix "II" on my name was the problem).

So, the flight is from Los Angeles to Tokyo (Narita) on a JAL flight operated by American Airlines (ho-hum, thought I was going to actually get to fly on a JAL plane). Roundtrip fare with all taxes, etc is $925. I could have gotten it a bit cheaper for $887 on Singapore (on the a380), by my sister's delayed response as to whether or not she would go to Japan with me pushed me a day past the fare sale. For $6 I could have flown Singapore on the a380, but I've been reading mixed reviews about the seats in economy, so I opted for JAL. The plus for the JAL flight is that I'll be arriving much earlier and that will give me a bit of time, hopefully, to do a little local exploring.

The hotel has been secured as well - I've gone with the Hotel Sunroute Higashi Shinjuku. I reviewed everything I had researched about my final choices and this one just seem to be the best fit. I booked it for $569 (7 nights), so that's a pretty good deal.

My next thing to do is get my flight from DFW to LAX taken care of. This is an interesting predicament - I reactivated 13k AA miles yesterday, so I'm less than 4k miles within goal of having 37,500 for a round trip. I was also thinking that I could just fly direct to LAX for free (25k miles) and then fly Virgin back to Dallas - my reasoning for this is that my flight from Tokyo arrives back to LAX around 9 something in the morning - now, if I were to try and fly free on AA (for 12,5k miles) back to DFW, there's a flight at 1040a, but I fear that I would not have enough time to make that flight given that I have to go through customs, pick up luggage, etc. The next available 'free' flight is at 4p and I have no desire to hang out at LAX for 6 hours!

I guess what I need to start doing now is research and planning as to what I want to see / do in Tokyo and go from there. I do know that I want to do a day trip out to Hakone / Mt. Fuji. That is #1 on my list. Everything else is secondary, but I do know that since I'm a vinyl junkie (of sorts), I want to find some second hand record shops in Tokyo and satiate my desire for Japanese pressings of records and CDs! Oh, not to mention, load up on some of the wacky and wonderful flavors of Kit Kat bars they have over there, like pancake flavor, blueberry cheesecake and more!

So, if anyone has a top 10 must see things in Tokyo (or any other info they would like to impart), I'm all up for it! Thanks!

re: Singapore air flight, that should have read "$6 more", not just "$6".

You do know you can buy those missing FF miles, right?

@thursdaysd - yeah, I could have bought them, but it would have been too much.

12,5k miles from DFW to LAX only presented me with one option.
25k miles gave me many options, so I chose that.

12.5k miles from LAX to DFW gave me a quite options, but none were really good.

25k miles from LAX to DFW would have been perfect in allowing me an earlier flight back home, but considering that at the moment I only have 34k miles, buying an extra 16k miles would have cost me $440. As I stated previously, there's a flight at 1040am, but I would be cutting it close and would probably be in no mood to rush and catch a flight.

trafaelwyr - your hotel booking sounds like a great price - may I ask how you booked it?
When are you going?

@Mara - hi! I used booking.com for the hotel. I found that this was the best site to book a hotel from as it had the best rates on the net. I'll be in Tokyo from the 1st of September and leaving on the 8th of September. The research on what to do there has started!

Interesting, trafaelwyr, someone else I know has used that site as well - thanks for the info. Plenty of time for your research...I'm leaving on Wednesday...oy....

Another vote for booking.com - I've used them several times.

Things to do in Tokyo:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2164.html

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-305.pdf

@hawaiiantraveler - thank you so much for those links! I already have the japan-guide link bookmarked, but the other you posted (the pdf) is new to me and exactly the kind of thing that will let me explore the city. Thanks!

Wow, that is a great rate for that hotel you booked. I guess it is because it is early Sept. when it is still pretty hot in Tokyo. I checked rates at that hotel for later next fall and nothing close to your rate comes up.

Mara, have a great trip! Steady footing!

I would have opted for SQ hands down but that's just me.

The editors will love me for this one

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/tokyo/85_indattr.html

Aloha!

http://gojapan.about.com/od/attractionintokyo/Attraction_in_Tokyo.htm

another one for you

Mara, take me with you!!!

Aloha!

Thanks, emd3
ht, no room in those little Toyoko Inn singles for a companion....