Confused about where to stay in Tokyo

Old Aug 19th, 2014, 10:58 AM
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Confused about where to stay in Tokyo

I'm trying to book accommodation for our trip to Japan in January.

Tokyo is, of course proving to be an issue. We're 2 adults, a 3 year old and a 7 year old. So, to avoid the problem of having to sit in the dark in silence at 7pm when the 3 year old goes to bed, we've been looking at interconnecting rooms.

For some reason, I have in my notes that we should stay in Shinjuku. But accommodation, especially interconnecting rooms is eye-wateringly expensive.

I've visited Tokyo before, but either as business trips or in my studenty single days, so my feeling for different areas may not be right for a family.

I've come across serviced apartments in both Akihabara and Asaksa/Roppongi - but my memories of those areas is too loud/sleazy/busy for a family trip. My other instinct is to look to stay near Ueno, but I think that's because I know there is a big park there (I don't like Tokyo, I find it far too intense and busy, and I remember getting a bit of relief at Ueno park - I'd happily skip Tokyo, but my husband has never been, so we're compromising on 3 nights)

Any suggestions?
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 01:18 PM
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I've stayed in Roppongi many times, both with and without our two girls. It is not too sleazy for a family. Yes there are lots of nightclubs, but they are mostly on the upper floors of buidlings. The main indication they are there is the expensive cars being parked by valets from about 10 pm on, long after you have gone to bed! There are lots of nice shops, restaurants and regular tourists/people in the area all day and evening.

You might check into Japanese style rooms in some of the hotels. Often they have a separate sitting area that closes off from the main/sleeping room. You might have to be silent, but you wont be in the dark. An added bonus for us was that our kids always loved snuggling in to their "floor beds"
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 04:00 PM
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That's reassuring about Roppongi. My previous experiences of certain parts of it hadn't been too pleasant - but they were much later at night!

It really is hard to know where to stay. We're not picky, but with young children, practicalities (and finances!) tend to dictate a lot.

I'll look into Japanese style rooms too - if we can be guaranteed a separate sitting area, that might well work for us.

My original plan was a serviced apartment with a kitchenette as one of my daughters has food allergies, so it's nice to be able to cook one or two guaranteed "safe" meals a day even on holiday, but there seems to be a problem finding them for shorter stays.

Thanks
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Old Aug 19th, 2014, 07:24 PM
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Since the sites are spread all over the metropolitan, there's no reason to limit yourself to Shinjuku. Ikebukuro, for example, is just fine with lots of hotel choices, and generally cheaper. Ueno area is fine as well, so are many others.
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Old Aug 20th, 2014, 10:01 PM
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We took middle school children to Japan ten years ago and loved our stay in the Asakusa district, which feels more traditional, lots of pedestrian only pathways and nice temples. There is a subway station so easy to get to other parts of Tokyo. We stayed at the Ryokan Shigetsu and were very pleased. It looks like they have some two-room suites. I don't know the Ryokan Kamogawa Asakusa but it also appears to offer two-room suites. Prices don't look too bad.
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Old Aug 22nd, 2014, 02:59 PM
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Take a look at the Citadine Hotel in Shinjuku. The bed situation might work for you if you took the largest room. All rooms have a small kitchenette where you could prepare light meals. We stayed there last Nov. for 6 nights and liked it. As an added bonus, the rate for 2 was very reasonable-$120-$180 per night depending on the night. If you join their loyalty program and book online, you get a small discount.
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Old Aug 22nd, 2014, 10:24 PM
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I think it really depends on what you want to see and do. For MY interests, Ueno was perfect -- but then, I wanted easy access to several different subway and train lines and easy access to Ueno Park and Asakusa, and I did NOT want to be anywhere near the crush of Shinjuku except for my one visit there, carefully timed for when it would potentially be a bit less crazy than other times. ;-)
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Old Aug 31st, 2014, 04:03 PM
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Thanks everyone!

After much discussion and back and forth, we've booked the Shinjuku Citadines. It's certainly a lot lot smaller than what we've become used to here in NZ (where we usually stay in motels, with 2 bedrooms plus separate sitting room and kitchen area), but once I convinced my husband that there was no way we would get that within our budget in Tokyo, we've settled on Citadines.

He really wanted to be near the bustle of Shinjuku to experience the craziness. I suspect he may regret it

We decided against the ryokan/Japanese room experience for Tokyo, partly because I just don't think my children are quiet enough to stay in a Ryokan, but also because I'm hoping that our 5 nights in Kyoto will be in a Machiya or some sort of Japanese style accommodation. That's my next project - to find somewhere close to public transport, suitable for children and not hideously expensive!
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