We stayed in the Century Southern and loved it. We also got a very good deals (a few years ago), and stayed in a superior room. It was very roomy and comfortable, and as Kavey mentioned, had great views. The lobby has wrap around windows, so really nice views in all directions there.

The location couldn't be more convenient. It's near a transportation hub so great access to most lines. It's across from a huge Takashimaya store. The upper few floors are all restaurants. We had some great food there, and nothing overly expensive. The lower level is an amazing grocery store. It's well worth checking out.

The train station there is huge, and if you walk out the wrong exit, it's a bit of a trek back to the hotel, so take careful note of where you enter, and try to retrace your steps. There are some signs for Takashimaya, and if we were totally confused we asked people to point us to Takashimaya, as some didn't know of the hotel.

There a great little French bakery down the walk way (make left exiting the hotel, towards the station), that we had breakfast at almost everyday. One morning, there had been a typhoon (not as bad as it sounds), and most of the trains weren't running. That morning we had the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was very good, similar to a buffet at a Marriott with some additional Japanese specialties, and about the same price (~$25). Other than that we did not eat in hotel restaurants. But on the 4th or 5th floor of the same building, there are a few restaurants (independent of hotel). We ate at a Japanese one there and it was very good.

There was also a shuttle service to the airport (we flew from Haneda), very close to the hotel and very reasonable and efficient.

>>possibly some sumo wrestling

The July grand sumo tournament is held in Nagoya. It is only 101 minutes on the Tokaido shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya. The tournament would be over by 6PM, so it is possible as a day trip from Tokyo. Not cheap, tho, as the regular one-way fare with reserved seat is ¥11,290

If you were to take the shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto then it will stop in Nagoya. Nagoya to Kyoto is about 35 minutes.

The Nagoya Hilton is nice and fairly close to the JR station. They had a shuttle to the shinkansen side of the station. Taxi fare is affordable. The Marriott Associa is on top of Nagoya station but I haven't stayed there.