Shibuya , Shinjuku, or Ginza
 

We are going to be in Tokyo for 2 nights, leaving in just a few weeks.

In spite of researching this, I am still undecided about the best location/hotel to stay for the few nights we have.

We would like to be able to shop on foot easily during the day , and entertainment ie restaurants and even shopping at night.

Initially thought Shinjuku fit the bill (Century Hyatt) but have been advised by some this is a busy,impersonal location.

Ginza (Renaissance) sounds nice but maybe too upscale for my teenagers.

Shibuya now sounds like a better possiblity (Shibuya Excel).

Any suggestions ? Thank you.

Hi

My wife and I stayed in the Akasaka district. We were quite happy with staying there. From the subway station Akasaka-mitsuke it was only a few minutes to Ginza, Shinjuku and Shibuya. I have posted a trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm :-) Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

I'd agree that the Century Hyatt is not the best location, and Shinjuku is a bit more spread out that some other neighborhoods. (On the other hand, we got a wonderful view of Fuji-san from our room at the Hyatt a few years back!)

For your purposes though, I might suggest Roppongi. Lots and lots of shopping, entertainment, and restaurants, plus nearby pleasant neighborhoods for strolling and exploring. LOTS of teenagers in the Roppongi Hills shops.

I've stayed at the Grand Hyatt and it's a lovely place; others have suggested and recommended some nearby places as well.

Thank you.

I have not found a Roppongi hotel which is serviced by the LimousineBus service which seems to be a great way to get to Narita.

The Renaissance was very user friendly in terms of making resevations and getting information.

Is the commute from the Renaissance to Shibuya very easy ? If so, we may base there and travel to Shibuya to shop and eat.

Tried to make reservations at the Shibuya Tokyu hotels and have found their web site unclear, no 800 numbers and phone call directly to Tokyo may be an arm and a leg .

To me Ginza appeals more to the matured except for the part where the Sony building and the dept stores are located.

Shopping and food are available all over so actually makes no difference to me.
Get a hotel in a location which is accessible to the Metro so that you can move around easily. Cabs are pretty pricey. Check out Harajuku and Omote Sando as well.

One subway train, a half hour ride will take you to Shibuya from the Renaissance.

We just finished a stay at the Renaissance a few days ago (currently in Nagoya at this point in our trip). Small room but very nicely located. It was easy to get to from the airport using the Friendly Airport Limousine (orange bus) at 30,000 yen apiece. From the the hotel, it was easy to get to Roppongi at night via subway (the Higashi-Ginza stop in just a few blocks away), and also Harajuku on the weekend to see the teenagers promenading the streets. Also, your teenagers might like to see the Tsukiji Fish Market, where most of Japan's seafood comes through. Its auction of frozen tuna (rows and rows of fish and men yelling out prices) starts between 5:30 am - 6:00 am, plus you can wander around the market afterwards. This is only about 10 minutes walk from the hotel. To find the auction, you need to walk all the way into the fish market, past all the trucks and forklifts zipping by. We happened upon a small group heading that way and just followed them - luck since we would have never found the visitor passage in the very back of the market on our own. The Renaissance provides detailed instruction sheets on how to find all of these things.

Thanks very much for the feedback regarding Renaissance. Will check also re the Friendly Airport limousine.

> Friendly Airport Limousine (orange bus) at 30,000 yen apiece ..

Cleo I hope it was 3000yen. Or you did get ripped off, did you ? ;-)

I haven't been back to Shibuya since longtime, 10 years. I always thought the area was unbelivably crowded, especially arond the JR station, even compared to Shinjuku, so I think somehow I have been avoiding Shibuya till now. Could things have changed today?

My husband and I just returned from our trip to Tokyo. We stayed at the Keio Plaza in Shinjuku and really liked it. It's very close to Shinjuku station, so you can hop on the subway and go pretty much anywhere.
Ginza is nice and yes it is upscale, but that's part of the fun! It was quite an experience to walk by all those fancy stores (Gucci, Cartier, etc. etc.) Even though you might not be able to do much shopping there, it's always fun to look!

siena:
Did you get to walk around the area around the hotel? Did you like it?

Sorry - happy fingers typing! For the airport limo bus service it was 3000 yen ($29US) each.

We just got back from the Shinjuku shopping area this afternoon. Masses and masses of people, lots of stores restaurants and people watching. Compared to thr Ginza , this was simply amazing to see so many people in one area. Tommorrow going to Shibuya and will let you know the comparison. Am staying with my daughter who lives in Roppongi Hills again great area but not as crowed as the other places. All I have to say is to take "Money"(Lots of Money) as things are quite pricey. Be prepared for sticker schock. The perfect mellon is $125US. Have fun.

That perfect melon for $125.00 is meant as a gift melon...not for personal consumption. Melons for eating range from $2.00 - $15.00 each, depending on size and variety and season. No one would spend $125.00 on a melon to slice up and eat themselves.

I've seen and heard the melon price many times; is seems it is often quoted as evidence of how high prices are in Japan. Truthfully, as a normal traveler I did not experience sticker shock in Japan. I live near a large metropolitan center (7 miles from D.C. in Northern VA). Maybe if you lived in a more rural location you'd think prices in Japan are high, but then again I guess you'd think prices in NYC, LA, and DC are high too. We found some good bargains on food and we bought items that we liked and thought were a good value. Hotel rooms seemed to me to be about the same in Tokyo as in NYC, and in Kyoto they are less expensive. Does Amtrak have as good a bargain as the JR pass? I'm not sure if they offer a pass like JR does, but the JR pass is an amazing value, esp. for someone who really wants to get around to many places or go a far distance on an excellent and efficient transportation system. There are other transportation values, like domestic airfare for tourists who are traveling inside Japan (like $100-120 fares for long distances). You can go to a professional baseball game for $10 and sit in the very fun fan section.

There are some things, like a high end ryokan or a really exquisite multi course kaseiki (sp? never had one and I can never spell it) meal that will extract many yen from the pocket. But I don't do those. It doesn't mean Japan is way overpriced, it means there are some traditional things that are high priced. I guess this is like saying America is so overpriced because it costs $300 a person to eat at the Inn at Little Washington or $500 and up to sleep at the St. Regis in NYC or Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica. It is a skewed viewpoint.

I'm sorry to get off topic, but I think the "way overpriced" image of Japan is unwarranted.

So what is the best way to pay for most purchases in Japan ? With cash or credit card ? We are hoping to use the latter .

I have been in Tokyo for the past 5 weeks and prices do not compare to the US, I go to the market with my daughter and I see the prices of goods and they are much higher then the States. You can go to an up scale restaurant in the states and pay premium prices. Sure there are lower prices which are comparable, but Tokyo is listed as the most expensive city in the world. It is costly here, the best bargain is lunch, where the prices are reasonable. I have traveled all over the world and Tokyo is by far the most expensive with London next.

Keep in mind that your daughter lives in Roppongi Hills, a very exclusive enclave of high income, high spending people. People there perhaps shop at National Azabu Supermarket or somewhere similar, which is expensive. I assume your daughter is in Japan on an expat package work assignment. Nothing wrong with that at all, in fact it's a great way to live in an foreign country.

Do know that the average person does not live such a lifestyle. We are expats, but have gone local, so to speak. We spend ¥40,000 a month on food (we are a family of 3), and we use a rather expensive compared to regular supermarket price oranganic delivery service. We rent a very large house (7 rooms)close to downtown Kanazawa with 2 parking spaces for ¥100,000 per month, and pay an addition ¥20,000 for electic, water and gas.

Granted, we are not in Tokyo, but please do understand that the average Tokyoite is not living in Rappongi Hills either.

I certainly agree with emd...we live very easily here, much more easily than were we to find a similar housing situation in a small American city. The elementary school my daughter attends is a 3 minute walk from home. School lunch cost ¥200 per day and consists of a well balanced, low fat, high quality meal. The situation is similar in Tokyo public schools.

Well, this has gotten way off topic. I just wanted to point out that Japan in general is not nearly as expensive as people might think. And Rappongi Hills and the surrounding neighborhood are not indicative of the national trend in lifestyle or expenses.

okoshi...to answer your question about paying for things...
Credit cards are widely accepted. Visa is most common. Some small shops or restaurants are cash only though. If they take credit cards, they do not always display the logos outside, so if youa ren't sure, ask.

Hawaiian,
Yes, we walked around the area quite a bit, especially in the evenings. I liked it because I really enjoy people-watching and with so many people around, it was a lot of fun!

Regarding credit cards vs. cash: my husband and I used cash. Smaller shops may not take credit cards. Plus, when I called my bank to give them a travel notification for our credit cards, they recommended we use cash to prevent identity theft.
I think it's always good to have money in a variety of forms (cash, credit card, traveller's checks) just in case, but that's just my opinion.

siena1 - that's what we did too.

I was afraid we would have trouble with our credit cards, so we carried a combination of $$, yen, travelers checks (which were easily exchanged at a bank in Kyoto - and the rate was good too), and credit cards.
Lot of smaller shops only took yen, as did many restaurants. We did manage to get money from a Post Office ATM.
I know others like to travel with plastic, but I felt more comfortable with several options.
Our guest house in Kyoto - we stayed 5 nights, 3 people - only took cash (we knew this before we left home.)
Our hotel in Saijo would take a credit card, but they greatly preferred cash too.
okoshi2002 - be sure to post a trip report. Have a great time.