3 Best Hotels in Shinagawa, Tokyo

It's as if a traditional ryokan has been transported from rural Japan and delicately placed into this otherwise unremarkable hotel tower, where, after you snake through the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, you come to the Takanawa Hanakohro, with its Japanese-style suites and a staff that greets you with the utmost omotenashi, or mindful, unobtrusive hospitality. A stay here includes full access to all the lounges at neighboring Prince properties, as well as exclusive access to the Oh-Sai lounge, where you can have breakfast or an evening cocktail and participate in a matcha-making demonstration. Amid the four Prince hotels is a well-manicured garden that has a pond and is a quaint place for a short stroll.

Just a three-minute walk from JR Shinagawa Station, the multi-tower Prince Hotel is in a sprawling entertainment complex with, among other things, an 80-lane bowling alley, an 11-screen movie theater, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis and golf centers, and an aquarium, but crowds definitely detract from the experience of staying here. Guest rooms, simply designed and featuring pops of earth- or jewel-tone color, are on the small side overall; indeed, singles can be truly tiny, with space for a bed and little else. Families should book a larger twin room to better accommodate the kids. The Top of Shinagawa Lounge has spectacular views of Tokyo Bay.

Smoothly blending modernity with traditional Japanese aesthetics, the Strings by InterContinental is one of Shinagawa's top-tier hotels, where the lobby features an artful mix of dark wood and stone—as well as a glass bridge that spans a pond—and where the rooms have high-quality linens, natural wood accents, and astounding city views (it can be mesmerizing to watch the trains pass efficiently through Shinagawa Station). Prices in the hotel restaurants tend to be high, but the Shinagawa area has dining options for every budget. Access is a breeze to the Kyoto- and Nagoya-bound shinkansen (bullet train) and direct trains to both Narita and Haneda Airport .