Tokyo - where to stay

[roscoe39]

Hi Guys., just here to pick someones brains... I know very little about Tokyo and we are intending on staying one or two nights in Tokyo before a night in Yokohama before boarding the Queen Elizabeth next year. I have no idea where to even start when thinking of a hotel.

 

No great plans other than to wander and soak up the atmosphere as I appreciate we will not be there long enough to see much. A day walking and maybe a temple or park would be nice.

 

Does any one have any suggestions as to areas to stay that will be close to train and metro services?

 

thanks much appreciated....Roscoe

[damon31]

Hi Guys., just here to pick someones brains... I know very little about Tokyo and we are intending on staying one or two nights in Tokyo before a night in Yokohama before boarding the Queen Elizabeth next year. I have no idea where to even start when thinking of a hotel.

 

 

 

No great plans other than to wander and soak up the atmosphere as I appreciate we will not be there long enough to see much. A day walking and maybe a temple or park would be nice.

 

 

 

Does any one have any suggestions as to areas to stay that will be close to train and metro services?

 

 

 

thanks much appreciated....Roscoe

 

 

 

We were in Tokyo last year and stayed at the Marriott Shinagawa

 

Good location and close to all public transport , so easy for sightseeing across Tokyo

 

Direct train from Haneda Airport to Shinagawa and the hotel offers a courtesy bus for the 2 min ride back to the hotel

 

Direct train to Yokohama station where you can get a taxi to the port ,

Or make a very easy connection on to the Metro and go a couple of stops on to Nihon Odori station where you can walk to the port

 

 

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[loeb]

We stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Marunouchi which is connected to Tokyo Station (the main train station). It's also easy to go to and from there to Yokohama and Narita Airport.

 

 

To see many of the tourist sites on your own, use the Yananote (Green) train, you catch it at Tokyo Station and it goes in a circle around Tokyo. See the youtube video

 

[Hlitner]

Tokyo is a huge city with excellent public transit. In these large cities we find it usually makes the most sense to first decide what neighborhood works best for your schedule and needs...and then look for hotels in that neighborhood. We have just been going through this same exercise for Tokyo because we are spending a night off our cruise ship and plan to catch up the following day. In our case, since we will need to take a train from Tokyo to Shimizu....we decided to stay near Tokyo Station which makes it easy for us to catch our train in the morning. Otherwise we might have decided to stay in the Shujinku area. Wherever you stay would would want to be near a subway station or a Yamanote Line stop....so that you have convenient public transit access for your visit.

 

Hank

[lilant]

Hi Guys., just here to pick someones brains... I know very little about Tokyo and we are intending on staying one or two nights in Tokyo before a night in Yokohama before boarding the Queen Elizabeth next year. I have no idea where to even start when thinking of a hotel.

 

 

 

No great plans other than to wander and soak up the atmosphere as I appreciate we will not be there long enough to see much. A day walking and maybe a temple or park would be nice.

 

 

 

Does any one have any suggestions as to areas to stay that will be close to train and metro services?

 

 

 

thanks much appreciated....Roscoe

 

 

 

Hey roscoe,

 

We stayed at both and both have +/- ...

 

Grand Hyatt shinjuku. Great for walking and shopping.

 

The strings/intercontinental shinagawa.

Closer to port super nice and connected to MAIN train station (to narita).

 

 

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[roscoe39]

thanks guys the Tokyo station does seem appealing for its access to airports etc. It seems that each area I look at in Tokyo seems to be unique in itself for shopping electronics, temples shrines etc, its a hard decision trying to choose one.

 

Its only a short visit so I'm not trying to "knock off Everest" just try soak up a bit of atmosphere, Id like to see something traditional - and do a few shrines.

 

I laugh at people when they come to NZ and want to see it in a day...I guess I shouldn't laugh anymore...

 

Has anyone written any blogs about their visit that I could read perhaps???

 

Roscoe

[loeb]

4774Papa did an excellent trip report on a Celebrity Millennium cruise in 2015.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2280643&highlight=Trip+Report+Japan

 

I would also search on youtube and trip advisors. There are a lot of videos on Tokyo on Youtube

[DarkJedi]

Gracery Hotel Shinjuku is right by the Shinjuku station. Easy transit from either hotel and to the port.

Golden Gai, Samurai museum, Robot Restaurant, all within walking distance.

 

Plus you get a life sized Godzilla on your hotel.

[roscoe39]

Gracery Hotel Shinjuku is right by the Shinjuku station. Easy transit from either hotel and to the port.

Golden Gai, Samurai museum, Robot Restaurant, all within walking distance.

 

Plus you get a life sized Godzilla on your hotel.

 

 

thanks...i like the idea of that...hah...

off to look at the trip report now...

 

roscoe

[Tara Jane]

Hi Roscoe,

If you aren't familiar with Tokyo and having such a short time there I would suggest you consider using the services of a goodwill guide. They are volunteers who will happily take you around Tokyo. Guides vary from uni students, business people, home mums, teachers, retired people. All have good to excellent english skills and the only cost to you is their travel, entry and meal expenses. They will meet you at your hotel and you will be in contact via email to discuss what your interests are. We have used the goodwill guides in various Japanese cities, other than the pleasure of spending time with a local, the huge bonus to me is not having to worry about trying to navigate the transport system. Book a guide as far ahead as possible particularly when in a port as when thousands of passengers converge on a city guides are limited.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/travel/guide/list_volunteerGuides.php

[DUHCAR]

CST. Century Southern Tower. Read the TA reviews. Book a corner room on a high floor. Views are stunning. Right at a train/metro/bus station so convenient to get anywhere. Please can just wander the streets and malls. Please considering staying more than one or two nights. You will find lots to do and see, trust me.

[roscoe39]

CST. Century Southern Tower. Read the TA reviews. Book a corner room on a high floor. Views are stunning. Right at a train/metro/bus station so convenient to get anywhere. Please can just wander the streets and malls. Please considering staying more than one or two nights. You will find lots to do and see, trust me.

 

more great suggestions....perhaps you're right, maybe two nights in Tokyo, especially as Ive just found the flights I would prefer land late afternoon. Yokohama may be a casualty.

[Grant2000]

If you want to enjoy Tokyo's nightlife, the Ginza District is a good place to stay. The main train station (Tokyo Station) is located nearby.

Tokyo is great. You'll love it!

 

https://tokyojapan.ca/districts/

[ollienbertsmum]

I think that Tokyo is such an enormous city that it is hard to pick a single district for a short trip. Any hotel that is near to the Yamanote line would allow you to get around. Just spend some time studying the transport map - we got so confused at first - by Day 6 I think we were starting to get the hang of it and it was time to leave:(.

 

If you want culture I would say fitting in Asakusa district and shrine and Ueno park into your 'wandering' schedule would tick some boxes. Oh I wish I was going back sometime soon.

[alibabacruisers]

Thanks Roscoe for starting this thread as we are also going to be on QE next year and are in the process of researching. Are you doing the 17 or 27 day or other QE cruise? We are doing the 27 day. Lots of good information here!

[roscoe39]

Thanks Roscoe for starting this thread as we are also going to be on QE next year and are in the process of researching. Are you doing the 17 or 27 day or other QE cruise? We are doing the 27 day. Lots of good information here!

 

 

Hi Alibaba have we met yet?? your name is familiar....

 

Yes so far have been able to ascertain that one night in Tokyo is not enough so going to have two nights there and then straight through to boarding in Yokohama and that Ginza seems to be the place that will suit us the best.

 

Im doing the 17 days at this stage and may look at extending it further closer to the time and if prices drop a bit. For the extra days, to repeat a couple of the ports didn't seem that worthwhile at the price I was quoted.

 

I think it will be a fun cruise, I already have a few friends from previous trips coming a long.

 

Try and spend some time in Vancouver if you can when you get off, and certainly look at the Rocky Mountaineer. I did it a few years ago and it was incredible.

[goldenrod]

Try TripAdvisor

 

 

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[Kkyykk]

Having just recently returned from couple weeks or so in Japan, my suggestion for a 1-2 night stay would be something a little different. If you are open to a different type of experience, a very Japanese one, give the Tokyo Ginza Bay Hotel a try. It's a capsule hotel. Look it up in TripAdvisor/Booking.com and you'll see what it's like and whether it would suit your taste and needs.

 

Why this suggestion? My thoughts on this are:

1 - Very clean and organized. Having stayed here when only needing 1-2 nights, I can confirm this.

2 - Inexpensive - You are staying in a very expensive district. This suggestion would help the wallet, tremondously.

3 - Location - super great location (without hitting the wallet, of course). 10 minute walk south east is the Tsukiji Fish market.

Even closer north east, you hit the famous Chuo Dori street (don't forget to visit the basements of these shopping complexes!)

Less than 5 minutes walk is a discount store with EVERYTHING: Don Quijote Ginza.

Just beyond Don Quijote is a Shimbashi subway entrance. The Ginza line runs through here and has limited express runs direct to Haneda airport (if you need it).

10 minutes south is Hamarikyu Gardens.

Anyways, I can go on but it's basically next door to a Marriott, without paying the Marriott price or the Ginza district prices.

And, in my opinion, having some fun trying something really different.

 

Ken

[alibabacruisers]

Hi Alibaba have we met yet?? your name is familiar....

 

Yes so far have been able to ascertain that one night in Tokyo is not enough so going to have two nights there and then straight through to boarding in Yokohama and that Ginza seems to be the place that will suit us the best.

 

Im doing the 17 days at this stage and may look at extending it further closer to the time and if prices drop a bit. For the extra days, to repeat a couple of the ports didn't seem that worthwhile at the price I was quoted.

 

I think it will be a fun cruise, I already have a few friends from previous trips coming a long.

 

Try and spend some time in Vancouver if you can when you get off, and certainly look at the Rocky Mountaineer. I did it a few years ago and it was incredible.

 

Hi Roscoe, no we have not met yet but I have followed your cruise reports a lot! We are in Melbourne so close to NZ. You have contributed so much and I hope we can meet next year!

 

I will have to check out the Ginza but at the moment we are looking at a place called Hotel New Grand.

[roscoe39]

Try TripAdvisor

 

 

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thanks that was very helpful

[roscoe39]

Hi Roscoe, no we have not met yet but I have followed your cruise reports a lot! We are in Melbourne so close to NZ. You have contributed so much and I hope we can meet next year!

 

I will have to check out the Ginza but at the moment we are looking at a place called Hotel New Grand.

 

 

thanks looks like a good option, very few hotels are accepting bookings that far in advance so just guessing on prices so far....

 

Melbourne is fantastic, hope you get a chance to try some of the food options out there.

 

roscoe