Suggestions on Hotels Tokyo and Kyoto

LovesTimone

Christmas Day 2017
Joined
Apr 29, 2009
We are just in the beginning stages of planning, and I am sorta starting to form a plan out... There is so much info to take in... Honestly its a bit over whelming... I got my head down and I am plowing through everything. I'm sure things will change as I go along...

We are Hilton Members so that might be one route we used a ton of point last year and not sure what we have right now.... so we are open to anything...

We were told Shibuya was a good area to stay in... and I can't remember the other area... We are looking to see the Tokyo national museum, Skytree, Imperial Palace, and hit Nakamise Shopping street..

In Tokyo I think I'm not sure if this is close to what we want to see... - we want to stay near the station where we can take the Shinkansen train to Kyoto... with out going to any great length or hassle especially if we have a early morning train to catch.

We are thinking about going to guided route for Tokyo... we are planning only going to spend one full day in Tokyo at this point... so we would need it for 2 nights... arrival day and the next night - before heading to Kyoto...

Any help or suggestion is appreciated... as always:thanks:
 
The Palace is walkable from Tokyo Station and the other locations are Ueno and Asakusa. I think you could pick either Tokyo station or Ueno as a place to stay. The shinkansen leaves from Tokyo station. Tokyo station and Ueno are very much business hotels and budget options with Ueno being more spacious. Ginza is an option if you want nicer hotels that will be slightly more convenient than Shibuya for the places you are interested in. The only Hilton property somewhat nearby is the Conrad. I've stayed there once and loved the view and their slippers (took as many as possible to use at home). It's pricey but I can give more details if you're interested. I've also stayed at the Marriott Courtyards, the Prince hotel and several business/budget hotels near there.

If you're traveling with children, you may want to be careful if you're staying in Akihabara, Kanda, Kinshicho or even the Southern part of Ueno which have adult oriented entertainment areas.
 
If you're taking an early morning Shinkansen to Kyoto, definitely stay near Tokyo Station. The only other station where you can catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto is Shinagawa station. Of the two stations, Tokyo station is more recommended. Skytree, National Museum and Nakamise are closer to Tokyo Station than to Shibuya (They're actually pretty close to one another. You can knock all 3 in one day)
 
We are staying in an Airbnb in Tokyo that I'm really excited about! I've been in contact with the owner and she seems super nice and friendly. She has tons of good reviews on the website. I'm not sure if you're interested in going that route, but I'd be willing to share her name with you. Her airbnb is in Shibuya next to Yoyogi Park. That might not be the best place for you though since it's not near one of the main stations for the shinkansen. We are doing 5 nights there so we don't mind it.

As far as Kyoto, we are staying at an apartment hotel for 6 nights. We mainly wanted a kitchen and washer and dryer so that's why we went that route. It was pretty cheap and it's a big studio room. I could share that one with you too if you want. The only thing about our Kyoto one is it's near Fushimi Inari which isn't next to Kyoto Station, but I did that on purpose because I want to be able to walk to the shrine.
 


The Palace is walkable from Tokyo Station and the other locations are Ueno and Asakusa. I think you could pick either Tokyo station or Ueno as a place to stay. The shinkansen leaves from Tokyo station. Tokyo station and Ueno are very much business hotels and budget options with Ueno being more spacious. Ginza is an option if you want nicer hotels that will be slightly more convenient than Shibuya for the places you are interested in. The only Hilton property somewhat nearby is the Conrad. I've stayed there once and loved the view and their slippers (took as many as possible to use at home). It's pricey but I can give more details if you're interested. I've also stayed at the Marriott Courtyards, the Prince hotel and several business/budget hotels near there.

If you're traveling with children, you may want to be careful if you're staying in Akihabara, Kanda, Kinshicho or even the Southern part of Ueno which have adult oriented entertainment areas.


It just the 2 of us on this trip... Any info on the hotels would be so much appreciated. We really are looking for a king bed, and hotel that has a restaurant and bar if possible... and of course is safe...

We want to be nearer the Train Station... Tokyo, the less we have to travel when moving from hotel to hotel is important... I do have a question... how do we move our luggage on the Shinkansen... a friend told us that that don't allow luggage on the train, and we would have to have it shipped to the next hotel? then I read that if you upgrade to a green seat, then you can bring your luggage aboard...and they will stow it... Is this correct?

Thanks
 
If you're taking an early morning Shinkansen to Kyoto, definitely stay near Tokyo Station. The only other station where you can catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto is Shinagawa station. Of the two stations, Tokyo station is more recommended. Skytree, National Museum and Nakamise are closer to Tokyo Station than to Shibuya (They're actually pretty close to one another. You can knock all 3 in one day)


I was checking out google maps, and I thought that they looked close together, and the Palace is walk-able from Tokyo Station... We are hoping to get all of them done in one day... and are thinking for using a private guide for this day... so that we can get alot done in the only full day that we will be in Tokyo...
 
It just the 2 of us on this trip... Any info on the hotels would be so much appreciated. We really are looking for a king bed, and hotel that has a restaurant and bar if possible... and of course is safe...

We want to be nearer the Train Station... Tokyo, the less we have to travel when moving from hotel to hotel is important... I do have a question... how do we move our luggage on the Shinkansen... a friend told us that that don't allow luggage on the train, and we would have to have it shipped to the next hotel? then I read that if you upgrade to a green seat, then you can bring your luggage aboard...and they will stow it... Is this correct?

Thanks
We used the Shinkansen without a green pass and with our luggage. Never had a problem with it. Took luggage on regular JR trans and the subway trains too.
 


It just the 2 of us on this trip... Any info on the hotels would be so much appreciated. We really are looking for a king bed, and hotel that has a restaurant and bar if possible... and of course is safe...

We want to be nearer the Train Station... Tokyo, the less we have to travel when moving from hotel to hotel is important... I do have a question... how do we move our luggage on the Shinkansen... a friend told us that that don't allow luggage on the train, and we would have to have it shipped to the next hotel? then I read that if you upgrade to a green seat, then you can bring your luggage aboard...and they will stow it... Is this correct?

Thanks

If you're looking for king bed, lower end business hotels near Tokyo station are basically all out. I think Unizo Inn is a fine business hotel chain but they'll probably feel cramped for you. I also think the Tokyo Station Courtyard only has queen but at least doesn't feel overly cramped. It has 2 restaurant/bar areas which feel standard for Courtyards in Asia. The Ginza Courtyard has king sized beds and their restaurant/bar is better. It's an overall nicer hotel and the breakfast has better Japanese options. But I usually stay at the Tokyo station Courtyard which is more convenient and has enough food for dinner for Marriott Platinums vs. just an afternoon drink at the Ginza location.

The Prince hotel is right next to Tokyo Tower and has one of my favorite restaurants in the world: Yakiniku Champion. If you've never had wagyu before (I mean the real Japanese stuff, not the stuff that foreigners call wagyu), it will be a tongue opening experience. Be aware that after having premium wagyu for the first time, you may become disappointed that with the beef served in other places in the world.

I can't speak for the restaurant or bar at the Conrad because I didn't eat there but they have a dark sort of luxury. Their fitness center is excellent but you may not have time to visit. This is the most spacious/luxurious of the hotels I've stayed at in Japan so far. From your specifications, I think you'll be happy with any of the luxury hotels in the area a couple stations south of Tokyo Station. But they tend to be slightly more expensive and maybe and a few extra minutes of travel to the places you are interested in when compared to Tokyo station options.
 
If you're looking for king bed, lower end business hotels near Tokyo station are basically all out. I think Unizo Inn is a fine business hotel chain but they'll probably feel cramped for you. I also think the Tokyo Station Courtyard only has queen but at least doesn't feel overly cramped. It has 2 restaurant/bar areas which feel standard for Courtyards in Asia. The Ginza Courtyard has king sized beds and their restaurant/bar is better. It's an overall nicer hotel and the breakfast has better Japanese options. But I usually stay at the Tokyo station Courtyard which is more convenient and has enough food for dinner for Marriott Platinums vs. just an afternoon drink at the Ginza location.

The Prince hotel is right next to Tokyo Tower and has one of my favorite restaurants in the world: Yakiniku Champion. If you've never had wagyu before (I mean the real Japanese stuff, not the stuff that foreigners call wagyu), it will be a tongue opening experience. Be aware that after having premium wagyu for the first time, you may become disappointed that with the beef served in other places in the world.

I can't speak for the restaurant or bar at the Conrad because I didn't eat there but they have a dark sort of luxury. Their fitness center is excellent but you may not have time to visit. This is the most spacious/luxurious of the hotels I've stayed at in Japan so far. From your specifications, I think you'll be happy with any of the luxury hotels in the area a couple stations south of Tokyo Station. But they tend to be slightly more expensive and maybe and a few extra minutes of travel to the places you are interested in when compared to Tokyo station options.


Thanks I will be checking into all of your suggestions.. Thanks so much...
 
We used the Shinkansen without a green pass and with our luggage. Never had a problem with it. Took luggage on regular JR trans and the subway trains too.

Thanks, so one more question if you please.... , Do you keep your luggage with you? we would have a standard size suitcases - one each and then a personal item each, and maybe one roll-on size suitcase... is there room to store all this?
 
On the bullet trains and some JR trains, there's usually a luggage storage area near the doors for larger bags. Plus several times the trains weren't crowded, so bags could be stored in seats nearby. But on other trains and subways, we sometimes just kept our bags in the aisle in front of us.
 
Hi! I have not been yet (going in June) but I also did a lot of research before jumping on a hotel in Tokyo and I decided we wanted to be in Shinjuku because it seems close to everything we want to do or just a short metro stop or two away. We are a family of five, and this hotel offered us (via an Expedia package) two rooms, which I know we will appreciate. It's the Hotel Wing International Yotsuya ( https://www.hotelwing.co.jp/yotsuya/en/ ). It ticked all our boxes. It's nothing fancy, but has good reviews and breakfast, so I was sold. Really though it's the location that I liked the best.

We are IHG Reward Club (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn) members and are using points for our stays in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Hong Kong.

Good luck planning! I love the planning, but this trip is proving to be more work than my others.
 
Hi! I have not been yet (going in June) but I also did a lot of research before jumping on a hotel in Tokyo and I decided we wanted to be in Shinjuku because it seems close to everything we want to do or just a short metro stop or two away. We are a family of five, and this hotel offered us (via an Expedia package) two rooms, which I know we will appreciate. It's the Hotel Wing International Yotsuya ( https://www.hotelwing.co.jp/yotsuya/en/ ). It ticked all our boxes. It's nothing fancy, but has good reviews and breakfast, so I was sold. Really though it's the location that I liked the best.

We are IHG Reward Club (Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn) members and are using points for our stays in Kyoto, Hiroshima and Hong Kong.

Good luck planning! I love the planning, but this trip is proving to be more work than my others.

I like your planning. I also am thinking about combining with Hong Kong...or even Shanghai. Are you flying to Hong Kong
first or after Tokyo? I was planning on paying for our hotels with Hilton/Marriott points but may get a IHG card also if hotels are
plenty out there.
 
I like your planning. I also am thinking about combining with Hong Kong...or even Shanghai. Are you flying to Hong Kong
first or after Tokyo? I was planning on paying for our hotels with Hilton/Marriott points but may get a IHG card also if hotels are
plenty out there.

I think the IHG card is offering 120,000 bonus points for sign up right now, which would go pretty far. I ended up booking the Expedia package, which has to be roundtrip, in and out of Tokyo. Our itinerary looks like this: Tokyo (three nights), TDR (three nights), fly to Hiroshima (Crowne Plaza for two nights), bullet train to Kyoto (Crowne Plaza for two nights), flight to Hong Kong (Intercontinental Hong Kong two nights, Disney Hollywood Hotel one night), fly back to Narita (Crowne Plaza Narita one night), fly home! We require two rooms at each location and I was able to get all IHG rooms free except half of Kyoto, but I snagged a travel agent rate instead ;) I am spending hardly nothing on our rooms, but still couldn't bring myself to pay for two rooms as Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel! I'm trying to go as cheap as possible so we have more money for fun stuff while there.

All of the rooms in Japan were 30,000 points a night, which really isn't a great point to yen value in say Hiroshima, but fine in Kyoto. But in the end I decided free was free.

I considered Shanghai and at one point was trying to do all three, but once I really looked into it, Hong Kong itself and Hong Kong Disney get better reviews, so I chose it. I found relatively good flights on ANA to get there. There were cheaper flights, but they were too early in the morning and I wanted that second night in Kyoto.

I will also say I researched flights for quite some time and watch the trend for about a year hoping we would be taking this trip this year. Often times to Europe I can find good-priced one-way flights, but Japan never had cheap one-ways, which is why, in the end, we are going in and out of Tokyo instead of heading home from Hong Kong. Plus, doing the package, I got the hotel for super cheap in Tokyo.
 
I think the IHG card is offering 120,000 bonus points for sign up right now, which would go pretty far. I ended up booking the Expedia package, which has to be roundtrip, in and out of Tokyo. Our itinerary looks like this: Tokyo (three nights), TDR (three nights), fly to Hiroshima (Crowne Plaza for two nights), bullet train to Kyoto (Crowne Plaza for two nights), flight to Hong Kong (Intercontinental Hong Kong two nights, Disney Hollywood Hotel one night), fly back to Narita (Crowne Plaza Narita one night), fly home! We require two rooms at each location and I was able to get all IHG rooms free except half of Kyoto, but I snagged a travel agent rate instead ;) I am spending hardly nothing on our rooms, but still couldn't bring myself to pay for two rooms as Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel! I'm trying to go as cheap as possible so we have more money for fun stuff while there.

All of the rooms in Japan were 30,000 points a night, which really isn't a great point to yen value in say Hiroshima, but fine in Kyoto. But in the end I decided free was free.

I considered Shanghai and at one point was trying to do all three, but once I really looked into it, Hong Kong itself and Hong Kong Disney get better reviews, so I chose it. I found relatively good flights on ANA to get there. There were cheaper flights, but they were too early in the morning and I wanted that second night in Kyoto.

I will also say I researched flights for quite some time and watch the trend for about a year hoping we would be taking this trip this year. Often times to Europe I can find good-priced one-way flights, but Japan never had cheap one-ways, which is why, in the end, we are going in and out of Tokyo instead of heading home from Hong Kong. Plus, doing the package, I got the hotel for super cheap in Tokyo.


You have an amazing itinerary! I hope you come back with a trip report. We orginally were going to go in 2021 but now im thinking
maybe we can swing it next April. Budget wise might be tough because of major expenses coming up. I like to plan things 2 years in advance
so even 1 year out is making me nervous. lol
 

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