wideman

I’m not especially familiar with the neighborhoods right around the New Otani Hotel and the Grand Hyatt. Information about the following for either/both would be appreciated:

• ease of access from the subway (including whether climbing is done by stairs or escalators)
  
• interesting places in the neighborhood, especially streets to discover on foot
  
• access to large department stores
  
• access to Starbucks or similar

monahos

1. ease of access from the subway

The New Otani is served by the Ginza and Marunouchi lines. Entrance is nearby (escalators, + some wide stairs at the New Otani exit).
The Grand Hyatt is closest to the Oedo line (very deep being the newest line, and therefore well equipped with escalators) while the Hibiya line is rather more distant, with not-so-wide stairs at most exits.

2. interesting places in the neighborhood, especially streets to discover on foot

Neither neighborhood strikes me as the type to wander into, being too urban and high-rent to harbor quaint surprises. Akasaka feels upscale, busy, and Japanese at lunchtime, fairly dead in the evening (the whole area shuts down around 10pm). IMHO Roppongi teems with middle-range single expats working in nearby western financial institutions in the evening, plus the token US military and English teacher on weekends, and is unremarkable at day, although the GH is located in a fashionable and separate new development.

3. access to large department stores

Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ginza can be reached from both without changing subways.

4. access to Starbucks or similar

Available in both areas, perhaps a bit more of a walk from the New Otani.

Calcifer

Akasaka is actually quite hopping in the evenings with hostess clubs, bars, restaurants and the like (there's a strip club or two, as well). There's even a 24-hour massage joint that seems to cater to club workers; last time I was in Tokyo, I went in to one at 10am on a Sunday and got to hear some very interesting conversation from the guy in the next room, who seemed to be the manager of some local joint. It is definitely a more Japanese scene than Roppongi, though.

There's a good-size Starbucks, complete with an outside deck for smokers, on Aoyama-dori (Route 246) right off Sotobori-dori. Depending on whether the lights are with you or not (you have to cross some large streets), it's a 5-10 minute walk from the Otani, I'd guess.

Lots of nice restaurants in Akasaka--if you'd like recommendations, I can list some up for you (I worked in the neighborhood for a few years).

mjm

Subway access from the GHT is very easy and in fact one has to pass the entrance to the Hibiya Line to get to the entrance to the Oedo line so this makes it perhaps the easier choice. It is also served by escalators all the way to the tracks. Two escalators to be specific. The GHT is located in Roppongi Hills which has its own museum, observatory to view the entire Kanto Plain, and a multitude of shops and restaurants (200+ in fact) to check out. There is a 400 year old Japanese garden on the premises as well so you can truly see the Kanto area's history from the Jomon period through the Bakufu, and right up to present cutting edge Japan.

Akasaka offers much in the way of historical places to visit within a short distance also but is a dead area at night despite the street on which mini-Korea Town is located.

The GHT has three Starbucks withing a few footsteps within Roppongi Hills as well.

If you wander out and down the main road which cuts through Roppongi Hills (1/4 mile long or so) you get to the beginning of one of the more traditional neighborhoods in Tokyo. This area is called Azabu-Juban. Full of interesting side streets and worth a visit wherever you stay. Easy access to the Hibiya Line means you can get to the Ginza area, the Palace area, the Ueno Museum, and the Electric Town of Akihabara all on the same line.

Having lived here for 15 years, and having worked extensively in both of the places you ask about, I can more strongly recommend the Roppongi area (but you can skip the one strip that is Times Square 20 years ago). It is being developed as the cultural hub of Tokyo by three of the four major developers in Japan in conjunction with Governement support. The image of a foreigner haven full of young drunk and stupid miltary guys on leave has been shed and it now is a very appealing place to base yourself.

Of course your mileage may vary, but I am happy to offer any advice I can.

Mike

Pickles

Indeed, the Azabu-Juban area is quite neat. Eat at the Nagasaka Sarashina noodle shop, or buy sweet-bean stuffed tai-yaki. Maybe eat at Kurosawa's. The easiest and most appealing way to get to Azabu Juban (instead of going under the tunnel) is to walk down Keyakizaka doori (the Roppongi Hills street right outside the Hyatt, where the Mini showroom, the Chocolate de H shop, and the LV store are), and walk down until you get to the corner with the Asahi TV LCD number display and the Tsutaya/Starbucks. Make a right until you hit the Food:24 supermarket, and then follow along the right fork on the road (the narrower road). Kurosawa's will be on your right, and that's the main Azabu-Juban drag. Walk it and check it out until you hit the Azabu-Juban station at the other end.

On the other hand, the Akasaka-Aoyama area is quite upscale. If you walk in the direction of Aoyama doori (Rte 246), and walk Aoyama-doori starting from the Soto-bori doori crossing, you will pass, in order, the Aoyama-Itchome area, where Namiki-doori and the war museum is, Gaienmae, with the cemetery, Omotesando/Harajuku, Kotto doori, and then onwards ending at Shibuya. If you are the walking type, and are easily distracted by random, interesting stuff, this walk could take you a week.

RichardInSF

Can you get to the Oedo line from the Roppongi Hills entrance to the Hibiya line? It isn't posted to that effect and the maps in the station suggest you can't, but I admit I've never tried it.

If you have to go to the entrance near Almond, there is one flight of stairs before the escalators begin, unless you cut through a nearby building which has an escalator that gets around most of it.

I have walked from Akasaka to Roppongi, it takes about 25 minutes.

There are indeed many nightclubs near Akasake Mitsuke but I don't think they welcome, or are priced for, foreigners by and large -- rather they are expensive and designed for Japanese companies needing favors from the government to entertain legislators. At least that's my impression -- anyone know otherwise? Of course, the clubs in Roppongi are mostly friendly to foreign visitors.

Mjm, while much of Roppongi is nice, I don't think I'd call it "the cultural hub of Tokyo" just yet!

Pickles

No, I don't think so, unless you buy a transfer ticket, have a Passnet card or commuter pass to enter the Hibiya line area and then exit at the transfer wickets. The Roppongi Hills entrance leads directly to exits 1 and 2 on the Hibiya line. Exit 3 (the one by the Almond) is the only one that lets you in both the Oedo and Hibiya line.

mjm

Very accurate.

There are no connections to the Oedo Line as of today from The Roppongi Hills side of the Hibiya Line. The entrance described as being "near Almond" is on the SE sid of the main Roppongi crossing. On the NW corner and about 50 yards up the road across from yet another Starbucks is an entrance to the Oedo Line which allows elevator access to the tracks.

I was trying in my earlier post to describe the escalators accessing the Hibiya Line from Roppongi Hills. My syntax is sometimes not up to snuff.

As for the Cultural Hub aspect, it is an ongoing effort. The Mori Art Museum, Roppongi Hills in general, the soon to open National Gallery, and the somewhat further off (2007) Mid-town project which will house the Ritz Carlton among other things including another museum (maybe two if rumours are accurate) have given rise to the relatively official designation as the place being developed as the cultural hub. Accurate to say it is not there completely yet, but I believe it is also far from being solely a club district any longer. I have watched this area turn from a grotty very off-putting area into a truly magnificent place to spend time.

Hmmm.... my post above, upon rereading looks argumentative. Not intended as such believe me. It is late now and I am sleepy so I will check out now for a few hours.

aa4ever

I stayed in the GHT four times in the last 11 months - it is a wonderful hotel. Everything about it - from the rooms to the concierge to the location - is excellent. Subway lines are close and the area is nice. I second the recommendation to go to those side-streets that others were talking about. I would recommend this place to anyone going to Tokyo.

The concierge is also wonderful!

Also, the New Otani is not considered nearly as high level hotel as the GHT.

If you go to the GHT, make sure to get breakfast at least once at the French Kitchen. The Japanese breakfast is adequate (not as good as the ryokan) but the American is divine! Fiorentina, their pastry boutique, is also wonderful - and, like everything in Japan, seasonal. Make sure to try the poppy seed danish.

Have fun!

Calcifer

Have to admit, I've never been in any of the clubs, and your impression is probably right. But there are plenty of places around there to eat and drink--across Akasaka-dori, near where the Iron Chef restaurants are, is a branch of the Hobgoblin (a frequent after-work drinking place for people in my office) and, for a more relaxed atmosphere, Bois Cereste, a very nice Belgian beer bar. There are lots of izakaya and restaurants down in the maze of streets near Mitsuke, and the Bellevie (sp?) building has some nice places as well, like Daidaiya. I recommend checking out www.bento.com for recommendations of places to eat throughout Tokyo (disclaimer: the guy who runs the site is a good friend, but he does have good taste in restaurants!).

I will third the recommendation of wandering around Azabu Juban, following Pickles' recommended route from Roppongi Hills. It's a very cool mixture of old and new Tokyo.

I think my bias against Roppongi stems in part from my strong dislike of the Oedo line (too far down, train cars are small, PITA to transfer to the Metro lines and you have to pay extra). In addition to the Ginza and Marunouchi lines at Akasaka Mitsuke, the Otani is near the Hanzomon line at Nagatacho, which gives you really easy access to the Aoyama and Shibuya areas if you don't feel like walking there (and the Yurakucho line is there as well, although I suspect that's less useful for the average visitor).

Having never stayed in either hotel, I can't give any advice from that perspective.

Pickles

Second that. I don't care much for the Hobgoblin, but there are a number of stellar restaurants in the area. Two that come to mind are Rakutei for Tempura, and Wakiya for Japanese-Chinese (don't fret, it is actually better than it sounds). Wakiya is (was?) one of the Iron Chefs. Both restaurants are veeery pricey, but a very memorable dining experience, and not just because of the cost.

As for hotels, the GHT is far nicer. The New Otani is from the time my grandmother visited Japan for the 7th time in 1976. Even then it was already well past its post-Olympic prime. Two other hotels of the same flavor, the Imperial and the Okura, have retained some semblance of class, to varying degrees of success. The Blofeldian lobby at the Okura is one of my favorite public spaces in the world, but then again YMMV.

Calcifer

Wakiya isn't too pricey at lunch, or at least it wasn't two years ago when I used to go quite a bit. IIRC, you could get ramen and dessert for 1500 yen, and it came with endless hot water refills for some very nice oolong tea. We used to go there and sit out on the patio and pretend we were ladies who lunched, rather than stressed-out salarywomen.

At some point I read that Wakiya was supposed to be opening a restaurant in NY, but I haven't heard anything more on that recently.

Pickles

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it out when I'm back in Tokyo (which will be the week of the 6th of June). One more data point to validate that there is no better value for money deal than a Japanese lunch set.

RichardInSF

I'd vote for the GHT over the New Otani simply because I am afraid that at the New Otani, I'd get in the wrong elevator and get lost looking for my room. That place is HUGE!

But the GHT does sell out quite frequently. I'm writing this from one of those other Hyatts right now, and this one is quite nice too but pricier. Riding the train in from Narita, I was talking to a guy from a big investment bank and his firm gets an amazing rate of Y21,000 a night at the GHT (even plus service and tax, that is a great deal).

Calcifer

Yeah, I suspect the investment banks with offices in Roppongi Hills (Goldman and Lehman, I think?) have pretty sweet rates; ditto Morgan Stanley at the Westin. Have to ask my friend who works at Pacific Century Place what her FS Marunouchi rate is (know they have one, but I don't remember it being particularly fabulous. then again, I don't think the Four Seasons gives away anything too cheap...). Ah, the tragedy of having one's office in Akasaka....