I would, just for a second, hesitate to charaterize Ikebukuro as the Tijuna of Tokyo, as the giant terminal has a department store whose myrid of European designer boutiques as well as a giant food emporium that dwarfs Fauchon and Harrolds combined together make it look more like Dubai of Tokyo without too much gold. Nonetheless, the area does suffer from the lack of the sizzle and glamour that surrounds its rival terminal, Shinjuku.

Without reservation, I second Mr. Pickles's recommendation. However, I can not possiblly imagine having 6 people in the combined queensize beds albeit oversize at Park Hyatt. Perhaps The Pickles family have seen too much of how Japanese vegetables get pickled.

Seriously though, I can not see how it would be pleasantly possible to install the roll-away bed at Century Hyatt. Their room sizes are pretty much standardized unless you get to have one of the few corner rooms that are only slightly more spacious and comes with a king size bed, which I recommend you should request. The rate is slightly higher but should be worth it. ( it was like JP27000 in the spring ) One benefit of Century Hyatt is that the property is owned by a Odakyu Hotels Corporation whose railway affiliate actually runs the Hakone Romance Car Express trains out of its Shinjuku terminal. In fact, the hotel has an on-site travel office operated by Odakyu Travel Service that can arrange everything about Hakone. Late October will be an ideal season for autumn foliage at the higher altitude in the Hakone region.

Bon voyage




[This message has been edited by Kaoru Kanetaka (edited 08-29-2002).]