Hotel location in Tokyo: Which district ?
 

First timers to Japan, 2 weeks trip next July of which at least 5 nights in Tokyo.
100 % leisure, 1 kid 8Y old.

I am SPG PLAT and HH Diamond, also like very much Hyatt and Mandarin Oriental.

Which hotel/District in Tokyo would you choose if the first criteria is:

Location

Location to do what in?

Nightlife, shopping (and if shopping what kind?), daytrips out of Tokyo, sightseeing (modern), sightseeing (traditional), sightseeing (neighbourhood hikes - unlikely in the summer), sightseeing (good connections to JR Yamanote and/or Metro to cover X Tokyo areas),proximity to pubs and izakaya, modestly priced speciality restaurants or upscale joints, etc, etc, etc...

Since you're going in July you probably won't want to deal with long walks to/from your hotel and anywhere of interest. That leaves out the Hilton, Westin and Sheraton Miyako (although when it comes to Location this Sheraton is absolutely the best placed hotel for my own needs). The Park Hyatt is also too much of a hike in hot weather and the shuttle to/from Shinjuku station was crowded and took forever the one time I took it.
I don't much like Roppongi but it is convenient for many visitors.
And the Mandarin Oriental isn't quite close enough to the Yamanote line for me to consider it ideal, but it is close enough to Tokyo and Kanda stations to be plausible and fulfills all the points I listed above.

Presumably, to be tourists with an eight year old.

I'd just choose the hotel with the best pool, but what do I know about parenting? (Hint: Nothing).

Not a bad call, even though I also know squat about parenting. In that case, the Park Hyatt, the Grand Hyatt, and the New Otani have nice pools.

I think the MO would be a pretty good choice -- the immediate surroundings are pretty uninteresting, but its building is directly connected underground to the Ginza Line, which gets you to many interesting touristy places in Tokyo in one shot, and it's close enough to walk to Tokyo Station if you don't have a lot of luggage.

The Hilton and Hyatt Regency are pretty far from the main Shinjuku station, but have separate subway stops right next to them which are somewhat handy.

Conrad might be a good choice since you would be fairly close to the Yamanote Line and have interesting locations within easy reach (Hamarikyu, Tsukiji, the train to Odaiba).

Besides those chains, you might also consider staying at Tokyo Dome City, which is next to a baseball stadium and amusement park, and has fairly decent rail and subway access to other parts of the city.

Or perhaps not...
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110130x1.html

The Conrad is one of my first choice.

You mention the Yamanote Line. This is more, as far as I can imagine, for "downtown Tokyo".

How convenient is the Conrad for the Shinkansen (Using this hotel for day trips from Tokyo) ?

It isn't particularly convenient. The best high-end hotels for Shinkansen access are the Shangri-La and Four Seasons Marunouchi (Tokyo Station) and the Strings (Shinagawa Station). The MO is a 10 to 15-minute walk from Tokyo Station so it isn't bad either.

You're assuming that the OP wants to take daytrips on the Tokaido Shinkansen. If he wants to take daytrips to the North (which makes sense to me) then the others that you mentioned are better. If he's thinking of daytrips to Kyoto (which doesn't really make sense to me), then Strings is convenient ... but not IMHO a great location for five nights in Tokyo. If he's thinking of daytrips to the popular tourist sites in the region around Tokyo (e.g. Nikko, Hakone, Kamakura) then he doesn't want to be close to a Shinkansen station at all and all of this is a pointless discussion.

I don't get the impression that the OP has worked out what he wants to do during his "at least 5 nights in Tokyo". Or if he has, he's keeping his cards close to his chest and only gradually revealing his master plan.

Not wrong ;)

It is somehow difficult for a Japan beginner to find out the right mix (I have posted on this topic in another japan thread).

My point here is really to discover Tokyo "downtown" as well as some other popular sites around Tokyo (Nikko and Akone) which can be reached on a daytrip.

We will then travel to Osaka or Kyoto.

I recommend that you pick up (1) a glossy coffee table book about Tokyo (2) an ordinary guidebook and (3) a Daytrips With Kids guidebook. Browse through and find three things you find interesting. Will they be the "three top things" that everyone agrees are "must see"? Maybe not, but they will give you something to aim for in Tokyo. You'll experience Tokyo at those places or on your way to them. (I am going to call this the "Tokyo is what happens to you while you're busy pursuing other plans" school of tourism).

There may be no "best" answer to this.

Park Hyatt in Shinjuku might work well - A shuttle bus (or short cab ride) gets you to "downtown" Shinjuku and Shinjuku station. From Shinjuku station you have direct trains to Hakone, Nikko and Kamakura. It has an indoor pool that you can take geilux junior to when he refuses to sleep or needs to cool off at the end of a sweaty July day. Disadvantages include the fact that the immediate environs are dull, it's not the shortest trip from NRT and it's not the shortest trip to a Shinkansen station.

New Otani has outdoor pool(s). People tell me it's a great place to meet eligible young women in bikinis. That's ideal for an 8 year old, I think... See if you can convince your spouse. (I am going to call this the "Divorce is what happens to you while you're busy pursuing girls in bikinis" school of tourism).

Oh heck. you can make a case for staying at so many hotels in so many neighbourhoods... Conrad, MO, Grand Hyatt etc. Any decision is inevitably a compromise. It's probably better to work out what things you want to see in Tokyo and the area and then revisit the question.

I'll throw in a new suggestion - Stay at the PHT for four nights. Use it as your base for exploring Tokyo and daytrips to Hakone and Kamakura. When you check out, send most of your luggage to Kyoto but pack an overnight bag for a trip to Nikko. Stay overnight at an onsen near Lake Chuzenji. Next day take a local train to Utsunomiya and from there to Kyoto via two Shinkansen trains (Utsunomiya - Tokyo - Kyoto).

Is that a Francophone keyboard you're using? :D

Oui Monsieur :D

Merci beaucoup for your assistance and helpful answers @:-)

As others have mentioned, it really depends on what you want to do in Tokyo. I stayed at the Conrad about a year ago and found the neighborhood quite boring. It's quite convenient to the several key train and subway lines, but the neighborhood itself felt a bit sterile and corporate. We arrived in the evening on a weekend (about 8:00) and the surrounding blocks were completely empty. I think there are a few attractions nearby, but I personally would stay somewhere else.

It is, however, a beautiful hotel.

Of the list, the MO is the hotel closest to one of the more 'interesting' (to me anyway) downtown areas in Tokyo; Kanda. Very interesting to walk from the heart of this quintessential 'downtown'/shitamachi area to a quintessential 'uptown'/yamanote area - Ginza. Both within a long walk/short taxi ride from the MO.

Shibuya, Ebisu, Shinjuku, Harajuku, Yurakucho(next to Ginza) are all on the Yamanote line.
There aren't that many places popular with first time tourists that aren't on the Yamanote or interconnecting JR lines (Roppongi being one of the exceptions)

If you are planning on going to Akone then you should plan in staying in Rappungi.