MSPeconomist

For a very casual and cheap food experience near Tokyo station, go to the yakatori under the tracks street for grilled chicken and beer. These places are very popular with Japanese salarymen in nearby office buildings for after work happy hour, although OP will be in Tokyo on a Sunday night.

LapLap

That was the Marriott in Shinagawa I referred to (used to be The Prince Sakura Tower). But it is just as expensive as the Marriotts closer to Tokyo Station.

od_sf

Agreed, TSH is very Japanese, especially in service - in the best possible way. True omotenashi.

TSH is indeed a member of "Small Luxury Hotels of the World" so it can be booked on Hyatt points now, at 25K points per night for their station-facing atrium rooms. But availability on points is typically not good. Personally, I don't think it is a great points redemption anyways, since various room types are often available in the $250 to $350 range.

TSH is also part of "The Hotel Collection", so room upgrade when available + $100 in hotel credit per stay if booked via Amex travel.

jerseytom

That's a bit of a broad question. Would be good to know what type of atmosphere, meal service and price range you're expecting. Like I'd have a hard time imagining you'd get disappointing sushi anywhere. It's more a question of what kind of experience you're looking for.

Let's talk sushi for example.

Kaiten (conveyor belt) sushi places are casual. No reservation, go in, sit down, grab whatever you want as it comes by. When you're done they tally up your plates and give you the bill. Won't break the bank. Pretty quick and easy.

On the other end of the spectrum you can go to places which have maybe 7-9 total seats and only do omakase - where the chef is making one item at a time for you, of whatever they deem to be the best stuff of the day. Not necessarily formal, but a much more intimate setting. The higher end places will for sure require a reservation well in advance. Price can range $100-300 per person.

In between those extremes are restaurants probably more conventional with ordering off a menu. Pretty sure there's a place in Kitchen Street, Tokyo Station, but I didn't check it out. I did go for an omakase dinner at Sushi Ginza Onodera, recommended by the TSH concierege, and was very happy with it. Not cheap though!

MSPeconomist

IIRC Hotel Collections bookings require a two night stay to get the F&B credit or whatever the amenity is. Also, they *might* be prepaid and *might* not qualify for elite benefits/points/nights credit. [Itried to investigate this in the context of two HR bookings in Asia about a year ago and decided not to take the risk as I could get rates through Hyatt (probably AAA but maybe the refundable member rate plan) that made the deal almost equivalent to paying the higher price and getting the F&B credits. No one at PTS could convincingly reassure me that I would get my Hyatt benefits, in contrast to the FHR case.]

smithrh

High-quality good to excellent food is absolutely abundant in Tokyo; service is great - and no tipping.

Price isn't necessarily a qualifier either - I've had excellent food for 1000-2000 Y. Kobe beef portions may be small to westerners but will be extremely flavorful & tasty.

Also understand that Tokyo station isn't just a train station, but more like a shopping mall with major food court areas and so on, with trains mixed in. It is a huge complex with many floors.

Given 15-20 minutes you can walk from Tokyo station to Ginza - it's not all that far away.

Pureboy

While Tokyo is a big city, if you stay in Ginza, Hibiya, or near Tokyo Station, you are within walking distance of so many cool things to see:

Gardens, parks and Imperial Palace.
Funky architecture in Ginza.
More traditional architecture with Kabuki theater and shrines and temples in the area.
Pokemon Center DX if that is in your wheelhouse.
Even the underground shopping arcade in Tokyo Station is something to behold.

Just tell us what types of things you are interested in and we can load you up with suggestions. A few months back I managed to fit in an anime pop-up exhibit, a trip to a convenience store (more fun than it sounds), and time to shop at the Pokemon Center and Tokyo Station in a 7-hour layover. I wouldn't recommend you do that, but the point is that you can cram a lot into 24 hours!

MSPeconomist

I highly recommend going to the basement food hall of a major Japanese department store. There are some good ones in Ginza. It's fun to be at the door at opening time when all the staff line up to bow to the customers.

majortom421

I just did the yakatori under the tracks near Tokyo Station thing last month. Agree that it is an authentic Tokyo experience. Just be warned that most of those salary men will be smoking cigarettes with their yakatori and beer and the smoke can get quite thick.

Also, +1 for Tokyo Station Hotel. A very convenient location, great room, and fantastic service even by very high Japanese standards.

TWA884

We recently stayed at the Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyobashi. It's less than a ten minutes walk from Tokyo Station and Ginza. A modern and clean hotel with friendly and efficient staff. Depending on the date, rates are as low as $170.

Sushi Iwa in Ginza is amazing, albeit expensive, and has a Michelin star. It is approximately a fifteen to twenty minutes walk from the Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyobashi hotel.

whipwhitaker

Great suggestion on the hotel, thank you. It's $160 incl. tax for that night, free cancellation until 2 days before arrival. It's in the bag!

Gradfly

There's a steak restaurant in one of the basement shopping complexes that I really like. It serves Yonezawa beef, a beef brand from Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan. Not sure how true this is, maybe more informed forum members might now, but its considered as one of the most famous along with Kobe and Matsusaka. Anyway, I had a very good dinner there. I'd recommend doing reservations through your hotel concierge if going for dinner. Can't speak for how busy lunch is though.

• Article about restaurant
• Yonezawagyu Oki - website (if you use Chrome, it can auto translate most of the site)

If you're interested in tasting Japanese Kit-Kats as well as regional Japanese food items, visit Shokoku Gotochi Plaza. Also in Tokyo Station, its in the underground mall, across from Tokyo Ramen Street.

• Description and Directions

od_sf

Note these 3 hotels have very limited concierge services and they will not assist with restaurant bookings until after you have checked in, which rules out being able to secure a reservation at most of the top sushi or steak restaurants.

How much are you looking to spend on sushi and/or steak?

You can book Sushi Ginza Iwa 815 on your own via Tablecheck here: https://www.tablecheck.com/en/shops/...wa-815/reserve
The lunch set at Y13,000 is a great value.

whipwhitaker

Super helpful, thanks. Apparently the restaurant is closed the Monday of my departure, so I think I’m going to book it for dinner Sunday night. ¥27,000 sounds steep but when in “Rome”, right?

Alternatively, if I wanted to get conveyor belt sushi for lunch on Monday, what steak restaurants would be recommended for the ¥27K budget?

MSPeconomist

It's not near Ginza/Tokyo Station, but New York Grill at the top of the Park Hyatt would have very good steak for this price. Besides Kobe, they have a range of other special steaks grown in different regions of Japan and are good at explaining the differences (in excellent English). However, other than the steak, it's not a particularly Japanese restaurant IMO.