Which Oakwood
 

Hello again! Some of you have provided me with much needed information regarding Tokyo nightlife and I am extremely greatful for the assistance (esp LapLap, Mosburger, and Pickles)!

I have been on this site ALL DAY trying to find viable hotel options.

I will be in Tokyo 8/22 - 8/31. I am going to be honest, my friends and I are trying to do this on the cheap. I know, I know, Tokyo is not the place for Cheap, but we're gonna try.

I have 100,000 hilton points and a holiday inn stay available.

So far I have arranged the following;

8/22 - 8/23, Holiday Inn Narita for my first day. This will give me time to relax / rest a bit before my friends arrive at NRT on 8/23. (I also have a Holiday in stay I need to burn).

8/23 - 8/25, We will be at the Hilton Tokyo Bay (Free via points, and Hilton Tokyo did not allow 3 to a room).

8/30 - 8/31, We will be at the Hilton Narita getting ready to head back (Free).

As you can see, 8/25 - 8/30, we do not have a place to stay. The oakwood Roppongi looks really attractive. Great price (14000 yen) and a good location for bars, etc. Should this be ok for a few nights? I have read both good and bad. If not, what about Oakwood Yotsuya or Oakwood Shinjuku?

We have no specific it Itinerary. Just looking to get away for a few days...

I know this is a lot of moving around for a relatively short trip, however, after working for my company for 9 years (my friends for 3), our operation was shut down and we lost our jobs... We kind of needed a vacation and due to all of my points from business travel, I was able to cut a few corners regarding hotels...

Thanks again everyone for your assistance.

And yes, I have searched... ALL DAY...

Thanks!

If you're looking for a good price then you should do a search on google for Oakwood Shinjuku. Perhaps not directly with Oakwood themselves, it might be available as a Summer Special for under ¥10,000 from other Hotel booking sites.

The place is brand new, seems to have a nice rooftop terrace and is a 15 minute or so walk from Shinjuku station. It has a great review in Tripadvisor.

The promotional price was still available for early October, and as we needed a place for 4 nights we very nearly booked it then. (We got the Sheraton Miyako instead as the SPG points & cash deal was so favourable and the location is ideal for our needs)

I can't recommend this site personally, but it is the one I nearly used:
http://www.agoda.com/asia/japan/toky..._shinjuku.html
There might be some booking fee, but it seemed OK (Oakwood direct quoted a higher rate)

They still have apartments at $84 a night for the days you're looking at.

I honestly can't think of a better place for your needs, certainly not at a better price!


EDIT TO ADD: Hang on, Hilton Tokyo Bay?!?!?
Ouch, no! You might as well stay out in Narita. Are you thinking of actually going to Disneyland?

The Oakwood are serviced apartments, so they don't like to rent them out by the night. However, in slow periods, or during gaps, they'll put them out into the "spot" market as you may have found. 14,000 yen for the Oakwood Roppongi is a very nice deal. Good location, and you'll get a full-fledged and well-appointed (but probably pretty small) apartment. Downside is that maid service is only a couple times a week, but you may not care, especially if you are sleeping in late (and I sense you will).

We were thinking of going to Disney for a day... It's that far out huh... :(

Just remembered, although as the dates of your trip are so soon it might not be available now anyway.

Cheapest large room in Tokyo that I know of is the Japanese room here: http://www.kitcho.co.jp/english/ which costs ¥15,000 yen a night and sleeps up to 5 people. It's approx 40sq m. It also has triples for ¥12,000.

It's not an ideal place, but IMHO, it's a lot better than being stuck out in the Maihama wilderness.

Actually, Maihama isn't that bad. You can get a train to Tokyo station for ¥210 and that journey takes 16 minutes.

While I'm at it, this place is near Shinjuku and has triples for ¥13,500 http://www.nshotel.com/ (I made a very belated review of it here) NEVERMIND - THESE HAVE GONE FOR YOUR DATES

Alternately you can try the Sakura Hotel in Jimbocho which has some dorm style rooms:
http://www.sakura-hotel.co.jp/sakura...html#dormitory

The Hilton Tokyo Bay is a little far from Tokyo but who cares, it's free. Plus, maybe Aya Ueto is still working there ;)

Was that the one they used for the "Tokyo Ocean Hotel" in "Hotelier?"

JR

As usual, thanks alot everyone for the prompt responses! I am looking into my options. Hotels.com appears to have the Oakwood Roppongi on the dates I need...

A transfer to the Keiyo line at Tokyo Station takes an enternity, if you need to get to roppongi from Maihama transfer to the Hibiya line at Hacchobori Station. Takes some 35 minutes of traveling.

Whilst you're on the topic, what's the best way to travel from Shinagawa to Kaihin-Makuhari to avoid ugly connections?

Yes. Hard to believe they were fighting so hard over a Hilton.

The Keiyo line platforms at Tokyo station is located a ways from all the other platforms there. But all other options appear to take the same amount of time from Shinagawa.

I guess if you went from Shinagawa to Osaki and took the Rinkai line to Shin-Kiba then changed to the Keiyo line there it might be less walking then at Tokyo Station. Travel time however would probably be the same. However since it involves taking the Rinkai line it does end up being some 270yen more. The transfer at Osaki shouldn't be to long as its shared facilities with JR, and at Shin-Kiba the Rinaki line to the Keiyo line is a short walk, I think they have a direct transfer gate there as well. In the end you'll probably have to do less walking and less crowds vs doing a transfer at Tokyo Station.

While the Osaki transfer walk may be short, the Rinkai line is quite infrequent, sometimes with 20 min intervals. Changing twice, between rail companies to boot, usually doesn't justify itself too easily. The only possible reason may be less crowded trains.

And the intervals between Rinkai line trains can be as low as 3-5 minutes depending on the time someone is traveling .

Looking at the overall picture, waiting on a platform for up to 20 minutes or making a transfer and walking through Tokyo station for 20 minutes.

The question posed was what I thought would be a best way to avoid the Tokyo Station transfer, and If I wanted to avoid the long walk at Tokyo Station, I'd go with this option, even though n the end the traveling time is about the same, I save myself a lot of walking, and if one had bags to carry the easy transfer at Osaki and ShinKiba would probably be easier then going through Tokyo Station, but its just my opinion.

I guess if I were budget crunching for 270yen, or had a JR pass, so I had to stick to JR only travel and was beginning around Shinagawa Station, I would go though Tokyo Station, but I would be going against my duty as a railfan to ride as many trains as possible to your final destination lol.