ksandness

bcx, please do a search on other threads. There have been countless recommendations for budget hotels in Tokyo. Hotels there are almost uniformly clean and safe, even at surprisingly low prices.

abmj-jr

Yet again, I will post a couple of links to trustworthy hotel booking sites that specialize in budget accommodations:

http://www.japanhotel.net/ .

http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/en/ .

And for the record, I don't think Shinjuku or Shibuya "is thew place to be," particularly for someone on a budget.

LapLap

3 people? Under 20,000yen? Nightlife areas?

Roppongi

Toranomon Pastoral Hotel
triple for 20,443yen or single for 7,969yen, twin for 12,127
Link - http://www.pastoral.or.jp/acc/index2.php

Marroad Inn Asakasa with cheap singles and twins
https://www.toto-motors.co.jp/marroa...a/ereserv2.htm

Azabu Juban (10 minutes walk from Roppongi with good nightlife of its own)
*Tokyo Sanuki Club - Western Triple for 14,100, Japanese triple from 17,400
Link - http://www.sanuki-club.com/English/top_english.htm

Shinjuku

*Shinjuku Lonestar
Nice fresh triple room from 15,750yen (20% discount on most Sunday nights)
http://www.thehotel.co.jp - select English and follow links to Shinjuku Lonestar

Nishi Shinjuku Hotel
The rack rate is reasonable, but you should check to see if they have any 'SV rates' available for your dates - if so, triple rooms are only 13,680yen and the location is very good.
http://www.nshotel.com/

Hotel Vintage's price list until end of November show singles from 6,615yen and doubles from 9,450 (press this link then'Stay reservation' for offers in red and ignore rack rates)

Here's another I've just found with good rates for triples: http://www.newcityhotel.co.jp/eng/

Shibuya

Kodomo No Shiro Hotel - triples from 20,790
http://www.kodomono-shiro.or.jp/engl...el/index2.html

(*my top picks)

To the North of Roppongi (and a 2-3,000yen cab fare from Shinjuku) the Hotel Monterey has discount rates through the Rakuten link (posted above by abmj-jr) so a triple room might be available for 13,500yen (triple room rate deals do fluctuate between 13.5k, 15k & 18k and up, still within the 20k budget for somewhere decent though).

The links and locations for all these hotels and more can be found on rjh's Tokyo Hotels Map (some of us have been updating)

I rarely disagree with abmj-jr, but I think Shinjuku is fine for those on a budget (Shibuya is tricky though)

bcx

Oops. Didn't mean to post twice. My first post said it would have to be reviewed but it wasn't posted after a couple days so I tried posting again.

Anyhow, thanks all for the suggestions. I'll have a look through them and run them by my friends. My biggest fear is that if two of us have to share a bed it won't be large enough. Luckily some hotels list the bed sizes.

City Hotel Lonestar looked promising but their triple room has only 2 beds, the larger of which is only 120cm.

LapLap

I would urge you to email them as I have no doubt they have made an error when describing the bed sizes on that page (the bed in the photo for the standard double room appears the same as those in the rooms where the beds are described as being 136cms wide)
Of course, for just a couple of thousand yen more you could get two rooms here - 1 room with a 134cm wide bed for 10,500yen and a single bed (110cm wide) room for 7,350yen - 17, 850yen total (20% less on Sundays/holidays).


The Nishi Shinjuku triple rooms have three beds.

bcx

I notice they have prices for Standard Twin and Deluxe Twin rooms for one person. How does this work? Would I be able to book a twin room as 1 person, pay 10,500 and just sleep 2 people in there?

LapLap

I'm sure others will echo me here, but this almost certainly would not work.

The attention to detail in customer services works both ways in Japan. On the one hand you will be pampered and looked after in ways uncommon, almost unknown, at hotels of a similar level in North America or Europe. On the other, you will not be able to get away with shortchanging the hotels, particularly at a moderately sized one such as the Shinjuku Lonestar.

Seriously, don't try. And the experience will be potentially uncomfortable and embarrassing.

If you want to sneak an extra person into a one or two bedded room you'll have much better luck at one of the larger, more expensive hotels that don't change their room charge according to how many people stay there (The Intercontinental Tokyo Bay is an example that comes to mind).

LapLap

For weekenights -

A quirky alternative that might work out as you're in a group is to have one person based in a hotel. That person would then be responsible for looking after your luggage during your visit.

The other two (you could alternate who) could spend the night in one of Tokyo's numerous 'Love' or 'Boutique' Hotels.

As an example, this place (Dan Dan) is within walking distance of the Lonestar
http://eyeviewnet.com/shinjuku-hotel...uest_room2.htm
and on weekdays costs 8,920yen for a stay there. (You can find the Dan Dan on the Tokyo Hotels Google Map)
This has a bed massager, karaoke, Playstation, and a couple of satellite channels.

There are downsides to staying at these hotels - although the rooms and beds are generally more spacious and have more amenities/facilities (karaoke machines pretty much come as standard for instance as well as 'adult' channels you can choose not to watch) there are few that can be booked in advance - this is why I would not advise them for Fridays and Saturday or Holiday night stays.

Rooms are generally from 10pm or 11pm to 10am or 11am - this is called a 'Stay' and involves staying overnight. You will be required to leave by check out time, or charged extra (you usually get a phone call to warn you that your time is running out).

Once you have arrived at the room it is difficult to pop out (unless one of you stays behind). You are not usually given keys, you find the door open when you arrive and you lock the door once you enter the room.

As I said, these hotels have serious drawbacks for most tourists.

On the other hand, they can be a lot of fun, they are always kept scrupulously clean, they can provide terrific value and they are a unique experience in themselves. There'll be plenty to browse through when you're there at all kinds of price ranges. But 9,000 -10,000 yen a night should certainly be achievable, particularly if you avoid staying on Fridays/Saturdays.

Here's an example of another 'Love' hotel which costs a little more
http://www.balian.jp/shinjuku/price/room_pretty.html - this costs from 12,800yen for a 11pm-10am 'stay' and the bed is 180cms wide.
(The Balian has a 'Royal Room' with two double beds but this requires a 50% surcharge if three people use the room instead of two)

And as I've hoped I've explained - Love Hotels are more workable when at least one person in the party has a permanent base where everyone can store their things and use as a rendezvous point.

ksandness

On the whole, however, love hotels are best used as an emergency option, such as when you've arrived for a one-night stay in a city where all the regular hotels are full due to a festival or convention. They ARE a trip, though.

bcx

Oh well, I figured as much. I think our preferred option is a room with 3 beds or possibly two rooms (a twin and a single) as long as the price is reasonable.

As for the Love Hotels, I wouldn't mind trying one out for a night but I might leave that experience for our 3rd leg of this trip (starting in Tokyo, then Osaka/Kyoto/somewhere, then back to Tokyo).

Right now it looks like it'll be the Nishi-Shinjuku or Kadoya Hotel if we plan on staying in that area.

Seeing as how it's our first time in Japan, I'm open to suggestions on other areas to stay in. I noticed in another thread mjm mentioned that Shinjuku isn't the most exciting place to stay. I just figured that after a night at an izakaya or bar we didn't want to get stuck when the metro closed. Wherever we stay doesn't have to have the craziest nightlife, but we'd prefer it not be completely devoid of life and be able to walk to places easily.

We're all in our mid-20s and don't really have any specific sights/activities planned. The only place we'll surely be going is Tsukiji at least one morning.

ksandness

You could do worse than Shinjuku if you're into night life. When I was a student in Japan thirty years ago, Shinjuku was the place for young people to gather. It no longer is, but there are still plenty of bars and restaurants and stores.

One advantage of Shinjuku is that it's a transportation hub, with surface train connections to all parts of the city. The downside of this is that Shinjuku Station is quite confusing and constantly under construction.

LapLap

I did find another exception yesterday and ammended my post above.
Try entering your dates at the http://www.newcityhotel.co.jp/eng/ hotel.

Tokyo is a big, big city with many city centres with most of them having at least some 'nightlife'. Everyone who posts here has different opinions and different preferences and biases - that's why I like this forum so much as I get to learn about other people's experiences and views of this Mega-City. But when another poster says that XXX area isn't the most exciting place to stay you have to remember that that is an opinion, and a perfectly valid opinion from that poster's point of view.

Personally, I think Shinjuku is a great place to stay, but abmj-jr made an excellent point that it isn't the cheapest area to stay in. I also believe there are a number of alternative places that are also 'great to stay in'.

mjm will, hopefully, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he would suggest the Roppongi area if you are after exciting nightlife. I have included links to Hotels that can be accessed from there. It's an expensive area popular with foreign residents but at least one Hotel (the Sanuki Club) will give you excellent value for money (Whilst I'm not a Roppongi fan I agree that it is exciting. However, I happen to like Azabu Juban, where the Sanuki Club is, very much, it's the area where I'm choosing to stay next month and is just an easy walk away from Roppongi.)

I can tell already from your posts that budget is a big concern for you.

Here are my tips for getting the most out of the city on a budget:

- Stay somewhere on the JR Yamanote line (or with an easy JR link to it). The Yamanote line is a huge loop line that 'connects' rather than circles the cities of Tokyo. Most of the places you will want to go are on the Yamanote line, will take less than 30 minutes to get to, and won't cost much in fares.

- Plan your sightseeing so that you aren't criss-crossing Tokyo. Look at a map, stake out the places you want to go to and theme days so that you group them by area. Generally, you can walk between three train stations without having to get on and pay for transport. If you do it right, you shouldn't have to pay much more than ¥500 a day costs, but there's the JR pass allowing you one days unlimited travel on the Yamanote line and other JR lines for ¥730 (note that this does not include all the Metro lines).

- Have your main meal at lunch not the evening. There are some amazing bargains to be had at some of Tokyo's best restaurants at Lunch time (we have a whole thread devoted to this). And I really mean amazing. During the evening - not so much. What you do have in the evenings are an awesome selection of alternative food options - Ramen noodes, tonkatsu and rice, unique offerings from the Burger places, the list goes on, all at affordable prices, the food stands at Department stores also drop their prices considerably for Bento boxes just before closing time. Adapt your eating habits to take advantage of the opportunities and you'll eat like Kings.

- Consider staying in the less 'fashionable' areas.

You will be hard pressed to find an area around the Yamanote line that is completely dead at night. The trains run until well past midnight and the stations around the Yamanote line are generally a 15-20 minute walk from each other. A short taxi fare shouldn't cost more than ¥2,000 (about 600yen each)

Tokyo isn't like most Western cities when it comes to Hotels. If you thought you'd save money by sharing a room - think again. Generally, you pay per person (this has been a huge problem for me in the past where I've wanted to rent my own economical room but also have the option of having my Tokyo based fiance - now husband - stay overnight occasionally).

Generally it makes little difference whether you are booking three singles or one triple. With this in mind, it's going to be very difficult for you to beat ¥5,000 a day each for ensuite rooms.

It can be done.

Here are the Hotel Maps for Ueno

and Ikebukuro

Less fashionable areas with good Yamanote links and plenty to do in the evenings. (You might also like to try Kanda - just to the North of Tokyo Station or go somewhere like the Rainbow Hotel near Shimbashi station - rent a twin room and take turns sleeping in one of the capsule accommodations)

Perhaps the cheapest place for ensuite rooms is the Ryokan Tokaisou - walking distance from Ueno station. (press 'control'+'F' and search for 'Tokaisou' on the Ueno map to find it)

If you go through each map and click on the hotels for yourself, you'll see plenty of options.


If you are prepared to share showers and toilets you can go cheaper still. The Ryokan Tokaisou I mentioned will allow you to share a room with three bunks for under 3,000yen each. And then there's this area near Minami Senju Station. Minami Senju Station gives you access to both the JR network (it's just a couple of stops from the Yamanote line and Tokyo station is only 160yen away) as well as the Tokyo Metro and has some of the city's cheapest lodging options.
Be careful not to end up staying somewhere that imposes a curfew.

One of our regular posters, Sunnyhere, often chooses to stay in this neighbourhood. You can ask him about late evening entertainment options (the last time I stayed here was 2002, but I remember plenty of Izakaya and some remarkably good affordable restaurants.)

bcx

I will take a look through those areas. You're right that budget is a main concern. Darn credit crisis. While I would prefer to stay at a city hotel, we're hoping to save some money on accommodations to offset some of the meals we'll be eating (we already have restaurant reservations but not hotel reservations ).

Unfortunately, Roppongi screams tourist trap to me. Seeing anything I can see at home doesn't interest me.

Also I have no sense of distance when looking at these maps. How long would it take to get from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku? Or Shinjuku to Shibuya?

LapLap

Ikebukuro to Shinjuku - 8 minutes, 150yen

Ikebukuro to Shibuya - 16 minutes, 160yen

You can find all the prices and times you want using http://www.hyperdia.com/
Just select 'English' top left and enter the stations and a realistic time of day - doesn't have to be exact.


NEED TO ADD - and with those restaurant reservations, do be aware that you pay a very, very high premium to eat in the evenings that goes well beyond the cost or quality of the ingredients. Do some research on the Lunch time opportunities Tokyo can offer you. For the cost of one dinner, it's possible that you may get to have three multi-course lunches there or at a legion of other Michelin star level restaurants. Use the evenings to develop a taste for soba or ramen at connoisseur level. Be prepared to adapt a little and you'll wonder if you were imagining the credit crunch.

ALSO NEED TO ADD - and if you do visit Ikebukuro, as you're obviously all foodies, you may be interested in the discovery of our own intrepid Urban explorer, RichardInSF: Miracle Fruit which can be found at the Miracle Fruit Cafe in Namco NamjaTown within the Sunshine City Complex. It's the fruit that makes sour foods taste sweet.

bcx

Ah miracle fruit has been getting quite the buzz lately. I had hoped of finding it in Japan as I've been unsuccessful at finding it at ethnic grocers here. Thanks for the tip on that as well as ondoing our Michelin dining during the day. Though I believe Aronia de Takazawa is the same price for lunch and dinner.