LapLap

I hope you'll come back with a full report on that dining legend.

Congratulations on scoring a reservation!

mjm

Roppongi has no nightlife whatsoever. Go with Akasaka Mitsuke or someplace equally stimulating. And for those Japan Forum Challenged among you, that was tongue in cheek. LapLap, as usual, provides full and complete info and agreat tip in the form of the Azabu Juban hint. A post to heed.

mjm

A tourist trap? I suspect that name is better applied to Disneyland, of which this country may actually be a subsidiary. I am still trying to find confirmation of that.

Err. I would recommend a bit more open minded approach here. Roppongi and the area immediately surrounding Tokyo station are the two areas that perhaps best demonstrate the urban redevelopment that is ongoing in this city which is far larger than anything "at home". Granted the nightlife is not for all, but the Roppongi area and its 7 various Chome are not in the least defined by the nightlife which stays open all night by the way, unlike "at home".

Redevelopment projects by a few of Tokyo's largest developers are present here with very exciting movements towards a more people friendly city in terms of environment, transportation, urban living, minimized commute etc. All of this happens on multiple levels both below and above ground.

Of course if state of the art urban development is not your cup of tea there are plenty of temples to visit. I would point out though that this country has come a long long way in what it has to offer since the time those temples were built.

kcvt750

Don't forget Ikebukuro!

bcx

Bad choice of words on my part. I didn't mean a tourist trap. I'm game for Roppongi, but I was under the impression that it's where all the foreigners hang out.

Anyhow, was just searching around hotels.ca and used 3 adults 1 room as my criteria, and it showed me Keio Plaza Tokyo Superior Room for an average of 164 CAD. Now if hotels.ca and Keio Plaza have the same definition of a Superior Room, then this seems like a decent deal. Keio Plaza's website says the room contains either one double or two single beds, which doesn't sound big enough but the pictures make it look like they're big enough. Though I'm sure these pictures are very deceiving.
http://www.keioplaza.com/rooms/superior.html

LapLap

Best to remember that not all foreigners are transient or tourists - it's actually quite usual for the most stimulating areas in practically every big city to be those with a large 'foreign' population. And the night life is incredibly diverse in Roppongi, there's an awful lot to be said for being able to visit the high class food porn displays at Precce Premium, Midtown (where the Tokyo Ritz is) at 3am. And that's not the only food market open all night. The area is indeed going through one heck of a transformation, I've been visiting Tokyo since 2002, huge swathes of the area are unrecognisable from what I remember then, and mjm has been experiencing all this from the very heart of the maelstrom.

RE -Keio Plaza
Speaking as a seasoned semi-double room veteran with a VERY wide shouldered husband - be very careful with that twin bed room. Fisheye lenses easily deceive, the key is always in the pillows and those beds look a lot slimmer than what you rejected at the Lonestar. The price is very good, but if you want to proceed further, my suggestion is to email the hotel and check that your booking includes an extra 'rollaway' bed in the room. I know the Grand Prince Takanawa will add rollaway beds to their similarly sized Deluxe rooms for a circa 3,000yen charge.
Check also that the price you found for the Keio includes taxes and charges as that could add another 3,000yen or so to the final tariff (I suspect that the real price for this hotel is more like Can$190/19,000yen)

(For myself, with family in Minato-Ku and family in Shinjuku, I've usually found the Grand Prince Takanawa, Shinagawa, to provide remarkable value in an extremely convenient location - as long as it was booked through www.utell.com, and sometimes expedia. The Yamanote line gets you almost everywhere quickly and cheaply, there are enough places to drink and snack at night - although this is in no way a great area for nightlife, and a cab ride to Azabu Juban/Roppongi is not much more than 2,000yen)

jib71

There's also Sakura Hotel if you don't mind bunk beds:
http://www.sakura-hotel.co.jp/

The four person dorm rooms might be a reasonable option for your group. I recall staying a night there about 12 years ago. It did what it said on the tin.


The Jimbocho location is in the middle of Tokyo - but not a hectic, neon madhouse like Shinjuku, Shibuya etc. Jimbocho has an interesting atmosphere. There are a few colleges around there, and you can find musical instrument shops, second hand book stores, cheap restaurants. It's not teeming with foreigners, but it's not unheard of for some crazy New Yorkers to settle there...

The Ikebukuro location is more in the line of hectic, neon madhouse.

LapLap

More a note to jib71
Did you know about this place in Ichigaya?
http://www.l-i-c.com/english.html

(private rooms, shared facilities, amazingly, no curfew)

jib71

I knew about the Lutheran center in Ichigaya - walked past it many times. (Also a Korean church nearby). And I knew about the Lutheran hotel in Osaka:
http://www.hotel-lut.com/

But that's the first time I've seen a web site with information on guest rooms in Tokyo. Not a bad neighbourhood. Immediate vicinity is quiet and residential, but it's only a short walk to Iidabashi and Ichigaya.

bcx

Okay, I priced out my dates for the hotels in this thread that have 3 separate beds and this is how it stands...

Shinjuku New City 12600 JPY
Nishi Shinjuku 13823 JPY
Sanuki Club 14100 JPY (didn't actually price it out because I don't think you can on the web site)

I believe they all include taxes already so they're all within my $200 limit. Not really a big price difference between the 3 and I'm fine with staying in any of those areas. Although when I e-mailed Sanuki Club about the number of beds, they mentioned that "There is not a bathroom in the triple room. I become the combination." I'm guessing that means it's a shared bathroom.
LapLap, have you stayed in any/all of these? Could you offer a bit of insight into the hotel and rooms? TripAdvisor reviews are hard to come by for this lot.

I will review the other areas on the Yamanote line as suggested and see what else comes up. Triple beds seem to be somewhat of a rarity (the option of an extra cot as well) so it helps to narrow the search pretty quickly. It's a shame there aren't any hotels on the map near Harajuku. That would be convenient as it's on the Yamanote line and the Chiyoda line (easy to get to Takazawa ).

Tokyo is big enough for me to realize I probably won't get to see everything so the places I plan on definitely plan on going to are probably pretty common: Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Tsukiji... so I'd prefer a convenient location to at least one of those. Also, bonus points if the area I stay in has nearby street food available at 3am.

bcx

double post

bcx

triple post - something's either wrong with my connection or the quick reply button because I swear those didn't post!

LapLap

I stayed at the Nishi Shinjuku Hotel some time ago
Here's my review
http://www.flyertalk.com/reviews/rev...?review_id=175

I also reviewed the Park Inn (East Shinjuku) which may also be able to provide you with a twin and single within your budget. I'll let my review speak for itself
http://www.flyertalk.com/reviews/rev...?review_id=174

I've only seen the New City from the outside, but it seems absolutely fine. Out of those three, if I was in a group of three, I'd go for that one myself. 4,200yen each for an ensuite room seems unbeatable to me. And there's a free shuttle to the JR station.

The Sanuki Club is a recent discovery as I have a real thing for Sanuki Udon and will be staying just a few minutes walk away (rented apartment). The restaurant initially got me excited, then I discovered the room prices, a bargain in this expensive part of Tokyo. Shame the triples don't seem to be ensuite - I'll go investigate more next month with my walking interpreter 'tool'.

Harajuku is well within walking distance of Shinjuku (remember the rule of thumb I mentioned, every station on the Yamanote line is roughly a 10-15 minute walk away from each other) Yoyogi and Shinjuku are particularly close, under 10 minutes, Harajuku about 15-20 minutes from Yoyogi.

Villa Fontaine Shiodome is probably one of the best hotels to see Tsukiji from. It's pricey, but value for money nonetheless (just as the Keio Plaza would be if it does come out at 19,000yen for three).
Otherwise, the Hotels around Nihonbashi and Kanda are within walking distance of Tsukiji (roughly 30-40 minutes)

Almost all the areas I've mentioned have food available until 3am, the only possible exception (and I'd need to know from Sunnyhere who's the resident expert) is Minami Senju in the North East.

bcx

I checked my dates for Kadoya Hotel but unfortunately they have no vacancies scattered on a few dates within my schedule (Nov 19, 20, 22, 23, 29.) We'll be in Japan from the 16th to the 30th and plan on being in Tokyo for a few days, then Kanto region, then back to Tokyo for a few days. So I guess Kadoya is out, which is too bad because it seems really close to the station.

Sunlite Shinjuku e-mailed me back saying they do have limited rooms with 3 beds. The cost on the web site is 18900. It is in East Shinjuku just north of Lonestar and Park Inn. I don't know if the extra cost (compared to New City) is worth it to stay in what I assume to be the more 'active' part of Shinjuku.

I cannot find an e-mail contact for Keio Plaza to ask them about the beds/rooms.

LapLap

I was thinking about this and tried the hotels.ca website as well as the Keio's own website and it does clearly say that they are offering a room for three adults.

As long as it says this clearly in your accepted reservation (one that you can print and take with you) I'd be happy to chance this and have the hotel themselves sort it out should you find the room doesn't accommodate three adults after all. The worst case scenario would be that you end up with a smaller than expected semi-double bed you'd be expected to share.

The Keio is an established hotel with a fine reputation, I suspect it is totally in their power to 'fix' any problems. 19,000yen (inclusive) for three at this hotel is, as I've said before, very good value. (An aunt from Spain stayed here and had wonderful reports - she's pretty exacting)

The email for the hotel is probably
[email protected]

I've seen this same email in two sources. A pdf and this one