Where to Stay in Tokyo: Best Areas, Prices & Tips

Tokyo is not one city center but a ring of them, strung along the JR Yamanote loop line. That is good news for visitors: almost every major district is well connected, so the question is less about convenience and more about the kind of neighborhood you want to come home to. Below are the areas we recommend, who they suit, and what you should expect to pay per night for a standard double room with taxes included.

Shinjuku: the all-rounder

The west side of Shinjuku station is a grid of skyscraper hotels with city views; the Park Hyatt Tokyo of Lost in Translation fame is the best known. The east side has Kabukicho's neon, Golden Gai's tiny bars, and a dense cluster of mid-range hotels. Shinjuku station handles more passengers than any other in the world and has direct trains to both airports, which matters when you arrive jet-lagged with luggage.

Suits: first-time visitors, nightlife, people who want transport options in every direction. Typical price: $120 to $220 for a business or mid-range hotel, $400 to $900 for the skyscraper luxury towers. Hostels and capsule hotels from about $35.

Shibuya: youth culture and good access

Shibuya is more compact than Shinjuku and feels younger. The station area has been rebuilt over the last decade with new towers, observation decks and a handful of design-led hotels. Walk ten minutes north and you are in Harajuku and Omotesando; walk south and you reach the quieter streets of Daikanyama and Ebisu, which have some of the best small restaurants in the city.

Suits: travelers in their twenties and thirties, shoppers, anyone who wants to be central but not in the middle of Shinjuku's crowds. Typical price: $140 to $260 mid-range, $350 to $700 for the newer upscale hotels.

Ginza, Marunouchi and Tokyo Station: polished and practical

Ginza is the department-store and fine-dining district, and the hotels match: large rooms by Tokyo standards, formal service, high prices. Neighboring Marunouchi, around Tokyo Station, is the business district and gives you direct access to the shinkansen for day trips to Kyoto, Kanazawa or Nikko. Streets are quiet at night, which some visitors love and others find dull.

Suits: couples, food-focused trips, anyone planning bullet-train day trips. Typical price: $180 to $320 mid-range, $500 to $1,500 for the luxury hotels near the Imperial Palace.

Asakusa and Ueno: the older east side

Asakusa, around Senso-ji temple, is where Tokyo feels oldest: low-rise streets, craft shops, and a riverside walk with views of Tokyo Skytree. Hotel prices are the lowest of any central-ish district, and the area has the city's best choice of ryokan-style inns and well-run hostels. The trade-off is distance: Shinjuku and Shibuya are 30 to 40 minutes away by subway. Ueno, one stop west, has the Skyliner airport train from Narita and a cluster of museums.

Suits: budget travelers, families who want space for the money, anyone arriving at Narita. Typical price: $60 to $130 for business hotels and hostels with private rooms, $150 to $300 for the better riverside hotels.

Roppongi and Azabu: art, dining and international crowds

Roppongi was once purely a nightlife district. The Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Midtown developments added galleries, the Mori Art Museum and a run of upscale hotels, and the newer Azabudai Hills complex continued the trend. It is well placed for the Minato embassy district and has a large expat population, so English is more common than elsewhere. Transport is slightly weaker: two subway lines but no JR station.

Suits: art lovers, night owls, business travelers meeting in Minato. Typical price: $160 to $300 mid-range, $450 to $1,000 for the luxury hotels.

Shinagawa: the sensible choice for Haneda and the shinkansen

Not glamorous, but Shinagawa has a huge concentration of reliable chain hotels, a shinkansen stop, and a 15-minute Keikyu train to Haneda airport. It is a good first or last night if you have an early flight, and prices are often $30 to $50 below comparable rooms in Shinjuku.

Suits: early flights, rail travelers, business trips. Typical price: $100 to $200.

Best time to visit

Late March to early April (cherry blossom) and late October to November (autumn color) are the most popular weeks and the most expensive; expect prices 40 to 80% above the yearly average and book three to four months ahead. Golden Week (roughly April 29 to May 5) and the Obon holiday in mid-August are domestic travel peaks that fill hotels nationwide. June is rainy but cheap. July and August are hot and humid. January and February are cold, clear, and the best value of the year.

Getting around

Get an IC card (Suica or Pasmo, including the Welcome Suica for visitors or the mobile version on a phone) and tap on and off every train and bus. From Narita, the Skyliner reaches Ueno in about 41 minutes and the Narita Express reaches Tokyo Station and Shinjuku in 60 to 80 minutes. From Haneda, the Keikyu line or Tokyo Monorail reaches central Tokyo in 20 to 30 minutes. Taxis are clean and reliable but expensive; a ride from Narita to central Tokyo costs well over $150, so use the train unless you have a late arrival.

Booking tips specific to Tokyo

Check the room size in square meters. Tokyo business-hotel doubles are often 12 to 16 m². If that sounds tight, filter for 20 m² or more. A room listed as semi-double is a single bed sized for two people, roughly 120 cm wide.

Non-smoking is not the default. Many hotels still have smoking floors. Filter for non-smoking rooms, and if a listing does not say, assume you need to ask.

Prices may be per room or per person. Western-style hotels price per room; ryokan and some traditional inns price per person and include dinner and breakfast. Read the rate description before comparing.

The accommodation tax is added at the hotel. Tokyo adds a small per-person, per-night tax (currently in the ¥100 to ¥200 range) to rooms above a price threshold. It is minor, but it is often excluded from the online total.

Frequently asked questions

Shinjuku or Shibuya for a first visit? Shinjuku if you value transport links and hotel choice; Shibuya if you want a slightly calmer base with better walking neighborhoods nearby. You cannot go badly wrong with either.

Is Asakusa too far out? No. It adds 20 to 30 minutes to trips west, but it is on the Ginza subway line, which runs directly to Ginza, Omotesando and Shibuya. For a four-night trip it is a fine base; for a two-night trip, stay more central.

How many nights do I need? Four to five nights covers the main districts without rushing. If you are adding Kyoto, stay near Tokyo Station or Shinagawa the night before you leave.

Is it worth paying for a city view? In the Shinjuku and Marunouchi towers, usually yes; in lower-rise hotels the view is often another building. Read recent reviews for the specific room category.

Below are the hotels from our comparison we would book in Tokyo, listed in the order the areas appear above, with indicative prices from up to four booking sites. Check the live total for your dates on each site before you decide.