What area to stay in?
 

I have been looking all over the net for the best place to stay while I am in Tokyo for 3 days and haven't made my mind up yet; but I am thinking about the Crowne Plaza at the moment in Ginza.

The bus from the airport goes straight there which would make it very easy when I get in.

It seems like a nice hotel in a nice area and very easy to get around.

Has anybody stayed there?

Could I do better for a similar price?

Any ideas or advice is much appreciated.

The airport buses cater to almost all the better hotels. The Crowne Plaza isn't in the center of Ginza but in Ikebukuro, which is a couple of miles away from the Ginza shopping and restaurant area. For the price, it's a more than decent hotel, if you wanted significantly better, you'd have to pay 10'000 Y a night more. If you want to stay directly in Ginza, check out the Mercure Ginza, which is pretty nice and costs about the same as the Crowne Plaza.

Note that usually you get hit with 15% tax added to the quoted price so check if this is included in the final price when you compare before booking.

Thank-you so much Kappabashi for your reply.

The only thing I should have mentioned is that I do not specifically need to stay in Ginza or any area for that matter. I have never been to Japan before so I can stay anywhere in or around Tokyo.

Yes the Mercure looks nice also.

I guess the main things I am looking for is:

(1) Easy to get to once I have come off my flight. I am not keen to jump on and off trains late at night. One train to a close train station is fine, but the one bus directly to the front door sounds good.

(2) Somewhere in an area that would have easy access to get around and also have a bit of activity itself. Cafes, shops, restaurants and things to do etc.

I read Ginza is not a tourist area but has lots of things happening. Also Ikebukuro is similar and also has a main train station so it would be easy to get around.

It is always hard when you have never been somewhere.
I have been using Google Earth to look at each area and reading a lot on the internet.

I guess I will walk around and look at things like the Imperial palace, museums, gardens, shops, the people throughout the day. Although at night I would not be interested in clubs I am sure I would enjoy walking around some major streets looking at the night life though. I would love to go up high somewhere and look at the lights of Tokyo at night.

:vsign:

Ginza is a good base for what you have planned, I stayed at the quite OK Tobu Renaissance (now a Marriot Courtyard) once. It gets a bit quiet in the evening but there are plenty of shops and restaurants in the area and is well connected to public transport. Also, it's very easy to get to the big fish market early in the morning.

Where to stay is certainly a matter of taste but for me, the most exciting and fun area of Tokyo, at least from the parts I've seen, is Shinjuku. There are around 10 huge major department stores there, hundreds of restaurants and shops and public transportation from Shinjuku station can't be beat, so many lines pass that station. It's also very lively in the evening. Navigating the area can at first be quite challenging though, the main train station is a gigantic maze which takes a while to understand and the amount of people buzzing around there is just amazing. Don't go to Shinjuku if you're looking for peace and quiet :)

Shinjuku is sort of halved by the train tracks, the west side is the skyscraper area where some of the larger hotels are located, the east is for shopping, entertainment and restaurants.

A great place to check out opinions on hotels all around the world is Reviews of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor . Reading the reviews there will give you a pretty good idea what to expect. But all in all, I don't think you'll make a mistake with the Crowne Plaza, especially in regard to the price, it won't be easy to do much better.

Is that the Keio Crowne Plaza?

Crowne Plaza is Holiday Inn's upper-level line of hotels (4 or 5 stars), the one in Tokyo is called the Metropolitan and is located in Ikebukuro

If it is yor first time in Tokyo I recommend that whereever you stay, it's on the Yamanote-line which is the Tokyo loop line

JR Yamanote Line Tokyo :: Japan Visitor

Yes I was thinking of Shinjuku also as many reviews claim it is a hive of activity.

Any nice accommodation in Shinjuku?

Do you think it would better to stay in Shinjuku or better to stay in Ginza/Ikebukuro area and just travel to Shinjuku on the train?

I have been reading the trip advisor site and Asian Rooms - they are very helpful.

Thanks MMM I will definitely stay on the Yamantoe line.