Trying to decide what area of Tokyo to stay in.

We will be in Tokyo for our last 2 nights vacation in July. We are not sure which area of town to stay in. We don%26#39;t want to have to spend so much time on trains so thought we should stay in an area near some of the things we are doing.

Here are some of the things we are doing:

Ghibli Museum

Sensoji Temple

Shibuya crossing

Tsukiui fish market

Akihabara

and maybe Metro bldg., Muscle Park and Iga-ryu ninja museum.

Thanks for any advice

Trying to decide what area of Tokyo to stay in.

Shinjuku is generally a good area to stay since it has lots of shopping and dining choices in addition to all the neon lights people. It is also a hub for various modes of transport, including trains, subways, and Narita Express.

Trying to decide what area of Tokyo to stay in.

Yes, we stayed in Shinjuku - it was pretty convenient. The Oakwood has 3 bedroom apartments which you can request but they only let you know if one is available about 2 weeks before you need it.

The 3 bedroom ones are fabulous apartments for families.It%26#39;s a good idea to have hotel rooms reserved in case you can%26#39;t get in at the Oakwood. I cancelled our hotel reservations as soon as I heard we could have an Oakwood apartment.

There%26#39;s a lot of noise from the nearby station though. If we stayed there again I%26#39;d request an apartment on the side facing the road, not the station side.

O.K. It sounds like Shinjuku is the place to stay. I will start looking at hotels in the area. The apartment idea sounds good too.

Thanks for the advice.

Direction to Oakwood from Shinjuku Station:

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We are considering using our starwood points for a hotel. Our two options are the Sheraton Miyaka in Minato and the Westin Tokyo in Meguro. I have read that they are not in such a great location. I wonder which one would be in the better location?

The Westin Tokyo is in easy walking distance from the JR Yamanote Line (Ebisu Station), which puts it ahead of the Sheraton Miyako in terms of convenience for getting around the city. My impression (based on reviews and photos) is that it is also a better property, although I%26#39;m not sure about that. The Miyako has invested a lot in room upgrading in recent years and also has a nice garden. I%26#39;ve stayed at the Miyako in the past as they tend to discount heavily. (I couldn%26#39;t afford it otherwise, and I could never afford the Westin as they don%26#39;t discount enough.) If you can get either property on points, I%26#39;d say definitely go for the Westin. (But don%26#39;t take my word for it; read the reviews.) The two hotels are actually in roughly the same part of Tokyo, but being isolated from restaurants, shopping, and transit has always been a problem for the Miyako.

Thanks bearkun. I just read the reviews. People seem to like both hotels, but you are right about the Westin being a little more convenient.

I wouldn%26#39;t call the Westin that convenient, nor easy walking distance to JR Ebisu Station even with the skywalk. It%26#39;s still a pretty decent distance from the station.