How to Find a Hotel in Tokyo
I visited Japan many times during the past 30 years and experienced living and working there for full year. Every visit was a beautiful experience, and it can be for you, too. I would like to share with you how to find a convenient place to stay.
Save time, energy and money by staying in a hotel near a train station
We all need a place to sleep, freshen up and park our belongings. For most of us, it means staying in a hotel or a ryokan. Here is my tip: stay in a hotel that is situated near a train station.
Being near a train station makes a lot of sense, because it gives you quick access to the extensive and highly efficient rail network. It also puts the multitude of convenience stores, food stalls, restaurants, and emergency services that congregate around them within easy reach. This leads to lots of savings in valuable vacation time and energy.
Another reason for staying near a train station is that it gives you the opportunity to avoid expensive taxi rides. In most cases, taking the train is cheaper than riding a taxi.
Then, verify how close your selected train station actually is to the places you want to visit. For example, from the above search result, tap “DIRECTIONS” next to Ueno Station, enter Ueno Zoo in the search field below and select Ueno Zoo from the list of results.
Once you are satisfied that you have found a suitable train station, the next step is to search for a suitable hotel. You can easily do this by using a smartphone app, such as Agoda, Trivago or Airbnb. Just download the app from Google Play or the Apple App Store into your smartphone and create an account.
For example, using the Agoda app, type the name of a train station in the search field. Also, enter the other information requested, such as your check-in and check-out dates, the number of guests, and the number of rooms needed. Then, tap "Search."
Below is a sample search result. You can see that it indicates how far each hotel is from the Ueno Station. For example, the Mitsui Garden Hotel Ueno and the Sutton Place Hotel Ueno are both only 0.2 km away.
Tap on a hotel to learn more about the amenities it offers. For example, tap "Sutton Place Hotel Ueno" to see the screen below.
Then, tap "Select Rooms" to see a list of rooms, the amenities offered for each room, and their prices.
Be aware that hotels that are very close to train stations tend to be more expensive. If a hotel is very near the train station and yet it offers very cheap prices, it could mean that the rooms are cramped, there are no private bathrooms, there are no beds (i.e., only Japanese style futons), daily room cleaning is not done, or pajamas, shampoo and other amenities are not included. The same hotel typically offers several types of rooms at different prices and with different amenities. Examine the description of your target room very carefully so that you fully understand what you are getting for your money.
When you find a hotel room that you like, don't book it just yet. Save it for future reference by tapping the heart icon on the middle-right portion of the screen. Then, tap "Directions." This will launch Google Maps, which you can use to find out how much time it takes to walk from that hotel to the train station. Doing just that results in the the Google Maps result below, where we learn that the Sutton Place Hotel Ueno is only five minutes’ walk away from the Ueno Station. This is pretty hard to beat!
If you are already satisfied with the results of your research, then you are finally ready to book the hotel room. But if not, then you can start over by searching for hotels near the next train station. Remember to save to your Favorites before starting a new search.
You can easily go back to your saved searches by tapping "Favorites/History" in the app's main menu.
Note that the hotels near the major train stations such as Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, Shinjuku Station and Shibuya Station and the stations in the prime commercial districts such as the Ginza tend to be pricier, so searching a non-major station, such as Kanda, might yield hotels that offer better bargains. That's how I ended up staying at the Hotel MyStays Kanda.
If you will stay in Tokyo for just a few days, then the cost of the hotel will likely be small in relation to your total vacation expenses. If, by your own estimate, this is true, and the price difference between the hotels you are eyeing is just a few dollars, then you will be better off by staying in the hotel that is closer to the places that you want to visit. The travel time and energy you will save is surely worth those few extra dollars!
Save time, energy and money by staying in a hotel near a train station
We all need a place to sleep, freshen up and park our belongings. For most of us, it means staying in a hotel or a ryokan. Here is my tip: stay in a hotel that is situated near a train station.
Being near a train station makes a lot of sense, because it gives you quick access to the extensive and highly efficient rail network. It also puts the multitude of convenience stores, food stalls, restaurants, and emergency services that congregate around them within easy reach. This leads to lots of savings in valuable vacation time and energy.
Another reason for staying near a train station is that it gives you the opportunity to avoid expensive taxi rides. In most cases, taking the train is cheaper than riding a taxi.
Moreover, the train can be a better choice than the taxi because the trains in Japan are always on time, whereas taxis (and buses) are subject to the vagaries of road traffic. If your taxi gets stuck in traffic, you will arrive late. On top of that, you will end up paying a very expensive fare. In contrast, the trains are extremely punctual and the fare is fixed.
So, if (1) your hotel is just a short walk away from the train station, (2) you can easily pull your luggage, and (3) the weather is good enough for walking, then you can ride the train to or from your hotel.
How to find a hotel
The first thing to do is to find a train station that is near the places that you plan to visit. As an example, if you want to visit the Asakusa Shrine, the Tokyo SkyTree, Ueno Zoo, Okachimachi, and Akihabara, you can use Google Maps to look for a train station near one of these places. In the example below, I used Google Maps on my smartphone to search for a train station near Ueno Zoo. Ueno Station (the third result in the list below) is the one we want to investigate further.
How to find a hotel
The first thing to do is to find a train station that is near the places that you plan to visit. As an example, if you want to visit the Asakusa Shrine, the Tokyo SkyTree, Ueno Zoo, Okachimachi, and Akihabara, you can use Google Maps to look for a train station near one of these places. In the example below, I used Google Maps on my smartphone to search for a train station near Ueno Zoo. Ueno Station (the third result in the list below) is the one we want to investigate further.
Then, verify how close your selected train station actually is to the places you want to visit. For example, from the above search result, tap “DIRECTIONS” next to Ueno Station, enter Ueno Zoo in the search field below and select Ueno Zoo from the list of results.
The resulting Map directions below show that Ueno Zoo is only 9 minutes’ walk from the Ueno Train Station, so it seems like a really good choice. If you like, you can repeat the process for one or two other places that you plan to frequent.
Once you are satisfied that you have found a suitable train station, the next step is to search for a suitable hotel. You can easily do this by using a smartphone app, such as Agoda, Trivago or Airbnb. Just download the app from Google Play or the Apple App Store into your smartphone and create an account.
For example, using the Agoda app, type the name of a train station in the search field. Also, enter the other information requested, such as your check-in and check-out dates, the number of guests, and the number of rooms needed. Then, tap "Search."
Below is a sample search result. You can see that it indicates how far each hotel is from the Ueno Station. For example, the Mitsui Garden Hotel Ueno and the Sutton Place Hotel Ueno are both only 0.2 km away.
Tap on a hotel to learn more about the amenities it offers. For example, tap "Sutton Place Hotel Ueno" to see the screen below.
Then, tap "Select Rooms" to see a list of rooms, the amenities offered for each room, and their prices.
Be aware that hotels that are very close to train stations tend to be more expensive. If a hotel is very near the train station and yet it offers very cheap prices, it could mean that the rooms are cramped, there are no private bathrooms, there are no beds (i.e., only Japanese style futons), daily room cleaning is not done, or pajamas, shampoo and other amenities are not included. The same hotel typically offers several types of rooms at different prices and with different amenities. Examine the description of your target room very carefully so that you fully understand what you are getting for your money.
When you find a hotel room that you like, don't book it just yet. Save it for future reference by tapping the heart icon on the middle-right portion of the screen. Then, tap "Directions." This will launch Google Maps, which you can use to find out how much time it takes to walk from that hotel to the train station. Doing just that results in the the Google Maps result below, where we learn that the Sutton Place Hotel Ueno is only five minutes’ walk away from the Ueno Station. This is pretty hard to beat!
If you are already satisfied with the results of your research, then you are finally ready to book the hotel room. But if not, then you can start over by searching for hotels near the next train station. Remember to save to your Favorites before starting a new search.
You can easily go back to your saved searches by tapping "Favorites/History" in the app's main menu.
Note that the hotels near the major train stations such as Tokyo Station, Ueno Station, Shinjuku Station and Shibuya Station and the stations in the prime commercial districts such as the Ginza tend to be pricier, so searching a non-major station, such as Kanda, might yield hotels that offer better bargains. That's how I ended up staying at the Hotel MyStays Kanda.
If you will stay in Tokyo for just a few days, then the cost of the hotel will likely be small in relation to your total vacation expenses. If, by your own estimate, this is true, and the price difference between the hotels you are eyeing is just a few dollars, then you will be better off by staying in the hotel that is closer to the places that you want to visit. The travel time and energy you will save is surely worth those few extra dollars!
Comments
Post a Comment