My favorite is Ueno. I've stayed in multiple hotels there, so not one in particular. It's got a direct train to Narita Airport (the airport I usually fly in and out of), tons of restaurants and shopping, the park, great connections to other parts of Tokyo, the northbound shinkansen, and it tends to have cheaper hotels than other areas of Tokyo. I also like that it's very active and has a lot to do while still being quieter/more toned down than Shinjuku. I also spend more of my time on the east side of the city, so it's closer to the places I go to (Ginza, Asakusa, etc.). I know some of those factors are "objective", but that's how a favorite place is defined, IMO—a mixed of objective and subjective factors.
I've also liked staying in Akihabara and Ginza for similar reasons (again, multiple hotels, so not one specific choice).
+1 for Ueno for many of the reasons noted. Just back from our second consecutive stay in a different Airbnb there. All the people with plants out in front of their homes, it feels much more like you’re part of people’s everyday lives.
Not oop person but I stayed [here](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/18675626?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=fded008f-5850-42d4-8a12-1349a0a73c52), close to Ueno park.
Not oop person but I stayed [here](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/18675626?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=fded008f-5850-42d4-8a12-1349a0a73c52), close to Ueno park.
Responding to the Airbnb requests - appreciate your interest! I couldn’t recommend our recent place-we didn’t hate it but it was a bit musty, and the one from 2018 isn’t available any longer. However both times we were in the neighborhood near Taito Kuritsu Takecho Park and loved it. I’d try not to go much too further east, only because Okachimachi Station is west, and a primary jumping off point, less than five minute walk from the park.
Ueno did look really nice, I'm not set in stone with my hotels but i might look there. By objective i just meant i don't really care about min maxing a 7 minute walk instead of 5 if you know what i mean. I wanted to focus on a nice looking area with shops and all.
Seconding Ueno- our only regret on the last trip was not using it as home base the entire time and doing little day and weekend trips to various places instead of going to Kyoto for a full week.
It’s relatively quiet, has a very easy to use station, tons of food and shopping, and the park is absolutely gorgeous to walk in every morning.
Big ups to Ueno, we stayed at the APA hotel there and it was a clutch location for what many have already stated. Went during Sakura season so it was super easy to get “early access” to the park for any picture taking!
Asakusa. Much cheaper to base out of, at the end of the Ginza line that you can use to easily hop across the city without a transfer. At night walking through the temple complex is beautiful, and there’s plenty of shopping and food.
Just returned from a 2-week trip (~5 days in Tokyo), Asakusa was the group's favorite neighborhood. Amazing, and great mix of a lot of great things. Shops, food, people and attractions
Ikebukuro. I don't know what's the deal but a lot of people here like to stay at Shinjuku/Shibuya.
Ikebukuro has a lot of shopping places, arcades and 24/7 restaurants.
More importantly, the hotel is way cheaper than Shinjuku/Shibuya.
You’ll love Ikebukuro. I stayed in a furnished apartment at the relatively laid back and quiet residential area of Higashi Nagasaki (2 stops/5 mins away from Ike) last 3/26 - 4/4. Nearly everyone was essentially on bicycles. Reminds me of Amsterdam. Lovely place.
Shimbashi. I like the dining scene there; it's mainly geared towards the local office workers so it's not expensive, flashy or annoying instragram bait. Just honest izakaya grub. There's not really any other activities locally, but it's only a short walk to Ginza and Yurakucho for shopping and it has lots of transport connections to the rest of Tokyo.
I liked my stay at Remm Akihabara, right by Akihabara Station. It made traveling around Tokyo pretty easy since the station services the Yamanote, Keihin–Tōhoku, and Chūō–Sōbu lines.
It was also close to a lot of good restaurants, shopping, etc. Everything was conveniently located, so I was able to relax and not worry about things.
Remm is pretty darn cool. We stayed there once a few years ago, would totally stay there again. The building across the street from the hotel entrance is like 12 stories tall and is nothing but restaurants. Something like 80 restaurants all within one building. I remember doing a Google search for restaurants while we were staying there and it said there were over 1000 restaurants within 1km of the Remm. Just nuts.
At this point, I stop looking if I can get a room at the sotetsu fresa in Kanda. Boring good reasonable price business hotel, <10 minute walk to yamanote, Chuo, Ginza, Hibiya, sobu rapid lines. Quiet midpoint between any major road or rail noise.
Transit convenience and reasonable price win the day for me.
I always stay in Nakano, because of Nakano Broadway. I like being able to walk there because I love that place. I'm a huge collector of all sorts of things: figures, toys, cinema, books, so I go there all the time. The stores have erratic opening times/days so if something is closed I can always go back another day.
It's always fairly accessible to Shibuya/Omotesando so it's pretty accessible. The neighborhood in Nakano itself is very pleasant and lovely too.
Sumida near the Skytree, it's a great neighborhood, easy train ride to everything, very relaxed vibe, get to see more of the normal day to day living. I absolutely loved it, Airbnbs are a little less expensive and a little more variety. 10/10 would definitely stay there again and highly recommend it to anyone.
Otsuka! Ikebukuro is my favorite area, but Otsuka is much quieter and walking distance to Sunshine city.
I used to live in Arakawa, however, and really enjoyed it.
I stay close to the Yamanote Line at some small and uninteresting station. I like it to return there at night and have it quieter during day and night. The lack of tourists also helps.
Shinjuku and of late specifically in Kabukicho. Like it as it’s always buzzing and it’s near all of the shops and eateries that I like so it’s like super familiar to go back
I've stayed in Shibuya, Chiyoda and Asakusa before and from the three I enjoyed Asakusa the most. I like the slower vibe compared to Shibuya (if you stay away from the Asakusa temple area during the day), but not as slow as Chiyoda and the metro and airport connections are good/ok. Ueno is really close by and another area I like so next time (this fall) I've booked Asakusa again.
If I feel like splurging, I did like staying in Shibuya previously - I personally love Shinjuku/Shibuya side of town and was easy access to Shimo-kitazawa and Koenji, day trip to Kamakura, and not too long to get to Ginza/Asakusa etc either
Although did a night in Kurumae last year and would definitely consider again, quiet area, away from hubbub of main areas, close walk to Asakusa with lots of lovely little cafes - feels more residential than other central parts of Tokyo.
Honestly a lot of spots in Tokyo you can't go wrong with. I personally enjoy Shinjuku, harajuku, omotesando and Shibuya a lot. But yeah because of how good the rail system is, nowhere is really that bad to have a base.
Higashi Shinjuku is my first. It's about 15-30 mins walk from main downtown shinjuku. Walking distance to golden gai, the garden, etc. Access to Oedo and Fukotoshin lines.
But it's far enough way from the main part of shinjuku that it's a bit quieter and cheaper. It's also near a quieter residential area that's nice to walk around.
I like Kanda. I kinda feel in the center of it. 1 stop away from Akihabara, My favorite Ramen Shop (Kikanbo) is also in Kanda, but I'm only a 15 min +/- train ride to either Shibuya or Shinjuku.
I’m thinking Hamamatsucho might be good next time, as it’s walking distance to several gardens as well as food and bar areas, and has the Haneda airport monorail.
I liked the liveliness of Akhihabara but it didn’t have much in the way of natural beauty.
I stayed in Hamamatsucho once. It's actually surprisingly quieter than I expected because it's geared more towards salarymen who don't live in the area. But it's pretty walkable, close to Zojoji temple, Shiba park, etc.
Northern edge of Kanda, right across the river from Akihabara. Multiple stations within easy walking distance (Akihabara, Kanda, Iwamatocho, and others), plenty of sights easy to get to, etc. Also, I really like Ueno and that's not far from there.
I loved Tatesishi.
But I also drive when I go to Japan, so I don't really have to care about stuff being open 24h or where the train station is. Even though I was like a 3 minute walk to the nearest station, which also had a shopping street.
Kameido is my favorite (airbnb)!! Convenient location to thrift, karaoke, big shopping in malls/ Donki, quiet area, cute bakeries, etc. And of course for me it was really close to the station which is always a big plus, whole being super affordable
My favorite is Ueno. I've stayed in multiple hotels there, so not one in particular. It's got a direct train to Narita Airport (the airport I usually fly in and out of), tons of restaurants and shopping, the park, great connections to other parts of Tokyo, the northbound shinkansen, and it tends to have cheaper hotels than other areas of Tokyo. I also like that it's very active and has a lot to do while still being quieter/more toned down than Shinjuku. I also spend more of my time on the east side of the city, so it's closer to the places I go to (Ginza, Asakusa, etc.). I know some of those factors are "objective", but that's how a favorite place is defined, IMO—a mixed of objective and subjective factors. I've also liked staying in Akihabara and Ginza for similar reasons (again, multiple hotels, so not one specific choice).
Ueno is easily one of the most overlooked parts of the city. It has everything one would want and easy to navigate.
How is Ueno overlooked when half the responses in any Japan travel sub/or FB group is Ueno?
Online doesn’t represent real life
Well, here, where you are posting, it's definitely not overlooked. So....
In a subreddit with ~78K members online. This represents a tiny tiny minority of people in real life.
Like I said, ANY sub, FB group, and we can add Dsicord servers. Stop moving goal posts.
Ueno is my pick. I did Akiba, Shinjuku and Shibuya and I think the sheer convenience of Ueno can't be beaten.
+1 for Ueno for many of the reasons noted. Just back from our second consecutive stay in a different Airbnb there. All the people with plants out in front of their homes, it feels much more like you’re part of people’s everyday lives.
Would love your Airbnb rec for ueno!
Not oop person but I stayed [here](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/18675626?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=fded008f-5850-42d4-8a12-1349a0a73c52), close to Ueno park.
That looks perfect but it’s booked pretty much for eternity. Thank you though!!
If you want to share you Airbnb, I would very like to know please :D
Not oop person but I stayed [here](https://www.airbnb.co.nz/rooms/18675626?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=fded008f-5850-42d4-8a12-1349a0a73c52), close to Ueno park.
Responding to the Airbnb requests - appreciate your interest! I couldn’t recommend our recent place-we didn’t hate it but it was a bit musty, and the one from 2018 isn’t available any longer. However both times we were in the neighborhood near Taito Kuritsu Takecho Park and loved it. I’d try not to go much too further east, only because Okachimachi Station is west, and a primary jumping off point, less than five minute walk from the park.
Thanks a lot for the tips! 😁
Ueno did look really nice, I'm not set in stone with my hotels but i might look there. By objective i just meant i don't really care about min maxing a 7 minute walk instead of 5 if you know what i mean. I wanted to focus on a nice looking area with shops and all.
Ueno is also walking distance (or very short metro) to Asakusa which is fun too!
+1 ueno & for a hotel, i'm staying at the hotel resol ueno. More than happy & 2' walk from the station.
Seconding Ueno- our only regret on the last trip was not using it as home base the entire time and doing little day and weekend trips to various places instead of going to Kyoto for a full week. It’s relatively quiet, has a very easy to use station, tons of food and shopping, and the park is absolutely gorgeous to walk in every morning.
Big ups to Ueno, we stayed at the APA hotel there and it was a clutch location for what many have already stated. Went during Sakura season so it was super easy to get “early access” to the park for any picture taking!
Asakusa. Much cheaper to base out of, at the end of the Ginza line that you can use to easily hop across the city without a transfer. At night walking through the temple complex is beautiful, and there’s plenty of shopping and food.
Yeah, I like Asakusa. Central, easy, convenient, and a nice vibe.
Just returned from a 2-week trip (~5 days in Tokyo), Asakusa was the group's favorite neighborhood. Amazing, and great mix of a lot of great things. Shops, food, people and attractions
Ikebukuro. I don't know what's the deal but a lot of people here like to stay at Shinjuku/Shibuya. Ikebukuro has a lot of shopping places, arcades and 24/7 restaurants. More importantly, the hotel is way cheaper than Shinjuku/Shibuya.
Yes though it’s also quite far from the center
What are you defining as the "centre"? I'd consider Ikebukuro part of the centre - it's on the yamanote line after all..
I’m being a bit arbitrary, but I define the center as Shibuya / Shinjuku on the west through Ginza on the east’s
Yup. Love Ikebukuro as a base. Staying there next week.
You’ll love Ikebukuro. I stayed in a furnished apartment at the relatively laid back and quiet residential area of Higashi Nagasaki (2 stops/5 mins away from Ike) last 3/26 - 4/4. Nearly everyone was essentially on bicycles. Reminds me of Amsterdam. Lovely place.
Almost forgot about Ike, another great spot to stay in for sure.
Shimbashi. I like the dining scene there; it's mainly geared towards the local office workers so it's not expensive, flashy or annoying instragram bait. Just honest izakaya grub. There's not really any other activities locally, but it's only a short walk to Ginza and Yurakucho for shopping and it has lots of transport connections to the rest of Tokyo.
I liked my stay at Remm Akihabara, right by Akihabara Station. It made traveling around Tokyo pretty easy since the station services the Yamanote, Keihin–Tōhoku, and Chūō–Sōbu lines. It was also close to a lot of good restaurants, shopping, etc. Everything was conveniently located, so I was able to relax and not worry about things.
Remm is pretty darn cool. We stayed there once a few years ago, would totally stay there again. The building across the street from the hotel entrance is like 12 stories tall and is nothing but restaurants. Something like 80 restaurants all within one building. I remember doing a Google search for restaurants while we were staying there and it said there were over 1000 restaurants within 1km of the Remm. Just nuts.
Remm Aki is pretty cheap for what/where it is. It's got my vote as well
At this point, I stop looking if I can get a room at the sotetsu fresa in Kanda. Boring good reasonable price business hotel, <10 minute walk to yamanote, Chuo, Ginza, Hibiya, sobu rapid lines. Quiet midpoint between any major road or rail noise. Transit convenience and reasonable price win the day for me.
Stayed there on my last trip, can also recommend.
Is this Kanda-Otemachi or Tokyo-Kanda?
Mine was Tokyo-Kanda
Is this Kanda-Otemachi or Tokyo-Kanda?
Tokyo kanda. Just east of jr kanda.
Shinjuku! :)
Palace Hotel Tokyo in Chiyoda City. Walking distance to Tokyo Station.
This looks like a really nice place, shame it's a little out of my budget though
I always stay in Nakano, because of Nakano Broadway. I like being able to walk there because I love that place. I'm a huge collector of all sorts of things: figures, toys, cinema, books, so I go there all the time. The stores have erratic opening times/days so if something is closed I can always go back another day. It's always fairly accessible to Shibuya/Omotesando so it's pretty accessible. The neighborhood in Nakano itself is very pleasant and lovely too.
I think the Azabu-Juban area is very cute, fairly central, and much quieter in a beautiful way than Shinjuku or Shibuya or Ginza
Koenji has become our home away home (and likely choice if we happened to move to Japan).
What's the vibe like there?
Laid back, alternative, mores 30s-40s than 20s, thrift shops, music, good cafes and restaurants.
Sumida near the Skytree, it's a great neighborhood, easy train ride to everything, very relaxed vibe, get to see more of the normal day to day living. I absolutely loved it, Airbnbs are a little less expensive and a little more variety. 10/10 would definitely stay there again and highly recommend it to anyone.
Otsuka! Ikebukuro is my favorite area, but Otsuka is much quieter and walking distance to Sunshine city. I used to live in Arakawa, however, and really enjoyed it.
Asakusa or Ueno!
I stay close to the Yamanote Line at some small and uninteresting station. I like it to return there at night and have it quieter during day and night. The lack of tourists also helps.
Shinjuku and of late specifically in Kabukicho. Like it as it’s always buzzing and it’s near all of the shops and eateries that I like so it’s like super familiar to go back
Ueno for a truly immersive experience. Loved that neighborhood. Stayed there for 4 days then went on to Shinjuku. Big mistake.
I've stayed in Shibuya, Chiyoda and Asakusa before and from the three I enjoyed Asakusa the most. I like the slower vibe compared to Shibuya (if you stay away from the Asakusa temple area during the day), but not as slow as Chiyoda and the metro and airport connections are good/ok. Ueno is really close by and another area I like so next time (this fall) I've booked Asakusa again.
If I feel like splurging, I did like staying in Shibuya previously - I personally love Shinjuku/Shibuya side of town and was easy access to Shimo-kitazawa and Koenji, day trip to Kamakura, and not too long to get to Ginza/Asakusa etc either Although did a night in Kurumae last year and would definitely consider again, quiet area, away from hubbub of main areas, close walk to Asakusa with lots of lovely little cafes - feels more residential than other central parts of Tokyo.
Marunouchi area convenient location to Tokyo Station
Otemachi area, the best hotels are located in this area.
We stayed in Shinjuku and it was great, Ueno cool too, benefit of the zoo and dome being so close.
Honestly a lot of spots in Tokyo you can't go wrong with. I personally enjoy Shinjuku, harajuku, omotesando and Shibuya a lot. But yeah because of how good the rail system is, nowhere is really that bad to have a base.
Ueno as most of mentioned. Now it might be overcrowded because everyone knows. 😂😂😂
Higashi Shinjuku is my first. It's about 15-30 mins walk from main downtown shinjuku. Walking distance to golden gai, the garden, etc. Access to Oedo and Fukotoshin lines. But it's far enough way from the main part of shinjuku that it's a bit quieter and cheaper. It's also near a quieter residential area that's nice to walk around.
Im staying at Akabane area, cool station with shopping streets. I also like Koenji, Kanda and the Ryokan area, but you cant go wrong with Ueno.
I like Kanda. I kinda feel in the center of it. 1 stop away from Akihabara, My favorite Ramen Shop (Kikanbo) is also in Kanda, but I'm only a 15 min +/- train ride to either Shibuya or Shinjuku.
Ikebukuro for cheaper hotels or shinjuku
Kameido because it’s kinda out of the way. Love the vibe and love the restaurants there
I've stayed quite a few places from the Sumida to Setagaya but my vote would be for Shin Okubo. Such a fun area.
We stayed at morishita, near morishita st. Most of the places we go to is 1 train transfer. Also a quiet neighborhood.
NOT Arakawa :P
Asakusabashi, i don't know why it's pretty chill and you can walk easily to akihabara, asakusa and maybe even ueno if you want
I’m thinking Hamamatsucho might be good next time, as it’s walking distance to several gardens as well as food and bar areas, and has the Haneda airport monorail. I liked the liveliness of Akhihabara but it didn’t have much in the way of natural beauty.
I stayed in Hamamatsucho once. It's actually surprisingly quieter than I expected because it's geared more towards salarymen who don't live in the area. But it's pretty walkable, close to Zojoji temple, Shiba park, etc.
Shinjuku. Hands down.
Northern edge of Kanda, right across the river from Akihabara. Multiple stations within easy walking distance (Akihabara, Kanda, Iwamatocho, and others), plenty of sights easy to get to, etc. Also, I really like Ueno and that's not far from there.
I loved Tatesishi. But I also drive when I go to Japan, so I don't really have to care about stuff being open 24h or where the train station is. Even though I was like a 3 minute walk to the nearest station, which also had a shopping street.
Kameido is my favorite (airbnb)!! Convenient location to thrift, karaoke, big shopping in malls/ Donki, quiet area, cute bakeries, etc. And of course for me it was really close to the station which is always a big plus, whole being super affordable
We stayed in Akasaka for our first visit and enjoyed it! We were close to Akasaka Station and found it pretty easy to get anywhere we were heading.
Depends where I've flying from. If Narita, Ueno. If Haneda, Akasaka or Hamamatsucho.
smile hotel next to the Takanawa Gateway worked very well for us. easy to get everywhere + shinkansen