Reflections from a Recent Trip
Orientation and Getting Around
Chief Sights and Attractions
Introduction to Lodgings
Quality Hotels
Upper Budget
Lower Budget
Rock bottom lodgings
To understand the modern world, you must see Tokyo. Here is where so many of the world's modern inventions are perfected, made smaller or faster, or just transformed into something better. Though the original and more theoretical research may have been done by others, Japan has created many of the most successful practical applications of science and engineering. Japan was the first to have heated bathroom mirrors that wouldn't fog up after the shower or faucets that worked on electric eyes, ditto sliding doors, automatic revolving doors, and more. The Japan National Tourist Organization's slogan is "Visit Japan, where the Past Meets the Future," a catchy phrase that improves on the old cliché about past meeting present.
Tokyo is also one of those few cities where you can live in an unusual and completely different culture (at least from our Eurocentric way of looking at things), yet be entirely comfortable while doing so, and absolutely safe. You don't have to worry about crime or cleanliness, about the quality of food and drink. You needn't even be concerned about embarrassing yourself, as the Japanese are a long suffering people accustomed to foreigners not understanding the little niceties of daily life here. (Sometimes I think they're disappointed if we don't make some kind of social mistake at least once a day).
If you like a country where things work, where people keep appointments on time, where service is gladly provided and calmly accepted, you'll love Japan. If you prefer greater social openness, greater cultural achievements, you may be less than satisfied. The fact that Japan is a democratic society, perhaps the most democratic in Asia, helps. And despite current business tensions between Japan and the U.S.A., its people are basically very friendly toward Americans, more so than toward most other foreigners.
Several times a year, tourists strolling through Tokyo are accosted by children who ask, in English, to conduct an interview with them. When this first happened to me, I reacted in the worst possible way, fearing a con. Only after several such encounters and after espying a mother lurking nearby, did I realize that the youngsters had been given this assignment by the elementary school teachers of their language classes.
For an American, a visit to the upwardly striving, education-focused nation of Japan is an important instructive experience, wholly apart from the cultural riches and visual beauties that surround the visitor in such profusion. Japan has contemporary lessons to teach us. No matter how many books or articles you may have read on the subject, there is nothing like a trip there to make you sensitively aware, and fully informed, of all the many steps Japan has taken to become a superpower, and, I might add, of all the corresponding deficiencies in other nations, including our own, that have enabled them to win competitive advantage.
Travel has an impact on the mind that no other activity--not even that of widespread reading--can quite achieve.
On a first visit, the two highlights are Tokyo and Kyoto, the one a center of modern commerce and industry, the other a treasure house of art, culture, and history. At 160 miles an hour, you speed in a bullet train from one central station to the other and feast on sushi and sashimi as you gaze at Mt. Fuji en route, from the airplane-like seat of your railroad car. When you rise to replenish your little plastic box of refreshments and enter a dining area stacked with colorful Japanese dishes designed as in a painting--everything modern, fresh and antiseptically clean--you reflect on the advances a nation can achieve when it has no vast military complex to support.
The visit to Japan is made in an atmosphere of unfailing courtesy. When I recently asked instructions of an English-speaking commuter at the Tokyo station where I boarded the bullet train, he responded with painstaking care. A full fifteen minutes later, as the train was about to leave, he came running back in agitation and perspiration, having obviously returned to the station platform from several blocks away. He had forgotten to add a particular small detail!
And the visit is an affordable one. Whenever you hear tales of beef costing $46 a pound and meals for $100, reflect for a moment that per capita income in Japan is still slightly under that of the United States, even at current exchange rates. If prices there are so very high, how can the average Japanese manage to live as well as they obviously do?
The answer is that they do not patronize the business-oriented, expense-account restaurants or the local versions of a Neiman-Marcus department store. If you will go to the entrance of any subway station in Tokyo, and then look up and down the modest side street on which it is usually located, you will see whole strings of casual restaurants and cafés where prices are no more than they would be in Chicago, New York, or San Francisco. In the subway station itself, fares are almost identical to those in several large U.S. cities. In middle-class hotels--to be distinguished from the gleaming skyscraper varieties--the room rates are reasonable. Though nothing in Japan is cheap, and though luxury items are sky-high, the purchases made by average-income Japanese are quite comparable in price to the levels at which average-income Americans buy precisely the same items.
As always in travel, the point is to live like a resident, patronizing the same sort of shops, stores, restaurants, and cafés and reaching them by public transportation. And just as in the United States, these establishments are not found on the glittering Ginza, just as they are not found on Madison Avenue or Rodeo Drive. The latter is for window-shopping only, and not for real people. By taking the extra time to find the more modest commercial centers--by avoiding the urge to dine in a flashy expanse of glass and steel--you tour Japan at a reasonable cost.
Orientation and Getting Around
Orientation & Getting Around
Arriving at Tokyo's International (Narita) Airport, you can, as a first alternative, simply take the Airport Limousine Bus, running directly to many hotels or to the city terminal in central Tokyo, departing every 30 minutes or so, and costing about ¥3,000 (US$24). You buy tickets and make reservations in the airport arrival hall. Travel time is about 70 minutes, depending on where your hotel is located. Or you can take the Narita Express Line of JR (Japan Railways) from the JR station right in the airport to Tokyo's main station, where you then get a cab. The train costs about ¥2,940 (US$24). Train travel time is 60 minutes. You can also opt for the Keisei Skyline Train from the Keisei Airport Station (within the airport, but not directly in the terminal) to Keisei's Ueno Station, in the northern part of Tokyo, from where, again, you catch a taxi to your hotel. Travel time is 60 minutes. And finally, you can--if you're wealthy, indeed--take a taxi, which will require about 70 minutes and will cost about US$200. A hired sedan will be double that and a limo about US$500, a stretch limo even more.
Once unpacked at your hotel, you are in one of the world's largest cities, but one of the easiest for getting around. It's important to orient yourself first:
Tokyo is centered on the Imperial Palace, a vast park and residences for the ruling family, which was once a shogun's castle. East of the palace lies the famed Ginza shopping and entertainment district, with its neighboring Marunouchi business district, headquarters to many of Japan's giant industries and banks. West of the palace and farther is the Shinjuku district, also an entertainment and shopping mecca, but headquarters for the city government's towering buildings, the tallest in Asia. And just south of the palace a bit is Akasaka, the fashionable entertainment and shopping district, where many of the city's best hotels are located, too. (Next to Akasaka is the Kasumigaseki district, where the national government is situated. An interesting aside, Kasumigaseki means "Foggy Bottom," and that is the district in Washington, D.C. where our State Department is located.)
Around the Imperial Palace, several miles away, lies the railway loop called the Yamanote Line of the former national railway (now called JR), and through the center, east to west, is the Central Line (Chuo-sen), which runs from Tokyo Station on the east to Shinjuku on the west and even farther out into the suburbs. You could use only these two lines and get around most of Tokyo.
However, there is a much better system, that of Tokyo's 12 subway lines, crisscrossing the capital with swift, silent trains, running on schedule and marked in both English and Japanese in such a way that it's difficult to get lost. At each station is a sign showing not only the name of that station, but the next station in either direction. Above you is an electronic sign that tells you when the next train is coming and where it is at any given moment.
Finally, there are timetables posted all around that show the exact minute the train will arrive and depart (and it does!). There are also voice announcements on the train intoning the name of each station as you enter. And there are English-language maps and explanatory signs in each station (you can get printed English-language subway maps at hotels and stations). Fares vary according to distance, and as in London or Washington, you keep your ticket to exit on the way out.
The city bus system is good, but slow, and the signs are mostly in Japanese only, with few drivers speaking any English at all. So, stick to the subway, JR train, or taxi. If you use the latter, have your hotel write down the name of your destination before you get in, as few drivers speak English. But you don't have to worry about being cheated in Japan, and the meters are honest. Also, you don't tip, please!
Most important to remember is that if you need any kind of assistance at all, the Japan National Tourist Organization has many ways to assist you. They have a conveniently located downtown office in Tokyo, in the Ginza district, and in Kyoto, near the main rail station. Most important, they have the Japan Travel-Phone for quick and easy assistance. In Tokyo, just dial 3503-4400 and in Kyoto 371-5649. Outside those two cities, the call is toll free. Ring 0088-22-4800 for information on eastern Japan and 0120-444-800 for information on western Japan, making the call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. any day of the year. The Tokyo office of JNTO is on the main street leading from Yuraku-cho subway station (and bridge) toward the Imperial Palace. Address: Kotani Building, 6-6 Yuraku-cho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, phone 3502-1461. It's open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, closed Sundays and national holidays.
JNTO also can get you into a Japanese home through their Home Visit System, for which you can apply 24 hours in advance, or better yet, two days in advance.
From a much longer list, we've chosen five "must sees":
First, the Imperial Palace. Though it can't be entered except on two days of the year, and then only by standing in line for hours, go see its moats and gates, mostly on the southern and eastern side, and its outer gardens, on the northeast corner--and let it go at that. Actually, an even better view is from the top floor of the adjacent Palace Hotel (see elsewhere in our discussion).
Two. Stroll down the Ginza, especially on Sundays, when it is an auto-free pedestrian zone. See the products the Japanese consumers are buying now that we will be buying next year. Notice also how well dressed the Japanese are, particularly the women.
Three. Visit Meiji Shrine for a glimpse of the Japanese spirit of old. Dedicated to the emperor who brought Japan into the modern world, kicking and screaming (1867 to 1912), this is a graceful, if somber place, except on festival days when it is filled with gaudily dressed Japanese families. Best of all is the Shichi-go-san festival, on November 15. The iris in March and the chrysanthemum in October are magnificent here. If you have time for only one Shinto shrine in Tokyo, choose this.
Four. Take in a big Japanese department store, such as Mitsukoshi or Takashimaya, on the northern extension of the Ginza. You'll find an entirely new concept of service, and you'll also be introduced to some of the newest materialistic trends, much emphasized in today's Japan. You'll also see magnificent kimono on one floor, and in the food basement, more (and frequently tempting) strange foods than you could ever imagine.
Five. Finally, go to Asakusa Kannon Temple, in downtown Tokyo (shitamachi), with its splendid shopping street and charming adjoining precincts. If you have time to see only one Buddhist temple in Tokyo, this should be it.
Although our own recommendations should be helpful to you, always bear in mind that the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) maintains a valuable service called the Welcome Inn Reservation Center, which can find you rooms for about US$50 per person per night and which you can book from the U.S. as well as after arriving in Japan. There are over 540 establishments throughout Japan participating in this program (a few in Tokyo), ranging from western-style hotels to ryokan (the traditional Japanese inn) to pensions and bed-and-breakfast rooms. In the U.S.A. call JNTO at 212/757-5640, Chicago 312/222-0874, San Francisco 415/989-7140, or Los Angeles 213/623-1952. In Tokyo, dial 3503-4400 and in Kyoto 371-5649. Outside those two cities, the call is toll free. Ring 0088-22-4800 for Welcome Inns in eastern Japan and 0120-444-800 for Welcome Inns in western Japan, making the call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. any day of the year.
CAPITOL TOKYU
Capitol Tokyu, 2-10-3 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, on a small hill between the Diet (Parliament) building and Hie Shrine in the Akasaka district, phone 3581-4511, fax 3581-5822, Web: www.tokyuhotels.co.jp. Year-round rates for single rooms are ¥26,000 (US$207) standard, ¥38,000 (US$302) for a twin or double room.
All the deluxe hotels of Tokyo have outstanding service and ultra-comfortable rooms, superlative restaurants, and every amenity you could hope for. The Capitol Tokyu--a stately, dignified, subdued, 12-story structure--has all these (including an especially popular Keyaki Grill, scene of Japanese power lunches and dinners practically every day)--but it also has the great advantage of location. It is on a small hill in the very center of Tokyo, just behind the parliament and prime minister's residence and next to Hie Jinja (shrine). You can walk out the main door, climb a few steps to the shrine, and are in the middle of Old Japan. You might even see a Shinto priest blessing a new automobile. Or, you can go down to the lowest level on the back of the hotel and walk a few hundred feet to the Parliament (Kokkai Gijido Mae) subway station, one of Tokyo's most important, from where you can quickly move all around the city. Because it is smaller than the other top Tokyo hotels (456 rooms on 12 floors), I think it also has a warmer feeling. The rooms here are also somewhat larger than in many newer hotels.
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL CHINZAN-SO TOKYO
Four Seasons Hotel Chinzan-so Tokyo, 2-10-8 Sekiguchi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112, in northwest Tokyo, near prestigious Waseda University and St. Mary's Catholic cathedral, phone 3943-2222, fax 3943-2300, Web: www.fourseasons.com/tokyo. Year-round rates for twin rooms are ¥43,000 to ¥68,000 (US$342 to US$541). There are no single rates.
Ultra-modern outside, grand and traditional within (like what you'd imagine the country home of Queen Elizabeth to resemble), this is a small gem of a deluxe hotel, with 283 spacious rooms (47 of them suites). It is also a haven of peace and quiet, inside a famous old garden (Chinzan-so) on the northern edge of downtown Tokyo. Its size, and the tradition of its management, ensures exquisite service, a calm atmosphere, and a moment for reflection among gardens distanced from traffic. Chinese, Japanese, French, and Italian restaurants are among the many facilities, and a health club spa has filtered hot spring water brought from a famous onsen resort 35 miles away.
HOTEL OKURA TOKYO
Hotel Okura Tokyo, 2-10-4 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105, across the street from the American Embassy and close to the Akasaka district, phone 3582-0111, fax 3582-3707, Web: www.okura.com/tokyo.html. Year-round room rates range from ¥29,000 all the way up to ¥47,500 (US$230 to US$378). Deluxe rooms start at ¥79,000 (US$628), suites from ¥89,000 (US$708).
Long a favorite of Americans business travelers, the Okura is famous as the hotel next door to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Tokyo, convenient to Japanese government buildings as well. The only hotel in Japan to boast its own museum of ancient Japanese art (in a separate building on the grounds), the Okura is a long and splendid seven-story structure, with 875 quite roomy rooms including 62 suites and 11 Japanese-type rooms. And service is outstanding, in a city known for its service. There are seven good restaurants (especially Chinese and Japanese) in the two buildings (main and annex) connected by an underground passage. Facilities include a recently renovated (October 2001) health club, gym, outdoor and indoor heated pools, and a jogging map for the ambitious.
IMPERIAL HOTEL
Imperial Hotel, 1-1-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, in the center of the Ginza/Yurakukcho entertainment and shopping area, phone 3504-1111, fax 3581-9146. Year-round rates for standard rooms are ¥30,000 to ¥43,000 (US$238 to US$342), superior rooms are ¥40,000 to ¥47,000 (US$320 to US$374). (There are two higher categories of rooms—deluxe and suite--costing more).
The oldest and most famous of Japan's Western-style hotels, the Imperial of the late 1990s is not the Imperial that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in 1928 and which was one of the few major buildings to withstand the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1929. That former structure has been totally supplanted by a towering, slab-sided structure of several wings, entirely transformed. (It remains one of the great hotels in Asia, but has been equaled, if not surpassed, by several other establishments.) The Imperial is now Tokyo's fourth largest hotel (about 40 floors), with 1,059 good-sized units, of which 66 are suites. This is the preferred place to stay if you want to be in a virtual shopping center of a hotel, several floors devoted to expensive boutiques and arcades. The meals? They are mainly provided by the most deluxe of restaurants, elegant and expensive. Central to the Imperial's reputation is its convenient location between the Ginza and the government quarter, one block from a JR station (Yurakucho) on the loop line and a short drive to Tokyo Station, from where you can take the super-fast bullet trains to everywhere in Japan.
THE NEW OTANI
The New Otani, 4-1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, in the Akasaka district and in a huge garden, phone 3265-1111, fax 3221-2619, Web: www.newotani.co.jp/tokyo/en/tokyo. Year-round rates are ¥31,000 (US$246) for a “tower standard”, ¥45,000 (US$358) for a deluxe room.
Japan's second-largest hotel, with 1,610 comfortably sized rooms in three buildings (the older main building of about 20 floors and two extremely-modern new towers, reaching up at least 30 floors each). The rooms are expensively decorated and extremely large. You'll want to stay here if you like bustling activity and every conceivable amenity, a superb Japanese garden (10 acres and 400 years old, a former imperial prince's retreat), and the best French restaurant in town (a branch of Paris' Tour d'Argent), innumerable shops, a major business center, and all the other upscale features. Convenient location, too, near the Akasaka Mitsuke intersection, where two of the most important of Tokyo's 12 different subway lines intersect.
GRAND PALACE HOTEL
Grand Palace Hotel, 1-1-1 Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102, north of the Imperial Palace in an upscale, mostly business neighborhood, phone 3264-1111, fax 3222-6600, Web: . Year-round rates are single ¥17,000 to ¥28,000 (US$135 to US$223), twin from ¥28,000 to ¥34,000 (US$223 to US$270), double occupancy suite from ¥90,000 to ¥100,000 ($715 to $795). Extra bed ¥2,000 (US$16).
Newer than its sister, the Palace, and taller (a towering 26 stories), the Grand Palace overlooks the Imperial Palace grounds from the north, a couple of blocks away. There are six restaurants, one having spectacular views from the 23rd floor. And there are 464 rooms, all in very subdued colors, average in size, with tastefully appointed furnishings.
KEIO PLAZA INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTEL
Keio Plaza Inter-Continental Hotel, 2-2-1 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160. A short walk (5 minutes) from Shinjuku Station in the civic center area, phone 3344-0111 (or in the U.S. 800/327-0200), fax 3345-8269, Web: . Year-round rates are ¥22,000 to ¥37,000 (US$176 to US$296) per single room, ¥26,000 to ¥40,000 (US$208 to US$320) for twins. Suites start at ¥80,000 (US$640). A 10% service charge is added to all rates.
Tokyo's third-largest hotel, the Keio Plaza has 1,500 average-sized rooms and suites on more than 40 floors distributed between two massive towers, one new, one older, just about a five-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, busiest rail terminal in he world. There are 29 specialty restaurants (Chinese, Japanese, Italian, etc.) and other dining rooms, a major business center, no-smoking rooms, and elaborately gizmo-laden toilets. An outdoor pool is available in summer, and there is also a health club. Many shops and travel services are available, too. (Be sure to catch the massive chandeliers and ikebana displays of the Keio Plaza's lobby).
PALACE HOTEL
Palace Hotel, 1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, just across the boulevard from the Imperial Palace itself, in the famous Ginza/Marunouchi district, phone 3211-5211, fax 3211-6987, Web: . Year-round rates are ¥23,000 to ¥29,000 (US$183 to US$231) for standard single rooms, ¥33,000 to ¥45,000 (US$262 to US$358) for twins.
The Palace Hotel has 393 rooms on ten floors of a postwar building, modern but in conservative style. Affording some of the best views of the Imperial Palace from its upper floors, the Palace is becoming a venerable Tokyo institution, much beloved by influential Japanese of the old money type. Despite its central location, it is a quiet hotel, so much so that the late and famous author, Mishima Yukio, did much of his writing in a room here. Well-known French and steak restaurants are on the premises, as are a shopping arcade and business center. Rooms are quite spacious.
RIHGA ROYAL WASEDA HOTEL
Rihga Royal Waseda Hotel, 1-104-19 Totsuka-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169, in northwestern Tokyo near Waseda University, phone 5285-1121, fax 5285-4321, Web: . Year-round rates for standard twin-bedded rooms are ¥33,000 to ¥40,000 (US$262 to $318), double ¥30,000 to ¥40,000 (US$238 to US$318), suites start at ¥150,000 (US$1,192).
This is a small hotel by Tokyo standards, with only 127 rooms on 12 floors, in a mixed business and residential neighborhood not far from the famous Waseda University. But the rooms of this cleanly modern building are extremely spacious (the standard double is 50 square yards) and beautifully decorated in classic Italian design. There are three restaurants (including a good Japanese one), as well as a health club with gym, sauna, and pool. Note that the hotel was built on the site of a former noble residence whose garden was left more or less intact for the enjoyment of guests.
AKASAKA PRINCE HOTEL
Akasaka Prince Hotel, 1-2 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100, a convenient location in the fashionable Akaska district, phone 3234-1111, fax 3262-5163, Web: . Year-round rates are single ¥15,000 to ¥19,200 (US$119 to US$153), twin ¥16,500 to ¥22,200 (US$131 to US$175).
One of famed architect Kenzo Tange's most awesome skyscrapers, the Akasaka Prince soars over the bustling Akasaka Mitsuke intersection, seat of the Japanese government and center of the exclusive entertainment and shopping center of Akasaka (one of the few remaining places in Tokyo where real geisha ply their trade). With 783 unusually spacious rooms on 50 floors, the Prince guarantees good city views from every room and has several excellent restaurants, especially those offering Japanese food. The lobby is a small sea of marble, with white trimmings; as you go to your room, attractive young women stationed at the elevators bow deeply to welcome you to the apparatus (as they recently did on Roberta's and my stay there). And you are near two convenient subway stations. (We've always made a point of dining in the modest, inexpensive restaurants adjoining those stations, rather than at the Akasak Prince!).
RICHMOND HOTEL TOKYO
Richmond Hotel Tokyo (formerly a Best Western), 3-5-14 Mejiro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171, in northwestern Tokyo near Gakushuin University, phone 3565-4111, fax 3565-4181. Year-round rates are ¥9,800 to ¥15,000 (US$78 to US$120) per single room, ¥15,000 to ¥22,000 (US$120 to US$176) for standard doubles (there is also a more expensive, upgraded category of double room), ¥18,000 to ¥35,000 (US$144 to US$280) for triples. Child under 12 free, as is an extra person's cot. Rates include breakfast.
There are 118 average-sized rooms on eight floors of this building resembling a modern apartment house. The Richmond is quite near the Peers University (Gakushuin), which only the nobility could attend before 1945, when the American Occupation ended those perks. (It is now open to anyone who can afford it and who can pass the rigorous entrance exams.) The hotel has two restaurants, heated indoor pool, bilingual television, and minibar in the room.
SHINJUKU PRINCE HOTEL
Shinjuku Prince Hotel, 30-1 Kabuki-cho 1-chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160, in the center of one of Tokyo's busiest entertainment districts, phone 3205-1111, fax 3205-1952, Web: . Year-round rates are ¥17,600 (US$137) per single, ¥19,800 to ¥30,800 (US$156 to US$240) for standard doubles and twins (there are also more expensive upgraded categories).
Even if you don't plan to partake of Japanese nightlife, not even of the middle-class and student variety offered in the Shinjuku area, you may still want to stay in this Shinjuku-area hotel for the cleanliness and efficiency of the big Prince chain. The location is also convenient, just across the street from busy Shinjuku rail station. Several restaurants, and an American Boulevard shopping arcade, where the merchandise is either from America or inspired by the U.S.A. There are 571 smallish rooms on 25 floors.
GAJOEN KANKO HOTEL
Gajoen Kanko Hotel, 1-8-1 Shimo Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153, a five-minute walk from Meguro Station on the Tokyo loop line (Yamanote), phone 3491-0111, fax 3495-2450. Year-round rates are ¥10,000 to ¥16,000 (US$79.50 to US$127.20) for single rooms, ¥17,000 to ¥23,000 (US$134 to US$183) for doubles and twins.
Once the site of a guest house for foreign visitors coming to Japan to meet the Imperial Family, the Gajoen Kanko was also the scene of many old American movies, Sayonara and The Bridges at Toko-Ri, among them. It has a lovely garden, relatively spacious and definitely comfortable rooms (98 of them), and a restaurant and bar. The hotel was built in 1931, renovated in 1986.
SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL
Shinagawa Prince Hotel, 10-30, Takanawa 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, across the street from bustling Shinagawa Station, phone 3440-1111, fax 3441-7092, Web: . Year round rates in its annex and main (older) tower are ¥9,800 (US$78) per single room, ¥14,500 (US$115) per double, ¥14,800 (US$118) per twin. In the new tower, rates are too high for our upper budget category: ¥18,400 (US$146) per single or double, ¥21,500 (US$168) per twin.
This extraordinary, 39-story structure is flanked by a smaller main tower and separate annex and included here for upper-budget seekers only because of the remarkable rates in its annex and main older tower. This is Japan's largest hotel, with 3,008 mostly small rooms; it is obviously popular among Japanese travelers who do not have expense accounts (the basis for the rates of the deluxe hotels) and who appreciate its location at the rail station for the busy beaches south of Tokyo and for Yokohama. Although at the center of a little commercial hub of its own, the hotel is quite near to a pleasant residential neighborhood; so here, you can be in bustling Tokyo, yet almost out of it, so to speak. Here are at least a dozen restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a 104-lane bowling alley, 9 indoor tennis courts, indoor golf practice center, shopping arcade, the works.
GAJOEN KANKO HOTEL
Gajoen Kanko Hotel, 1-8-1 Shimo Meguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153, a five-minute walk from Meguro Station on the Tokyo loop line (Yamanote), phone 3491-0111, fax 3495-2450. Year-round rates are ¥10,000 to ¥16,000 (US$79.50 to US$127.20) for single rooms, ¥17,000 to ¥23,000 (US$134 to US$183) for doubles and twins.
Once the site of a guest house for foreign visitors coming to Japan to meet the Imperial Family, the Gajoen Kanko was also the scene of many old American movies, Sayonara and The Bridges at Toko-Ri, among them. It has a lovely garden, relatively spacious and definitely comfortable rooms (98 of them), and a restaurant and bar. The hotel was built in 1931, renovated in 1986.
SHINAGAWA PRINCE HOTEL
Shinagawa Prince Hotel, 10-30, Takanawa 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108, across the street from bustling Shinagawa Station, phone 3440-1111, fax 3441-7092, Web: . Year round rates in its annex and main (older) tower are ¥9,800 (US$78) per single room, ¥14,500 (US$115) per double, ¥14,800 (US$118) per twin. In the new tower, rates are too high for our upper budget category: ¥18,400 (US$146) per single or double, ¥21,500 (US$168) per twin.
This extraordinary, 39-story structure is flanked by a smaller main tower and separate annex and included here for upper-budget seekers only because of the remarkable rates in its annex and main older tower. This is Japan's largest hotel, with 3,008 mostly small rooms; it is obviously popular among Japanese travelers who do not have expense accounts (the basis for the rates of the deluxe hotels) and who appreciate its location at the rail station for the busy beaches south of Tokyo and for Yokohama. Although at the center of a little commercial hub of its own, the hotel is quite near to a pleasant residential neighborhood; so here, you can be in bustling Tokyo, yet almost out of it, so to speak. Here are at least a dozen restaurants, indoor and outdoor pools, a 104-lane bowling alley, 9 indoor tennis courts, indoor golf practice center, shopping arcade, the works.
Rock Bottom
TOKYO YOYOGI YOUTH HOSTEL
Tokyo Yoyogi Youth Hostel, 5-3-1 Kamiconocho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151, in the National Olympics Memorial Center No. 5, phone 3467-9163, fax 3467-9417, Web: www.jyh.or.jp. Year-round rates are ¥3000 (US$24) or less per night.
There are 60 western-style rooms in this youth hostel, just a five-minute walk from the Odakyku railway line's Sangubashi Station. You'll have to share a common Japanese-style bath. There's a kitchen for do-it-yourself cooking and a parking lot in the unlikely event you are renting a car in Tokyo.