Finding another hotel in Tokyo, Part 1

This review’s a bit late but after the Tokyo bookfair (TIBF), I came home to a mess of work and haven’t had the chance to write this till now.

When I was planning my trip there, my first choice was Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel, which I reviewed here earlier. It was a painless walk to the Tokyo Big Sight convention center and I was quite happy with the room and service. However, one month before the fair, the hotel was fully booked. After waiting a week or two, with no change in the No Vacancy situation.

Rather than mope and look for another option in the Ariake area, I decided to take the opportunity to see the rest of Tokyo. In my previous stay, I’d gone to Lalaport Mall, the Tsukiji Fish market and, from there, Ginza. This time, I resolved to see Shinjuku (a place of romantic memories) and/or Shibuya. Ariake is fine, but the immediate of envirions of the convention center are quiet and empty during nights and weekend and i wanted an urban buzz this time.

I tried checking out the Washington Hotels in Ginza, Shinjuku and Shibuya. Few rooms were available in these hotels and when I thought I had found one in Washington Hotel Shinjuku, I came across an unhappy review in either Virtual Tourist of Trip Advisor. Finally, I took the advice of the historian Rey Ileto, now in Singapore but a frequent Tokyo visitor.

It was Rey who mentioned the Tokyu Stay chain. I checked it out and chose Tokyu Stay Shin-Minamiguchi. Other Tokyu Stay branches were fully booked. Basically it wasn’t much of a choice but it turned out to be a good choice.

ACCESS

from airport •••  Unlike the previous hotel, Tokyu Stay Shin-Minamiguchi is not directly served by the Ariport Limousine Buse service mentioned in an earlier blog. Again,I asked travelers from Trip Advisor and Virtual Touristfor advice and then e-mailed Tokyu Stay Shin-Minamiguchi directly. They advised taking the Limousine Bus to Cerulean Tower and then taking a cab from there. (The Limousine Bus also services Shibuya Mark City nearby, I was to find out.) After I took the cab, I realized I could have walked it and avoided the daily traffic jam (well, I did want some urban buzz). The walk would have been downhill for the most part but hey, I was arriving with a suitcase and going to a hotel i had never seen before.

 to Tokyo Big Sight Convention Center ••• Since I was not on Odaiba this time, I knew the commute (as opposed to a stroll) would be longer and more expensive. Still, it was painless: just one trip basically if you pick the right train. Shibuya Station is one of the busiest stations in Tokyo and is served by JR and numerous private lines. One walks an easy couple of minutes to the relatively recent Shiinminamiguchi entrance of Shibuya station to take the Rinkai Line. You can see a basic location map here. I estimate that one of every 3 trips brings you directly to Kokusai-Tenjijo Station near Tokyo Big Sight. Otherwise, one can get off at Ebisu and change trains from the same quay. In other words, I traded quick, painless and no-cost access to the convention center for about an hour’s commute to it but access to more exciting sections of Tokyo.

Next blog: The Tokyu Stay Shibuya Shin-Minamiguchi apartment hotel and why I enjoyed it. In the meantime, you can check out the photos of the hotel and my room there.