Places to Stay – Anshin Japan

When a Hotel Price in Japan Looks Cheap: What to Check | Taxes and Fees, Cancellation, Member Prices and Sort Order

A place to stay looks cheaper than expected in the search results. That’s a welcome sight.

But the number in the list alone cannot tell you what the price includes or what you give up for it. We cannot verify from outside why it is cheap. We will not guess.

Instead, there are five things to check.

This article draws on the terms of use for people booking from outside Japan (the version effective October 21, 2026) and the FAQ of Agoda, the booking site we use to introduce places to stay. Other booking sites may have different rules and screens.

For now, just this

Compare the final booking total, not the price in the list
Check until when you can cancel that room for free
Check whether the property name is withheld until after booking
Check whether the price depends on membership or a coupon
The first result in a list is not necessarily the cheapest place to stay

1 Taxes and fees: what the list price may leave out

Compare the final booking total.

Under Agoda’s terms of use, prices shown in a list generally exclude taxes and service charges (unless stated otherwise).

Taxes and fees are included together in the charge when you book. They may include a card processing fee (which may appear as “Processing cost” on the booking screen) or an Agoda booking fee (which may appear as “Convenience Fee”). The terms say this booking fee is not refundable on cancellation unless the law prohibits this.

Discount codes also generally do not apply to taxes, service charges, or additional charges.

For Pay at Hotel bookings, the displayed price may or may not include taxes and fees. Check the booking conditions and confirmation email.

There may also be separate amounts to pay at the property. In Japan, some cities charge Accommodation Tax and onsen towns charge bathing tax. See “Paying for Your Stay” for where and how much.

Comparing totals shows what is added to the price that first looked cheap. Add any tax payable at the property to your calculation.

2 Can you cancel? The conditions beside the price

Look at cancellation conditions alongside the price.

Cancellation conditions appear with the room information when you search. Some bookings are nonrefundable, cannot be canceled, or cannot be changed. The property sets the cancellation fee. You cannot change the cancellation conditions after the booking is confirmed. A no-show is also handled under the conditions you chose.

If your travel dates might change, consider a room with a deadline for free cancellation. If your dates are fixed, a noncancellable rate is also one option. Decide which suits you first, and the differences between rates at the same property become easier to weigh.

See the cancellation fees section of “Paying for Your Stay” for how the date when cancellation fees begin varies by property.

3 A listing that keeps the property name hidden until after booking: Secret Deals

Agoda has a type of listing called Secret Deals. Its terms of use say:

The property’s name, location, and contact details are disclosed after the booking is confirmed
The booking cannot be canceled and is nonrefundable (to the extent permitted by law)
The listing comes from a special arrangement with the property and has its own label

The terms do not explain why the price is lower. They describe what you give up in exchange.

In Japan, the area where you stay shapes your trip. If you want to choose the area first (for Tokyo, see “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip”), a rate that lets you see the name and location before deciding may be easier to choose.

4 Member prices and coupons: rates with conditions

Check whether that price is available to everyone or only under certain conditions.

Agoda has a free membership program, VIP. Its terms of use say discounted rates and other benefits may be offered for selected properties or bookings. Membership has tiers based on such things as how often you book and how much you spend, and benefits differ by tier. Benefits apply only to selected bookings. They may change.

Unless stated otherwise, discounts and coupons cannot be combined with other discounts. There may be limits on their use and eligibility conditions; the discount amount appears in the price breakdown.

Once you know whether the conditions apply to you, you can tell whether that price is one you can use to plan your trip.

5 Sort order: the first result may not be the cheapest

Agoda’s terms of use say the initial ordering of properties is set automatically. It takes into account things such as:

Availability
Promotions and prices
Past popularity
Money Agoda earns
The share of viewers who book
Review scores and star ratings

The terms also say that some placements are paid to appear higher and carry a label or explanation.

So the first property was not chosen on price alone. Knowing this lets you choose calmly based on where you want to stay and the conditions you need.

To compare prices, compare like with like

Agoda itself provides a yardstick for comparing prices: Best Price Guarantee. If you find the same hotel offered for less elsewhere after booking, you can submit a claim. If the conditions are met, the price difference can be matched. Some bookings are ineligible. Only prices from booking sites designated by Agoda can be compared; the hotel’s own website is excluded. The program is for hotel bookings only, and the room must be available for immediate confirmation.

The prices you compare must match on these points:

Same property and check-in and check-out dates
Same room and bed type
Same or more flexible cancellation and change conditions
Same or greater number of guests and benefits (such as breakfast)
Same currency
Final amount including taxes and service charges

A claim must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on the day before check-in.

Matching these points lets you compare prices for the same thing.

Official sources we checked (2)

2026-09-28

Paying for a Hotel in Japan: Pay Now, Pay Later or Pay at the Hotel | Which Currency to Choose

When you book a place to stay in Japan through a booking site, you may be able to choose when to pay and which currency to use on the final booking screen.

Even with the same place and room, that choice can change the amount on your card statement. The room price has not changed. The payment rules can add a charge or an exchange rate difference.

This article draws on the terms of use for people booking from outside Japan (the version effective October 21, 2026) and the FAQ of Agoda, the booking site we use to introduce places to stay. Other booking sites and accommodation websites have different rules.

For now, just this

There are three ways to pay: when you book, later to Agoda, or at the accommodation. Which are available depends on the property and room, among other things
Set the display currency, charge currency, and your card’s currency to the same one. When all three match, Agoda’s currency conversion surcharge of up to 5% does not apply
Even with pay at the hotel, the property may place a hold on your card or charge it in advance
For pay later, the amount is set using the exchange rate on the payment date. It may go up or down
Check the confirmation email for taxes and fees to be paid separately at the property

Three ways to pay: to whom, and when

Payment method	Who receives payment	When	Agoda’s currency conversion surcharge (up to 5%)
Pay Now	Agoda	The full amount when you submit the booking	When the charge currency differs from the display currency
Book Now, Pay Later	Agoda	On the payment date in the confirmation email	When the charge currency differs from the display currency or the property’s currency. It does not apply if the display, charge, and card currencies all match
Pay at Hotel	The property	At the property on the day you stay	Does not apply

Most Agoda bookings are Pay Now. Book Now, Pay Later and Pay at Hotel can be chosen for properties and rooms that offer them (availability also varies by location and other factors).

Whichever way you pay, your booking is with the property. The terms of use say Agoda acts as an intermediary for the booking with the property.

Pay Now: the full amount when you submit the booking

With Pay Now, the full amount is charged to your card when you submit the booking. The amount Agoda receives counts as payment to the property. You do not pay that same amount again at the property.

You may, however, pay taxes or fees excluded from the booking amount at check-in (see “What you pay at the property” below).

Book Now, Pay Later: payment on the stated date

With Book Now, Pay Later, you do not make the main payment when you book. Agoda charges your card on the payment date stated in the confirmation email. A small verification charge or a hold may be placed on your card when you book.

The amount is set using the exchange rate on the payment date. The booking screen and confirmation email show the price in the property’s currency. What changes is the amount converted into the charge currency. It may be higher or lower than the amount you saw on the booking date.

If the card charge fails on the payment date, the booking may be canceled. Agoda says to contact customer service immediately if the charge fails and the booking is still active.

Pay at Hotel: at the property on the day you stay

With Pay at Hotel, you pay at the property on the day you stay, in the currency shown on the booking screen or another currency the property accepts. The property decides which payment methods it accepts. Agoda’s FAQ lists credit cards, debit cards, cash, and local digital payments.

Agoda’s currency conversion surcharge does not apply to Pay at Hotel. The amount on the booking screen is an estimate converted at the exchange rate at that time. If you pay at the property in another currency or use a card in another currency, the actual amount depends on the property’s and card issuer’s exchange rates.

Even with Pay at Hotel, the property may hold your card

Pay at Hotel does not necessarily mean nothing happens to your card when you book. The terms of use say that, depending on the property, it may:

Place a hold on your card
Take a deposit
Charge the full amount in advance
Ask for card details to guarantee the booking

The FAQ also says a credit card is often needed to secure a Pay at Hotel booking.

A hold is not a charge. It temporarily reserves part of your card’s available credit. It is not deducted from your balance.

Agoda says some rooms can be booked without entering card details. That applies only to rooms where this option is offered.

If you choose Pay at Hotel, leave a little room on your card. It can save you a scramble when buying something during the trip.

Which currency to pay in: line up three currencies

At the end of the booking, three currencies come into play.

Display currency: The currency used for prices on screen. It is initially set by your IP address or account settings, and you can change it
Charge currency: The currency charged to your card. You choose it on the payment screen
Card currency: The card’s underlying currency, set by the bank that issued it

For Pay Now and Book Now, Pay Later, if you choose a charge currency different from the display currency, Agoda adds up to 5% to the price. With Pay Now, choosing the same charge and display currency avoids it. With Book Now, Pay Later, it does not apply when the display, charge, and card currencies all match.

The terms of use say this surcharge does not apply when paying with a US-issued card denominated in US dollars, or when booking from a US, Canadian, or UK IP address.

For example, on a price equivalent to ¥30,000, it could be up to the equivalent of ¥1,500. The property and room are the same; only the currency choice changes this amount.

Card issuer fees are separate. If the charge currency differs from the card currency, the card issuer may convert it at its own rate and add a fee. It may also charge a foreign transaction fee for payments made outside your country. The amount depends on your agreement with the card issuer. Agoda’s FAQ says matching the charge currency to your card currency may reduce these fees.

So there is one thing to do.

Set the display currency to your card’s currency, and choose that same currency for the charge

When all three match, Agoda’s surcharge does not apply and your card issuer does not have to convert the currency. Only a possible foreign transaction fee from the card issuer remains. You can book the same place without the extra surcharge.

If you cancel: how much comes back, and when

If you cancel a cancellable booking within its cancellation period, Agoda refunds the amount you paid, using the amount at the time of payment rather than the exchange rate on the refund date. The surcharge is refunded too.

If an Agoda booking fee was added, however, the terms of use say that fee is not refundable unless the law prohibits this.

Refunds to cards take time: about 30–45 business days at most, depending on the country and card issuer. PayPal takes about 3–5 business days, according to the FAQ. A hold on a booking canceled for free may also take up to about 30 business days to be released.

Whether you can cancel and until when it is free varies by property and room. See the cancellation fees section of “Paying for Your Stay” for how the date when cancellation fees begin varies by property.

What you pay at the property

You may pay taxes or fees excluded from the booking amount at check-in. The confirmation email says what is and is not included.

In Japan, some cities charge Accommodation Tax, and onsen towns charge bathing tax. Amounts differ by city. See “Paying for Your Stay” for where and how much.

If a national or local tax is newly imposed or increased after you book, you must pay the difference (unless prohibited by law).

Once you have settled the payment method and currency, all that remains is choosing where to stay.

Official sources we checked (2)

2026-09-28

Where to Stay in Japan with a Big Family (5 to 10+ People) | A Whole House, an Apartment, a Large Tatami Room or Two Hotel Rooms: Choose by Group Size and Ages

This article draws on public guidance from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), and booking sites, as well as travel guides and travel trade publications, as of October 2026. Conditions vary by property, room and plan. Check the property’s information and the booking screen before you book.

Grandparents, two families of siblings, and four children. For a group of ten, finding a place to stay can be the first stumbling block. Each hotel room has a set number of guests it can hold. Business hotels commonly have rooms for up to two people, though some have rooms for three (JNTO). Ten people will not fit into an ordinary single room.

But there are ways for ten people to stay together. Places for a large group fall into four broad types.

The Short Answer — Rent a whole house in towns where you stay two nights. For a one-night stop, book two or three rooms in the same hotel. For a ryokan night, choose a large tatami room

In towns where you stay two nights or more, rent a whole house. If it has a kitchen and washing machine, the ten of you can share breakfast and do laundry
For a town where you stay one night before moving on, book two or three rooms in the same hotel. This suits a night when you leave your bags near the station and just sleep
For a night at a ryokan, choose a large Japanese-style room. Lay out futons on the tatami and sleep together in one room. If there is no large room, take two Japanese-style rooms
An apartment can work for a family of five or six. One room with a kitchen may be enough. For ten people, look for two rooms in the same building

Only two things decide it: how many nights you stay in each town and who sleeps in the same room with whom. Settle those before thinking about the price, and you can narrow the type of place to look for to one.

The four types at a glance

Type	What it is	For ten people	Nights it suits	What to check before booking
Whole house	Rent an entire detached house or apartment (including vacation rentals)	One property	Two nights or more; a kitchen, washing machine and living room for everyone	Guest capacity / number of places to sleep / minimum stay / registration number or license and address
Apartment	A room with a kitchen, in an apartment hotel or an apartment unit	Two rooms in the same building	A family of five or six; a town where you stay several nights	Guest capacity of each room
Large Japanese-style room	Futons laid out on tatami in a ryokan or hotel room	One large room, or two Japanese-style rooms	A ryokan night; several young children	Guest capacity / whether beds or baby cots are available
Two or three rooms	Separate rooms in a regular hotel	Two or three rooms	A one-night stop; near the station	Capacity of each room / whether adjacent rooms can be arranged

Before deciding, write down how many of the ten are adults and how many are children (and their ages)

Whichever type you choose, enter the number of adults and children, and the children’s ages, on the booking screen. Whether everyone fits the room and plan’s capacity, whether a child can share a bed with an adult, and whether fees apply vary by property, room and plan. So count your ten people again first.

For this group, that is six adults (two grandparents and two married couples) and four children (ages 10, 8, 5 and 3).

If you are splitting into rooms, searching for groups such as “five and five” gives you more room choices than searching for one room for ten. Put an adult in each room. Enter the children’s actual ages for each room too.

Whether extra beds or baby cots are available also depends on the property. Booking site Agoda says extra charges for children or extra beds are not included in the booking price unless stated otherwise. If you need one, ask the property before booking.

1 A whole house — ten people under one roof in a town where you stay two nights or more

Families and groups can rent an entire house. Vacation rentals range from one room to a whole house and are particularly suited to larger groups and families, according to travel guide japan-guide.com. It also says they often have kitchens and washing machines. They range from apartments in central Tokyo to Kyoto townhouses and rural farmhouses.

For ten people, this comes closest to living together. Buy breakfast ingredients at a nearby supermarket and set a big table for ten. Put the children to bed first, then let the adults talk a little longer in the living room. That is harder when your hotel rooms are separate.

There are four things to check before booking.

Maximum number of guests. Each house has its own limit. Count the children too, and check that all ten fit
Number of places to sleep. How many beds are there, or are there futons? If getting up from a futon on the floor would be hard for the grandparents, check the number of beds too
Minimum stay. For example, vacation rentals operated under Japan’s national special-zone system require a stay of at least two nights and three days. Local ordinances may require a longer stay (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism). That is one reason this type suits a town where you stay two nights or more better than a one-night stop
Registration number or license, and address. The Japan Tourism Agency asks travelers to check whether booking sites show these details

Some whole-house stays are registered vacation rentals; others operate with the same kind of license as ryokan or hotels (Japan Tourism Agency). The house rules to read before booking, passport checks on arrival, rubbish and keeping quiet at night are covered in “Vacation Rentals (Minpaku).”

Many vacation rentals have no staff on site (JNTO). There is no front desk; contact details for problems are in a paper guide inside the house or in the booking information. Decide which of the ten will be the contact person, and arrival night will feel calmer.

2 Apartments — one room for five or six; two in the same building for ten

These are places with rooms that have kitchens. They include “apartment hotels” run as hotels and vacation rentals in individual apartment units.

More apartment hotels with kitchen and laundry facilities are opening for larger families, groups and longer stays, travel trade publication TTG Asia reports (July 2026). Some have rooms for four to six people. Capacity varies by property and room.

For a family of five or six, one room may be enough. For ten, look for two rooms in the same building. Unlike a whole house, a property with a reception desk has someone you can ask for help. This is the next type to look for in a town where you cannot find a whole house.

If you want the two rooms next to each other, ask the property. But such requests depend on availability and often cannot be guaranteed (as with the “two or three rooms” option below).

3 A large Japanese-style room — one ryokan night together in one room

At many ryokan, the family sleeps together in one room, with futons laid out on tatami (JNTO). A large Japanese-style room may hold more people than a regular room.

A night with ten futons laid out together might be the night the children remember most. At some properties, staff lay out the futons while you have dinner. For the flow of a ryokan stay, see “A Night at a Ryokan, Step by Step.”

Check two things before booking.

How many people can stay in the room. Not every ryokan has a room large enough for ten. If it does not, take two Japanese-style rooms
Whether beds or baby cots are available. JNTO says some ryokan have neither beds nor travel cots. Many ryokan also have rooms with beds (JNTO). If a family member would struggle with a futon on the floor, ask the property in advance

Ryokan prices are often quoted per person. If you think only in terms of a room price, the total for ten may be higher than expected. For how to read the price, see the ryokan section of “Places to Stay in Japan Come in 4 Types.”

4 Two or three rooms — the same hotel for a one-night stop

On a day when you move on to the next town after one night, book two or three rooms in a hotel near the station. Drop the bags, sleep, and head back to the station in the morning. It is much simpler than finding one house for ten.

Some hotels have larger family rooms, or can offer families adjacent rooms or connecting rooms joined by an interior door (JNTO).

But if you book through Agoda, you request adjacent or connecting rooms from the property after booking. Agoda says such requests depend on availability and cannot be guaranteed. Once you ask, check before or on arrival whether the property can accommodate the request.

So we arrange the group so separate rooms will still work. Put an adult in every room and young children with a parent. Then the night works even if the rooms are not adjacent.

For example, four nights for this group of ten

Night	Town	Type of stay	Why
Nights 1 and 2	Tokyo	Whole house (or two apartment rooms in the same building if none is available)	Two nights. The kitchen and washing machine help settle into the start of a long trip
Night 3	Kyoto	Large Japanese-style room at a ryokan (or two Japanese-style rooms)	One special night on the trip
Night 4	Kyoto	Two rooms in a hotel near the station (five and five)	Leave for the airport the next morning. Just drop bags and sleep. With one night at a ryokan, the remaining night is another one-night stay

This table is just one example. The arrangement changes with the towns and number of nights. The method is the same: choose based on how many nights you stay in that town and which night is your ryokan night. For towns where you stay just one night, a hotel or ryokan suits better than a whole house.

Whatever the type, look at the route from the station to the property on a map. With ten people walking, even a five-minute walk can feel long. You can also send your suitcases ahead to the property.

Three final checks on the booking screen

Canceling a booking for ten can cost more than canceling one for a single person. Check just three things before you complete the booking.

Cancellation deadline — The property sets cancellation charges, and when they begin varies by property and plan. Some bookings cannot be canceled (Agoda)
Final amount to pay — Under Agoda’s terms, listed prices usually exclude taxes and service fees. Agoda also says you may have to pay taxes or fees when you arrive at the property
Guest conditions — Enter the numbers and ages of adults and children and check that they fit the room and plan’s capacity. If booking multiple rooms, check each room

For accommodation taxes charged in some towns, see “Paying for Your Stay.”

For families of other sizes

Five or six people → One apartment room, one Japanese-style room, or a hotel family room. For each, enter the numbers and ages on the booking screen to see whether everyone fits in one room
Seven to nine people → A whole house, or two rooms. For Japanese-style rooms, a large room or two rooms
Eleven or twelve people → If renting a whole house, first check its guest limit. If splitting the group, use three rooms

Before you go, just these things

Write down how many of the ten are adults and children (and their ages)
Decide how many nights to stay in each town, then choose the type of stay (whole house for two or more nights, two or three hotel rooms for one night, a large Japanese-style room for a ryokan night)
If splitting rooms, put an adult in each room
If you need beds or baby cots, ask the property before booking
Before booking, check the cancellation deadline, final amount to pay and guest conditions

More details

The four types of places to stay → “Places to Stay in Japan Come in 4 Types”
Whole-house stays and vacation rental rules → “Vacation Rentals (Minpaku)”
A night at a ryokan → “A Night at a Ryokan, Step by Step”

Places for ten can look hard to find when you start searching. But the decisions are how many nights to stay in each town and who sleeps with whom. Once those are settled, you can enjoy choosing which towns will hold the night around one table and the night with futons lined up together.

Official sources we checked (10)

Conditions vary by property, room and plan and may change (as of October 2026). The descriptions here are general tendencies; this type of stay may not be available in every town or on every date.

2026-09-28

Staying on the Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake) | Event Mornings Next to the Venue, Nights of Sea and Bridge Lights

Stay by the sea in Tokyo.

Going to an event at Tokyo Big Sight? In the morning, you can walk to the venue. Want to have fun in Odaiba? At night, it’s a short way from the seaside back to your room. The Waterfront suits both.

Everything here is a set of pointers for preparing your trip, based on information from railway and bus companies, facilities and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (as of October 2026). Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article.

Three seaside neighborhoods, linked by the Yurikamome

In this article, “the Waterfront” means the area around Odaiba, Ariake and Toyosu, facing Tokyo Bay. Maihama, home to Disney, is also near Tokyo Bay, but it’s in Chiba Prefecture. We haven’t included it in this article.

What links the three neighborhoods is the Yurikamome, a “new transit system” line. It leaves Shimbashi, crosses the sea, passes through Odaiba and Ariake, and runs as far as Toyosu. There are 16 stations in all.

Odaiba: a seaside park with a sandy beach, and big shopping complexes. Daiba Station on the Yurikamome, and Tokyo Teleport Station on the Rinkai Line
Ariake: the neighborhood where Tokyo Big Sight is. Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome, and Kokusai-tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line
Toyosu: teamLab Planets and Toyosu Market. Shin-Toyosu Station on the Yurikamome, and Toyosu Station, where you can also change to the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line

If you want to travel light on event mornings, Ariake. If you want to enjoy the seaside at night, Odaiba. If you want Toyosu Market, teamLab, or the subway into central Tokyo, Toyosu.

The other way to get around is the Rinkai Line. It runs underneath Odaiba and Ariake and has through service with the JR Saikyo Line, so you can ride from Shinjuku to Tokyo Teleport without changing trains (about 25 min).

The islands of Odaiba were first built in the 1850s by the Edo shogunate, to defend the city from the sea. Today, people come to that same shore to play.

On the morning of an event — the venue is right there

Tokyo Big Sight has two nearest stations: Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome (about a 3-minute walk) and Kokusai-tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line (about a 7-minute walk).

Stay in Ariake, and depending on your accommodation, you can walk to the venue. Stay in Odaiba or Toyosu, and it’s just a short ride on the Yurikamome. No long, crowded train ride from central Tokyo. Your event morning simply begins.

Big Sight is Japan’s largest exhibition venue, with 16 halls across three buildings: East, West and South. Look for the upside-down triangle of the Conference Tower, which seems to float 58 m above the ground.

Leave your suitcase at your accommodation

The venue does have coin lockers, but even the largest ones are 84 cm high and 36 cm wide (700 yen a day). Same-day baggage storage takes bags up to 120 cm (length + width + height combined) (500 yen per bag).

Drop your big suitcase at your accommodation, then head to the venue. That may be the most practical reason of all to stay on the Waterfront.

If the things you buy at the venue start to pile up, you can ship them from the Visitor & Business Center on the 2nd floor of the Conference Tower (the shipping must be paid by the person receiving it, called 着払い in Japanese).

On big event days, give yourself extra time

On event days, the Yurikamome sometimes runs on a “special timetable” (臨時ダイヤ in Japanese) with extra trains. Even so, depending on how crowded it is, it can take a while before you get on. If your accommodation is within walking distance, there’s no wait at all.

From evening — lights on the sea and the bridge

The real pleasure of staying on the Waterfront comes at night.

Rainbow Bridge lights up about 30 minutes after sunset and stays lit until midnight. The towers glow white from April to October, and a warm white from November to March.

Tokyo Aqua Symphony is a fountain show at Odaiba Marine Park that started in March 2026. Out over the sea, the fountains rise up to 150 m high and spread 250 m wide.

10 shows a day, between 3 p.m. and around 9:30 p.m. Each lasts about 10 minutes
Free, and no reservation needed
About a 3-minute walk from Daiba Station on the Yurikamome

On windy days the show is canceled, and depending on the wind direction, mist from the fountains may drift over to where you’re watching. Show times often change because of events or the weather, so check the official website on the day you go.

A popular place to watch is the observation deck near the Statue of Liberty. From the deck, you can take in Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo Tower, the skyscrapers, and even the Edo-period fort islands.

After the show, have dinner at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza. As a rule, its restaurants are open until 10 p.m. (hours vary by restaurant).

And from here on, the time belongs to those who stay. If your accommodation is in Odaiba, it’s a short way from the seaside at night back to your room. No worrying about the last train. You can stay by the sea until the bridge lights go out at midnight. If your accommodation is in Ariake or Toyosu, just check the times of the Yurikamome for your ride back.

A sandy beach, and a path for night walks

Odaiba Marine Park has a sandy beach about 800 m long. It’s an artificial beach, made with white sand brought from Kozushima, one of the Izu Islands. The park is open all year round, but swimming isn’t allowed.

On the Ariake side is Symbol Promenade Park, which runs from Daiba through Aomi to Ariake. It’s a walking path with beautiful night views. Step out of Kokusai-tenjijo Station, and right in front of you is its “Stone and Light Plaza” (石と光の広場 in Japanese).

For a view from higher up, go to the observation deck on the 21st floor of the Telecom Center Building (99 m above the ground). It’s connected to Telecom Center Station.

Crossing the bridge on the Yurikamome

Rainbow Bridge carries an expressway, ordinary roads and the Yurikamome, all together. So just by riding the Yurikamome, you get to cross the bridge.

From the Yurikamome’s windows, you see skyscrapers, Tokyo Tower, Rainbow Bridge and the harbor. By day, Tokyo Bay opens out wide. By night, it all turns into a sea of glittering lights.

On days you head into central Tokyo, the ride there and back becomes your time to watch the Waterfront go by.

Riding is easy. At all 16 Yurikamome stations, you can go through the ticket gates using contactless payment with major credit cards and more. No advance registration needed. With the same card, anything over 820 yen in a day is discounted, so however many times you ride, that day costs no more than 820 yen.

(Each card is for one person. Contactless payment has no child fares, so families can also use transport IC cards such as Suica and PASMO.)

The Rinkai Line has one window highlight, too. It runs mostly underground, but comes out above ground past Kokusai-tenjijo. Take a train bound for Shin-Kiba, and for about 3 minutes between Shinonome and Shin-Kiba, you’ll see Tokyo Skytree on the left, facing the direction of travel, and Tokyo Gate Bridge on the right.

Mornings in Toyosu

For early risers, there’s Toyosu.

teamLab Planets is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last entry one hour before closing). It’s a 1-minute walk from the North Exit of Shin-Toyosu Station. Tickets aren’t sold on site, so get yours ahead of time.

Toyosu Market lets visitors in from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Besides Sundays and national holidays, it’s closed on some other days too, so check the market calendar to see whether it’s open on the day you go.

In the evening, the sunset over the water at Toyosu. At night, Rainbow Bridge. From morning to night, you can fill a whole day without leaving the Waterfront. Odaiba alone is worth setting aside a full day for.

On rainy days, head indoors. Tokyo Joypolis, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Tokyo, Miraikan and more are in Odaiba.

Arriving from the airport, heading to the airport

The Waterfront has airport buses (Airport Limousine). But the services from Haneda and from Narita work quite differently.

Haneda Airport

Adult fare 1,000 yen. About 30–50 minutes to Tokyo Big Sight
Buses that stop at Big Sight run only until early evening
Late at night, buses to Ariake Garden and Toyosu Station run until the 22:25 departure from Terminal 3. These buses don’t go to Big Sight, so check the destination before you board
On the day you head to the airport, the buses you can catch at Big Sight are afternoon services. For an early-morning flight, there are buses from Toyosu Station in the 5 a.m. hour

Narita Airport

Adult fare 3,100 yen. Stops in front of hotels in Ariake and Daiba, and at Toyosu Station (there’s no stop called “Tokyo Big Sight”)
5 buses a day go to the Waterfront, and the last one leaves Narita before 7 p.m.
About 1 hour 10 minutes to Toyosu Station, about an hour and a half to Ariake, and about 1 hour 45 minutes to Daiba
Buses to the airport also run 5 times a day, and the last one leaves Toyosu Station around 4 p.m.

If you arrive at Narita at night, take the train. Ride the Narita Express (N’EX) to Tokyo Station, take JR to Shimbashi, and change to the Yurikamome (about 68 minutes to Shimbashi, not counting transfer time).

From Haneda by train, take the Keikyu Line to Shimbashi and change to the Yurikamome, or take the Tokyo Monorail to Tennozu Isle and change to the Rinkai Line.

Heading back at night after a day out in central Tokyo

On nights you head back to the Waterfront after a day out in central Tokyo, the last trains work differently depending on the line you take.

From Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro (Rinkai Line): On weekdays, the last through train with no transfer leaves Shinjuku a little after 23:00. After that, if you change at Osaki, you can still get back to the Waterfront until a little after midnight on weekdays. If you’re riding on a weekend or national holiday, check that day’s timetable.

From Ginza and Tokyo Station (Yurikamome): The last train from Shimbashi that goes all the way to Toyosu leaves at 23:50. After that, the 3 trains up to the 0:20 departure are bound for Ariake. They go as far as Daiba, Tokyo Big Sight and Ariake, but not to the Toyosu side (Shijo-mae, Shin-Toyosu and Toyosu).

If you’re staying in Toyosu, you can also get back on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line. If you know which line the station nearest your accommodation is on before you head out, it’s easier to choose your way back at night.

—

On the morning of the event, walk to the venue. At night, watch the fountains and the bridge lights by the sea, then head straight back to your room.

Not the very center of the city, but in exchange, the sea is right beside you. That’s Tokyo, when you stay on the Waterfront.

Official sources we checked (30)

2026-09-28

Staying in Ikebukuro or Akihabara | Anime Towns, from Morning to Night

If anime and manga are what your trip is about, stay in Ikebukuro or Akihabara.

Stay in the town you came for, and from the moment the shops open in the morning until they close at night, the time you’d spend getting there and back becomes time to have fun. When your shopping bags get heavy, drop them off at your accommodation and head right back out.

Times, prices and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article (as of October 2026).

Ikebukuro or Akihabara — choose by what you love

Goods for female fans, manga history, Pokémon → Ikebukuro: Otome Road, Animate’s main store, the Tokiwaso Manga Museum, the Pokémon Center
Figures, cards, wandering the Electric Town → Akihabara: a different shop in every building, on every floor. On Sunday afternoons, a pedestrian zone
An easy ride from the airport → Ikebukuro: there are airport buses to Ikebukuro from both Haneda and Narita. For Akihabara, the train is the usual way in

Both are Yamanote Line stations, about 20 minutes apart. If you can’t decide, stay in the town with the shop you most want to visit and save the other for a daytime outing — that way, you get to enjoy both.

Ikebukuro — the East Exit side is the anime town

Animate Ikebukuro Main Store is a 5-minute walk from the East Exit (東口 in Japanese) of Ikebukuro Station. It’s a big store with floor after floor of shelves packed with new releases and merch. You might look up and realize an hour has gone by. You can shop tax-free, and pay with a transit IC card or a credit card, too.

Near Sunshine 60 is a street called “Otome Road,” lined with shops selling manga and anime goods for female fans. Walk along it, and you’ll pass people who love the same things you do. Inside Sunshine City, you’ll also find Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo.

Shops are generally open from around 10:00 until around 20:00 or 21:00. End the day at the Sunshine 60 observation deck, open until 21:00 (last entry 20:00). You get to look down over the Ikebukuro streets you walked all day.

Go a little farther: the Tokiwaso Manga Museum

This Toshima City museum recreates the apartment building where famous manga artists once lived. From the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station, take the Ike 65 bus (池65 in Japanese), get off at “南長崎二丁目” (Minami-Nagasaki 2-chome), and walk about 5 minutes. From Ochiai-Minami-Nagasaki Station on the Toei Oedo Line, it’s a 5-minute walk.

Just like in an old apartment, you take off your shoes to go inside, so wear socks. Closed on Mondays (if Monday is a public holiday, it closes the next weekday instead). Reservations get priority, but if there’s room, you can go in without one. If you love manga, set aside half a day of your Ikebukuro stay for it.

Akihabara — step out of the Electric Town Exit, and you’re right there

Walk 5 minutes from the Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station, and you’re in the middle of the Electric Town. The streets you walked by day take on a different look at night, lit up by shop signs. If a shop catches your eye, just come back for another look the next morning.

Akihabara Radio Kaikan is a building with card, hobby and figure shops on every floor. You gaze at the figures lined up in glass cases and work your way up, one floor at a time. That alone fills half a day. Step out of one building and into the next shop, and a different set of figures and cards catches your eye all over again. Animate Akihabara is in this town, too.

Kanda Myojin Shrine is a 7-minute walk from the Electric Town Exit. It makes an easy detour on your stroll around the Electric Town.

Sunday afternoons: the pedestrian zone

On Sundays, from 13:00 until evening, Chuo-dori, the main street through the Electric Town, becomes a pedestrian zone. You can walk right down the middle of a wide avenue where cars usually run, looking up at the shop signs on both sides.

It starts at 13:00. If you’re staying in town, you can sleep in, have lunch, and still get there in time.

Don’t get lost at the station

Ikebukuro: “Tobu at the West Exit, Seibu at the East Exit”

At Ikebukuro Station, Tobu Department Store (東武, with the character for “east”) is at the West Exit (西口 in Japanese), and Seibu Department Store (西武, “west”) is at the East Exit. The names point the wrong way. That’s your first “aha!” of Ikebukuro. When you pick an exit on a map, go by the characters 「東口」 (East Exit) and 「西口」 (West Exit), not by the department store names.

The anime shops are on the East Exit side. Near the East Exit (North), there’s an owl statue called “Ikefukuro.” It makes a handy meeting spot.

If you get stuck, head to the Ikebukuro East Exit Tourist Information Center, on the East Exit side. There are English-speaking staff there, so you can ask about directions and getting around.

Akihabara: start from the Electric Town Exit

At JR Akihabara Station, if you’re heading into the Electric Town, use the 電気街改札 (Electric Town Gate).

At the tourist information center “Akiba Info,” a 4-minute walk from the Electric Town Exit, you can pick up a map of Akihabara in multiple languages. With one in hand before you set off, the buildings you’re after are easier to find.

Getting to and from the airports

You can get to Ikebukuro by airport bus. From Haneda, buses run to Ikebukuro Station West Exit as late as the 22:00 hour. There are also buses from Narita to Ikebukuro, and on the way back, you can take a bus to the airport from the West Exit. If you land around midday, you can drop your bags at your accommodation and be out in town that same day.

To get from Narita to Akihabara or Ikebukuro, take the Keisei Skyliner to Nippori, then change to the JR Yamanote Line. Nippori is a station between Ikebukuro and Akihabara. The final Skyliner leaves Narita around 23:00. If you’re landing at Narita at night, check the final train from the airport and your connection at Nippori ahead of time.

By train from Haneda, it’s about 1 hour to Ikebukuro and about 45 minutes to Akihabara. For the route on the Narita Express (N’EX), see the quick comparison table in “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip.”

Getting back at night, and heading to other areas

Even after a night out in Akihabara, on weekdays you can ride the Yamanote Line back to Ikebukuro, no transfer, until around 0:40. And on days with no anime plans, both towns get you to Shinjuku or Tokyo Station without changing trains.

Route	Line	Time
Shinjuku → Ikebukuro	Yamanote Line	8 min
Tokyo Station → Ikebukuro	Marunouchi Line	17 min
Tokyo Station → Akihabara	Yamanote Line	4 min
Shinjuku → Akihabara	Sobu Line	18 min

At night, lay out everything you bought on the bed in your room and admire it all, piece by piece. In the morning, take your time and head out from your accommodation just as the shops open. Not having to worry about the train home — that’s the joy of staying in the town you came for.

For now, just this

Choose by what you love. Goods for female fans or manga: Ikebukuro. Figures, cards or the Electric Town: Akihabara
Ikebukuro has Tobu at the West Exit, Seibu at the East Exit. The names point the wrong way
From Akihabara to Ikebukuro on weekdays: the Yamanote Line, no transfer, until around 0:40

Official sources we checked (33)

2026-09-28

Staying Around Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi | The Station’s 2 Sides, and Mornings Out by Shinkansen

Have you just decided to stay around Tokyo Station, Ginza or Nihombashi? Maybe the booking site shows all 3 names side by side, and you’re not sure which to pick.

This article centers on Tokyo Station. Ginza is about a 15-minute walk from Tokyo Station. Nihombashi, too, is within walking distance of Tokyo Station.

In the morning, take the shinkansen from Tokyo Station to your next city. At night, look out over the Marunouchi Station Building from a rooftop, and at midday on the weekend, head to Ginza’s main street, closed to cars.

In Ginza and Nihombashi, the station nearest your accommodation may be a subway station. Check your station together with its line name, like “Nihombashi on the Ginza Line.”

Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article (as of October 2026).

Here’s what decides it.

If you’ll head out to your next city by shinkansen, or travel to and from Narita → near Tokyo Station: the shinkansen platforms and the Narita Express (N’EX) to Narita are at Tokyo Station. The airport bus to Narita, “TYO-NRT,” leaves from the Yaesu South Gate at Tokyo Station and from Ginza
If you want to walk the pedestrian zone at midday on the weekend → Ginza: about a 15-minute walk from Tokyo Station, or 3 minutes on the Marunouchi Line
Nihombashi is within walking distance of Tokyo Station. It has Nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line, and this line has through service with Keikyu, which runs to Haneda Airport

If you are unsure where in Tokyo to stay, also see “Where to Stay in Tokyo for the First Time“. It lines up your arrival day, the morning you leave for your next city and the day you fly home around Tokyo Station.

Tokyo Station has 2 sides, Marunouchi and Yaesu

Tokyo Station has 2 sides. The Marunouchi side, to the west, faces the Imperial Palace. The Yaesu side, to the east, faces Ginza and Nihombashi. Buses to the airports leave from the Yaesu side.

If you’ll often be taking the Tokaido Shinkansen or TYO-NRT to Narita, accommodation on the Yaesu side suits you. If you’ll be walking around the Imperial Palace and the Marunouchi Station Building, the Marunouchi side does.

There are many ticket gates, so write down the name of the gate nearest your accommodation together with its English sign, and you won’t get lost inside the station.

Side	Ticket gate (Japanese sign)	English
Marunouchi	丸の内北口／丸の内中央口／丸の内南口	Marunouchi North / Central / South Gate
Yaesu	八重洲北口／八重洲中央口／八重洲南口	Yaesu North / Central / South Gate
Other	日本橋口	Nihombashi Gate

Nihombashi Gate is the name of a ticket gate at Tokyo Station. It doesn’t mean the Nihombashi area, or Nihombashi Station on the subway.

Ginza and Nihombashi have subway stations

Ginza: Ginza Station (Ginza Line, Marunouchi Line, Hibiya Line), Ginza-itchome Station (Yurakucho Line), Higashi-ginza Station (Hibiya Line, Toei Asakusa Line)
Nihombashi: Nihombashi Station (Tokyo Metro’s Ginza and Tozai Lines, and the Toei Asakusa Line), Mitsukoshimae Station (Ginza Line), Ningyocho Station (Hibiya Line, Toei Asakusa Line), and others

Tokyo Station, too, has both the JR station and a station on the Marunouchi subway line.

Mornings out to your next city by shinkansen

At Tokyo Station, the shinkansen platforms are split up by destination.

Destination	Tracks	Transfer gate (English)
Kyoto / Osaka (Tokaido Shinkansen)	Tracks 14–19 (Yaesu side)	Central / South Transfer Gate
Sendai / Kanazawa (Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen)	Tracks 20–23	North / South Transfer Gate

The Tokaido Shinkansen also has dedicated gates of its own, the Yaesu Central North and Yaesu Central South gates (for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen only). The transfer gates in the table are the gates you use when changing from a regular JR line to the shinkansen.

With accommodation near Tokyo Station, it’s easier to catch even an early-morning train. From accommodation in Ginza, Tokyo Station is 3 minutes on the Marunouchi Line, or about 15 minutes on foot. On a weekday, for example, there are trains like these.

The 6:00 “Nozomi”: Kyoto 8:08, Shin-Osaka 8:22
The 6:16 “Kagayaki”: Kanazawa 8:43

For breakfast, pick out an ekiben (a boxed meal sold at stations) before you board, and eat it on the shinkansen. If you take a 6:00 train, it’s still morning when you reach Kyoto.

On days you leave in the evening, too, trains to Shin-Osaka, Kanazawa and Sendai keep departing into the 21:00 hour — on a weekday, for example.

Big suitcases: reserve them along with your seat

The Tokaido Shinkansen has “seats with an oversized baggage area,” which come with a place to put big luggage. These seats cost the same as a regular reserved seat.

If your suitcase’s three dimensions add up to more than 160 cm (up to 250 cm), choose one of these seats when you buy your ticket. If you’ve reserved one, you can sit in a seat with a set place for your luggage and ride straight through to Kyoto or Osaka. If you bring it on board without a reservation, it costs 1,000 yen.

On the Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen, you don’t need to reserve a luggage space.

Getting to and from the airports

Narita

The Narita Express (N’EX) stops at Tokyo Station (for the times, see the quick comparison in “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip“). From Tokyo Station to Narita, trains run from 6:18 in the morning on weekdays. Some evening trains from Narita don’t run on some days.

The airport bus “TYO-NRT” needs no reservation. All buses have non-reserved seating, and if one is full, you take the next. It’s 1,500 yen one way.

To Narita: at Tokyo Station, from stops 7 and 8, just past the Yaesu South Gate. Buses run from 5:00 in the morning until 19:30. In Ginza, from beyond Exit C4 of Ginza Station (the Sukiyabashi intersection)
From Narita: at Tokyo Station, you get off at Nihombashi Gate (not the same place you board)

When boarding at Tokyo Station, if you’re paying in cash or by credit card, buy your ticket before you board at the “JR Expressway Bus Ticket Office” (JR高速バスきっぷ売り場 in Japanese). With a transit IC card, you can pay on the bus. Buses departing between 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning leave before the ticket office opens, so go straight to the stop. Check how to pay for those buses ahead of time on the bus company’s official website.

If you can make the bus that leaves Narita Terminal 3 at 23:20, you can get back to Tokyo Station even on a day you land at Narita late at night (arriving 0:38). This bus has a late-night fare of 3,000 yen, which you pay on the bus in cash or with a transit IC card (credit cards aren’t accepted).

Haneda

From Haneda to Tokyo Station, it’s about 30 minutes by train or monorail. On Keikyu, you change to JR at Shinagawa.

The Limousine Bus linking Haneda and Tokyo Station (Yaesu North Gate) runs 6 times a day, during the daytime only (from Haneda Terminal 3, buses leave from 8:00 to 16:00; from Tokyo Station, from 9:10 to 17:10).

On a day you head to Haneda in the morning, the station you use depends on where you’re staying.

Accommodation near Tokyo Station: change to Keikyu at Shinagawa. The first Keikyu train from Shinagawa to Haneda Terminal 3 is at 5:09
Accommodation in Ginza or Nihombashi: from Higashi-ginza Station and Nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line, there are also trains with through service to Keikyu. Check where the train is going before you board

Luggage — leave it at the station and travel light

Before check-in or after check-out, you can leave your luggage at the “東京駅お荷物サービスカウンター” (Tokyo Station luggage service counter), outside the Yaesu South Gate. On the Marunouchi side, the “JR EAST Travel Service Center,” on your left as you exit the Marunouchi North Gate, will also hold your luggage, for same-day storage.

With your luggage dropped off, you can walk around the city traveling light, even in the time before you head to the shinkansen or the airport. We’ve covered how to send your luggage ahead to your accommodation in the “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip” article.

From Tokyo Station to other areas

Destination	How to get there	Time
Shinjuku	Chuo Line (Rapid)	14 min
Shibuya	Yamanote Line	23 min
Ueno	Yamanote Line	8 min
Asakusa	Yamanote Line, change to the Ginza Line at Kanda	20 min
Akihabara	Yamanote Line	4 min
Ikebukuro	Marunouchi Line	17 min

Places you can walk to on the mornings and nights of your stay

Morning — around the Imperial Palace

The Imperial Palace Outer Garden is open at all times, and it’s free. Early in the morning, walk around the Outer Garden, then head to the Imperial Palace East Gardens, which open at 9:00.

The East Gardens are free too, and no reservation is needed. They’re closed on Mondays and Fridays (they’re open on some public holidays), and they close at 16:30 in October and at 16:00 from November to February. You can go in until 30 minutes before closing. The entrance, Otemon Gate, is about a 15-minute walk from the Marunouchi North Gate of Tokyo Station.

Weekend midday — Ginza’s main street

Ginza’s main street becomes a pedestrian zone on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 12:00 (until 17:00 from October to March, and until 18:00 from April to September). You can walk down the middle of the road and go from shop to shop.

Nihombashi — the stone bridge, and the Ginza Line

Nihombashi Bridge is a stone bridge completed in 1911, and it’s a national Important Cultural Property. On the bridge, there are statues of lions and kirin (a mythical creature).

Ginza and Nihombashi are linked by the Ginza Line. Even on a night out in Ginza, on weekdays you can get back to Nihombashi on the Ginza Line until just past midnight (on weekdays, the last train from Ginza Station toward Nihombashi is at 0:18, and from Nihombashi Station toward Ginza at 0:09).

Night — the Marunouchi Station Building, and the fountains

At Wadakura Fountain Park, the fountains are lit up from sunset until 20:45 (free).

The 6F rooftop garden at KITTE (Marunouchi) is free, and you can go up until 23:00 on weekdays (until 22:00 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). After dinner, you can look out over the Marunouchi Station Building from the rooftop.

In the morning, the shinkansen to your next city. After dinner, the Marunouchi Station Building from a rooftop. That’s how the day begins and ends when you stay near Tokyo Station.

For now, just this

Check your station together with its line name. Tokyo Station has the Marunouchi side and the Yaesu side; Ginza and Nihombashi have subway stations
On a day you take a big suitcase on the Tokaido Shinkansen, choose a seat with an oversized baggage area
The airport bus to Narita, “TYO-NRT,” needs no reservation. At Tokyo Station, it leaves from stops 7 and 8 at the Yaesu South Gate. If you’re paying in cash or by card, buy your ticket at the ticket office before you board

Official sources we checked (30)

2026-09-28

Staying in Ueno or Asakusa | Stations That Differ by Line, and Your Nights and Mornings There

Have you just decided to stay in Ueno or Asakusa? Or are you still trying to choose between them?

In Asakusa, the night brings Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and the main hall, lit up. In Ueno, there’s a big park you can walk into from 5:00 in the morning.

Ueno and Asakusa each have several stations. Even under the same name, “Ueno” or “Asakusa,” each company or line has its own separate station.

So check the station nearest your accommodation with its line name, like “Keisei Ueno” or “Asakusa on the Ginza Line.” Check the station you’ll use to get to and from the airport separately.

Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article (as of October 2026).

Ueno or Asakusa: which one to stay in

Here’s what decides it.

If you want to walk around at night and in the morning, Asakusa: Sensoji Temple, lit up until around 23:00, and the main hall, which opens at 6:00 (6:30 in winter), are within walking distance of your accommodation
If you want the park in the morning and the museums, and to get from Narita on the Keisei Skyliner without a transfer, Ueno: it’s the station where the Skyliner arrives, the park opens at 5:00, and the museums at 9:30
You can get between Ueno and Asakusa on the Ginza Line, so whichever one you stay in, you can head out to the other

In Ueno, Keisei and JR have separate stations

The Skyliner from Narita arrives at Keisei Ueno Station. It’s a separate station from JR Ueno Station.

Keisei Ueno Station has just one ticket gate, on the first basement floor (as of March 2020). Its exits are the front exit and the pond-side exit.

JR Ueno Station has several ticket gates, so write down the name of the gate nearest your accommodation, right down to its English spelling.

JR Ueno ticket gate	English	Floor
中央改札	Central Gate	1F
不忍改札	Shinobazu Gate
公園改札	Park Gate	3F
入谷改札	Iriya Gate	3F

The front exit at Keisei Ueno and the main entrance at JR Ueno are both called “Main Exit” in English.

The Park Gate in the table is on 3F, and it lets you out on the Ueno Park side. From JR Ueno Station, the park is a 2-minute walk; from Keisei Ueno Station, a 1-minute walk.

In Asakusa, each line has its own station

Asakusa has stations on the Tobu line, the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, the Tsukuba Express and the Toei Asakusa Line. From the Toei Asakusa Line station, Sensoji Temple is a 5-minute walk from “Exit A4.”

If your accommodation’s directions say “Asakusa Station,” check which line’s Asakusa Station they mean.

Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line has no elevator inside the ticket gates. What it has inside the gates is a stair lift.

Outside the ticket gates, there’s an elevator near the gate on the Kaminarimon side (Sensoji Temple/Kaminarimon Gate), and it takes you up to Exit 1.

If your accommodation is near the Ginza Line, remember the name of this gate, and once you’re through it, you won’t have to look around for the elevator.

The day you arrive — from the airport

From Narita, by Skyliner to Ueno

All seats on the Skyliner are reserved. It’s 2,580 yen (ticket) for adults. Once you have your ticket, you can ride all the way to Ueno in a seat.

From Narita Airport to Keisei Ueno, trains run roughly every 20 minutes during the day. The last one leaves at 23:00.

Even on a day you land at Narita late, if you can catch the 23:00 train, you’ll get to Ueno without a transfer.

To Asakusa, by airport bus

In Asakusa, the airport bus (Limousine Bus) stops in front of one hotel. From Narita it’s 3,100 yen for adults, and from Haneda 1,300 yen for adults, with 5 buses a day on each route. The last bus leaves Narita in the 18:00 hour, and Haneda between about 18:45 and 19:00.

In the timetable, every bus had a column for reservations, and some were sold out. Check whether your accommodation is a stop, and the buses on the day you travel, in the bus company’s official timetable.

From Haneda, by train

From Haneda, Keikyu operates through to the Toei Asakusa Line. In Keikyu’s table, it’s 34 minutes from Haneda Airport Terminal 3 to Asakusa Station, and 37 minutes from Terminals 1 and 2.

From Haneda to Ueno, it’s about 40 minutes by Haneda Airport’s estimate. Keikyu’s information shows changing to JR at Shinagawa.

Luggage — drop it at your accommodation before the museum

From August 1, 2026, you can no longer bring suitcases into the Tokyo National Museum. On the day you arrive in Ueno, leave your luggage at your accommodation first, and you can get around the museums and the park traveling light.

In some cases, the place you’re staying will hold your luggage for you. There are also websites for finding luggage storage. Both JR Ueno Station and Keisei Ueno Station have coin lockers.

We’ve covered how to send your luggage ahead from the airport to your accommodation in the “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip” article.

Heading back at night — the Ginza Line runs past midnight on weekdays

You can get between Ueno and Asakusa on the Ginza Line. On weekdays, the last train from Ueno to Asakusa is at 0:19, and from Asakusa to Ueno at 0:14.

Whether you stay out late in Ueno or in Asakusa, on weekdays you can get back to your station on the Ginza Line until just past midnight. Check the last train in the direction of your accommodation ahead of time.

To the airport in the morning

To Narita, the Skyliner leaves Keisei Ueno from 5:40 in the morning. If your accommodation is near Keisei Ueno, it’s easier to catch even the first one of the day.

The airport buses from in front of the hotel in Asakusa run from the morning until early afternoon.

To Haneda, there are also trains with through service to Keikyu, from Asakusa Station on the Toei Asakusa Line. On a day you leave early, check your station and departure time the day before.

Places you can walk to on the nights and mornings of your stay

Asakusa — Sensoji Temple at night, and the main hall in the morning

Sensoji Temple is lit up every day from sunset until around 23:00. The buildings lit up are the main hall, the five-story pagoda, Hozomon Gate and Kaminarimon.

After dinner, you can walk from your accommodation to see Kaminarimon and the five-story pagoda lit up.

The main hall opens at 6:00 (from 6:30, October to March). You can pay your respects before breakfast, then start your day. The temple grounds are flat, and there’s an elevator on the left side as you face the main hall.

The Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center (a 1-minute walk from Exit 2 of Asakusa Station on the Ginza Line) lets you go up to its observation terrace on 8F until 22:00. The tourist information desk is open until 20:00, and you can ask in English, Chinese and Korean too.

Ueno — the park in the morning, and the museums on Friday and Saturday nights

Ueno Park is open from 5:00 to 23:00.

The Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art are open until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays (closed on Mondays).

Take a morning walk in the park, then head to a museum that opens at 9:30. On a Friday or Saturday, you can take your time even if you go in the evening.

From Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station to Ueno and Asakusa

Destination	From	How to get there	Time
Ueno	Tokyo Station	Yamanote Line	8 min
Ueno	Shinjuku Station	Yamanote Line	24 min
Asakusa	Tokyo Station	Yamanote Line, change to the Ginza Line at Kanda	20 min
Asakusa	Shinjuku Station	Chuo Line, change to the Ginza Line at Kanda	35 min

To walk around at night and in the morning, Asakusa; for the park in the morning and the museums, Ueno. If you stay here, you can enjoy Sensoji Temple lit up at night and the park in the morning closer than anyone else.

For now, just this

Check the station nearest your accommodation with its line name. In Ueno, Keisei and JR are separate; in Asakusa, the 4 lines are separate
For the museums, leave your suitcase at your accommodation first
On late nights, the last Ginza Line train in the direction of your accommodation (weekdays: from Ueno at 0:19, from Asakusa at 0:14)

Official sources we checked (25)

2026-09-28

Staying in Shinjuku | Decide on the Ticket Gate Nearest Your Accommodation, and You Won’t Get Lost at Shinjuku Station

Have you just decided to stay in Shinjuku? Or are you still making up your mind?

Step out on the east side of the station, and you’re in a lively neighborhood where shops stay open at night. Step out on the west side, and there’s the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatory, which you can go up for free.

Shinjuku Station is a big station where JR, private railway and subway lines meet. It has lots of ticket gates and lots of exits.

But if you’re staying here, you’ll use only a few of them every day. Decide on one ticket gate near your accommodation, and you can use it as your base on the day you arrive and on the morning you head back to the airport. For nights when you come back late, you also keep in mind one ticket gate that stays open until the last train.

Times, fares and opening hours can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article (as of October 2026).

Here’s the answer up front.

The day you arrive: from Narita, take the Narita Express (N’EX) or an airport bus. Airport buses also stop in front of several hotels in Nishi-Shinjuku
Heading back at night: JR’s station information lists 4 ticket gates as open from the first train to the last: South, West, East and Central East. Keep one of these in mind, too
To the airport in the morning: airport buses leave from Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store) or Busta Shinjuku. To get to Busta Shinjuku, go out through JR’s New South Gate and take the escalator right there. Early in the morning, before the New South Gate opens at 5:45, use the South Gate instead

Shinjuku Station: east, west and south take you out to different places

The east side of Shinjuku Station is the gateway to shopping, dining and entertainment. On the west side, skyscrapers line the streets, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is on this side too. Head south and you’ll find “Busta Shinjuku,” the terminal for highway buses and airport buses.

So first, check which side of the station your accommodation is on. Then write down the name of the ticket gate nearest your accommodation, right down to its English spelling.

Ticket gate	English	Floor
東改札	East Gate	B1F
中央東改札	Central East Gate	B1F
中央西改札	Central West Gate	B1F
西改札	West Gate	B1F
南改札	South Gate	2F
東南改札	South East Gate	2F
甲州街道改札	Koshu-kaido Gate	2F
新南改札	New South Gate	2F
ミライナタワー改札	MIRAINA TOWER Gate	2F

The English names follow the maps made by Shinjuku City and others (JR’s station map spells them Southeast Gate and Kōshū-kaidō Gate).

The differences between East Gate, East Square and East Concourse, the size of luggage you can bring on JR trains, and how to send your luggage ahead to your accommodation are covered in the “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip” article.

For maps, you can use the “Shinjuku Terminal Map” (新宿ターミナルマップ) and the “Elevator and Stairs Map” (エレベーター・階段マップ), made jointly by the railway companies at Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku City and others (as of November 2025). There’s a Japanese-and-English version, and a Chinese (Simplified) and Korean version.

The Elevator and Stairs Map shows where the elevators are, and for some of them it also gives the hours they run. Exits with brown numbers are basically stairs, so with a suitcase, exits with other numbers are easier.

The maps also show where the tourist information centers are. JR’s “Eki-tabi Concierge Shinjuku (New South)” (駅たびコンシェルジュ新宿（新南） in Japanese) has a counter for overseas visitors, open from 8:00 to 19:00.

Once you’ve settled on one ticket gate near your accommodation, you just come and go through it every day.

The day you arrive — from the airport to Shinjuku

The times in this article come from the timetables we checked on October 10, 2026.

From Narita, by N’EX

The N’EX arrives at Tracks 5 and 6 at Shinjuku Station. Inside the New South Gate, there’s an elevator to Tracks 5 and 6.

From Narita Airport toward Shinjuku, the N’EX runs on weekdays from 7:37, with the last trains leaving sometime in the 21:00 hour. On some days, evening trains from 18:45 onward don’t run. On weekends, check the timetable for the day you travel.

On a day you land at Narita while it’s still daytime, there are trains that bring you to Shinjuku without changing.

From Narita, by airport bus

The airport bus (Limousine Bus) costs 3,600 yen for adults and takes about 2 hours to Shinjuku.

In Shinjuku, it stops at two separate stops: “Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store)” and “Busta Shinjuku.” It also stops in front of several hotels in Nishi-Shinjuku. You can check whether your accommodation is a stop on the bus company’s official timetable. If you can get off in front of your accommodation, you won’t have to walk through the station with your suitcase.

The last bus from Narita leaves at 22:55 (Terminal 3). Even on a day you arrive late at night, you can get to Shinjuku without changing.

From Haneda

From Haneda, it’s about 50 minutes to Shinjuku by train or monorail.

By airport bus, it’s 1,400 yen for adults. The last regular bus leaves Terminal 3 at 23:40. After that there’s also a late-night bus, which costs 2,800 yen for adults. The late-night bus leaves after the date has changed, so check the timetable so you don’t mix up the date you ride.

Even if you land at Haneda late at night, you can get to Shinjuku by bus.

Busta Shinjuku connects to a JR ticket gate

Busta Shinjuku connects to JR’s New South Gate. Once you’re through the gate, take the escalator right in front of you up to the waiting room. Arrivals are on 3F, departures on 4F.

You don’t go outside the station, so even on rainy days you won’t need to take out your umbrella. You don’t have to cross the big street out front (Koshu Kaido), either.

Luggage — lockers, and the route for suitcases

JR coin lockers

At JR Shinjuku Station, these are the places with many large lockers (size L) that fit a suitcase (as of August 2025).

Location	Inside or outside the ticket gates
1F on the east side (東口 in Japanese)	Outside
Near the South Gate (2F)	Inside
Underground passage to N’EX Tracks 5 and 6 (B1F)	Inside
Near Suica Penguin Square by the New South Gate (2F)	Outside

The large lockers are sometimes almost all taken during the morning. The lockers on your right as you go out the East Gate are the easiest to find, so they fill up early.

There are lots of large lockers in the underground passage to the N’EX platforms, too. They’re inside the ticket gates, so you use them after you’ve gone through. Look for the red line on the floor marked “成田エクスプレス” (Narita Express). On a day you ride the N’EX, you can drop off your bags on the way to the platform.

Lockers at Busta Shinjuku

There are coin lockers on 4F of Busta Shinjuku, too. You can use them for up to 72 hours, and credit cards and e-money are accepted (some brands excluded). To take your bags out, you use the QR code on the receipt you got when you stored them, so hold on to the receipt.

Elevator hours

Elevator hours differ from place to place. For example, the South East Gate is open until midnight, but the elevator right next to it runs until 23:00 (Shinjuku City’s map, as of November 2025).

On a night you come back late with a suitcase, look at the Elevator and Stairs Map ahead of time for a route you can use until the last train, and you won’t be left wondering in front of the ticket gate.

Heading back at night — ticket gates you can use until the last train

At JR Shinjuku Station, some ticket gates close at night. For 4 gates (New South, South East, Koshu-kaido and MIRAINA TOWER), JR’s information gives “ticket gate office hours” (改札窓口営業時間 in Japanese) until midnight.

In JR’s station information, the 4 gates listed as open from the first train to the last are South, West, East and Central East (the Central West Gate is open from 6:00 until the last train). On late nights, use one of these 4. If the gate nearest your accommodation isn’t one of them, decide on the closest one ahead of time.

The last Yamanote Line train at Shinjuku Station is around 0:40 on weekdays. It ends at a station partway along the line.

Once you’ve settled on a ticket gate that’s open until the last train, you can enjoy Shinjuku at night without worrying about the way back.

To the airport in the morning — buses to Haneda from the 4:00 hour

To Haneda

The first regular airport bus to Haneda (adult 1,400 yen) leaves Busta Shinjuku at 4:40. An even earlier late-night bus (adult 2,800 yen) leaves Busta Shinjuku at 4:00.

To Narita

From Shinjuku to Narita Airport, the N’EX runs from 5:55 to 19:39 (on weekends, check the timetable for the day you travel). By airport bus, the first ones leave “Shinjuku Station (Keio Department Store)” at 5:30 and Busta Shinjuku at 5:40.

Busta Shinjuku early in the morning

The airport bus ticket machines and the waiting room open in the 3:00 hour. At the information counter (from 7:00), you can ask in English.

The New South Gate opens at 5:45. If you’re earlier than that, go out through the South Gate; from there it’s about a 4-minute walk to Busta Shinjuku.

Even on a day you take the very first bus, you just walk from your accommodation to the south side of the station to catch it, so you can rest the night before without rushing.

Places you can walk to in the evening and morning of your stay

West side (Nishi-Shinjuku) — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories

The observatories of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, on the west side of the station, are 202 meters above the ground. Entry is free, and no reservation is needed.

The South Observatory is open from 9:30 to 21:30 (the North Observatory until 17:00). The South and North Observatories close on different days, so check the official information for the day you go. You may wait in line for 20–30 minutes before getting in.

To the northeast, Tokyo Skytree; to the southeast, the direction of Shinjuku Gyoen and Meiji Jingu. From December to February, when it’s cold and the view is clear, there are more days when you can see Mt. Fuji to the west. “TOKYO SKY GUIDE” tells you what you’re looking at in your own language (no app needed).

Since there’s no reservation needed, you can go up in the evening of the day you arrive.

East side — Kabukicho and Shinjuku Gyoen

On the east side, the area around Kabukicho and Shinjuku-sanchome has shops open at night, and it’s lively.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden is about a 10-minute walk from the South Exit (南口 in Japanese) of Shinjuku Station. General admission is 500 yen, and you can go through the entry gates with a transit IC card. From October 1 to March 14, it’s open from 9:00 to 16:30. It’s closed on Mondays (if Monday is a holiday, the next weekday) and from December 29 to January 3. The exceptions are the cherry blossom season (March 25 to April 24) and November 1 to 15, when it’s open on Mondays too.

There are paid coin lockers (300 yen and 500 yen) at the gates, so you can leave smaller bags there and walk around traveling light.

To the west, views from up high; to the east, lively nights and the green of the garden. Even within Shinjuku, which side you stay on changes how you spend your day.

From Shinjuku to other areas

Shibuya is 7 minutes away on the Yamanote Line. Even staying in Shinjuku, you can get to other areas in about this much time.

Destination	How to get there	Time
Shibuya	Yamanote Line	7 min
Ikebukuro	Yamanote Line	8 min
Tokyo Station	Chuo Line (Rapid)	14 min
Ginza	Marunouchi Line	16 min
Akihabara	Sobu Line	18 min
Odaiba (Tokyo Teleport)	Saikyo Line, no transfer	22 min
Ueno	Yamanote Line	24 min
Nihombashi	Marunouchi Line, change to the Ginza Line at Akasaka-mitsuke	31 min
Asakusa	Chuo Line, change to the Ginza Line at Kanda	35 min

For now, just this

Write down the name of the ticket gate nearest your accommodation, right down to its English spelling
On late nights, the South, West, East or Central East gates
Large lockers can fill up during the morning. On a day you ride the N’EX, there are also lockers in the underground passage to the platforms (inside the ticket gates)

Official sources we checked (27)

2026-09-28

Where to Stay in Tokyo for the First Time | Near Tokyo Station on the Yaesu and Nihombashi Side — One Station for Your Arrival, the Morning You Leave for Your Next City, and Your Flight Home

Times, fares and rules are based on official information from rail and bus operators, airports, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Japan Tourism Agency as of October 2026. They may change. For your travel and stay dates, check the official sources at the end of this article.

Start looking for a place to stay in Tokyo, and names such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa and Ginza keep appearing. They all sound inviting; the more you compare them, the harder it is to choose.

This article is for anyone caught in that dilemma. We’ll keep the explanation short and give you our answer first.

The answer first — this is our short answer!

For your first time in Tokyo, stay near Tokyo Station, on its eastern Yaesu and Nihombashi side.

What decides it is the station you travel through, rather than the neighborhood where you go out. The day you arrive in Tokyo, the morning you leave for your next city by shinkansen, and the day you head back to the airport: the 3 days when your luggage is heaviest all begin at Tokyo Station.

Arrival day → From Narita, the Narita Express (N’EX) goes directly to Tokyo Station. From Haneda, it is about 30 minutes by train or monorail
The morning you leave for your next city → Both the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka and the shinkansen to Kanazawa and Sendai leave from Tokyo Station
The day you fly home → Both the N’EX to Narita and an airport bus that needs no reservation leave from Tokyo Station

At night, Ginza is about a 15-minute walk away.

Here Is the Reasoning — 3 days connect through one station

Stay 3 nights in Tokyo, then go to Kyoto or Osaka, and finally return to Tokyo for the airport. Let’s look at those 3 days in order, using this common itinerary.

Arrival day — Direct from Narita, about 30 minutes from Haneda

From Narita, the N’EX stops at Tokyo Station (53 minutes at its fastest). But some evening services from Narita do not run every day. Check the timetable for the day you travel.

If you arrive at Narita late at night, there is the TYO-NRT airport bus. The last bus leaves Terminal 3 at 23:20, Terminal 2 at 23:25 and Terminal 1 at 23:30, arriving at Tokyo Station at 00:38. The departure time differs by terminal. There are no reservations and seats are unassigned, but capacity is limited: if it is full, you take the next bus (and after the last bus, there is no next one). The late-night fare for this service is 3,000 yen. Pay on board in cash or with a transit IC card (credit cards are not accepted). Get off at Tokyo Station’s Nihombashi Gate.

From Haneda, Tokyo Station is about 30 minutes away by train or monorail. If you take Keikyu, change to JR at Shinagawa.

Not having to puzzle over the station near your accommodation on arrival night makes the greatest difference on that first night.

The morning you leave for your next city — Shinkansen from Tokyo Station

The Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka uses tracks 14–19 at Tokyo Station, on the Yaesu side. Yaesu Central North Gate and Yaesu Central South Gate also have dedicated ticket gates for the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen.

The Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa and Sendai use tracks 20–23.

If you stay near Tokyo Station, even the first train of the morning is easier to catch. For example, on the October 2026 weekday timetable, the 06:00 Nozomi arrives in Kyoto at 08:08. Pick an ekiben for breakfast and eat it on the shinkansen.

The day you fly home — Leave for the airport from the same station

Even when you return from Osaka to fly home from Narita, you get off the shinkansen at Tokyo Station. If you stay one more night in Tokyo, staying near that same station lets you leave for the airport from there.

To Narita → On weekdays, the N’EX starts departing Tokyo Station at 06:18. The TYO-NRT airport bus runs from stops 7 and 8 beyond the Yaesu South Gate ticket gates, from 05:00 to 19:30. No reservation is needed; a one-way ticket costs ¥1,500. To pay in cash or by credit card, buy your ticket before boarding at the “JR Expressway Bus Ticket Office” (JR高速バスきっぷ売り場 in Japanese). With a transit IC card, you can pay on board. For buses leaving between 05:00 and 06:00, the ticket office has not yet opened, so check the bus operator’s official information on how to pay in advance
To Haneda → About 30 minutes by train or monorail. If you stay on the Nihombashi side, trains from Nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line also run through onto Keikyu toward Haneda. Check the train’s destination before boarding

Buses to the airport leave from the Yaesu side. The dedicated Tokaido Shinkansen gates are on that side too. That is why we recommend the eastern Yaesu and Nihombashi side over the western Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station.

The names of the ticket gates and places to leave your luggage are in “Staying Around Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi“.

When booking, check just 3 things

Once you’ve chosen an area, choose and book your accommodation. These are the 3 things to check.

Cancellation deadline — When cancellation fees begin varies by accommodation. Some places allow free cancellation until noon on the day of arrival; others charge from 7 days before. If you book through a booking site, check the conditions shown there too. Some rooms are nonrefundable, so look once more before completing the booking
Final amount to pay — Prices in booking site listings may not include taxes or service fees. Check the total on the final booking screen. You may have to pay Tokyo’s accommodation tax at the front desk, separately from the cost of your trip
Guest limits — Each room has a set capacity. Search with the number and ages of adults and children, then check that they fit the room and plan’s limit. Whether children may share a bed and whether there is a charge also depend on the accommodation and plan

The room occupancy rate across accommodation facilities in Tokyo was 75.3%, the highest of any prefecture (Japan Tourism Agency, preliminary figures for July 2026). Once you have chosen an area, check the cancellation deadline and book early.

For more on accommodation tax and cancellation fees, see “Paying for Your Stay“.

The Second-Best Option — Shinjuku if you are only staying in Tokyo

If you are not taking the shinkansen to another city and will return home after Tokyo, choose Shinjuku.

The N’EX from Narita also stops at Shinjuku Station. From Haneda it is about 50 minutes by train or monorail. By airport bus, Haneda to Shinjuku Station West Exit takes about 35 minutes.

Shinjuku suits people arriving at Haneda late at night. Even after the trains stop running, 4 late-night buses run from Haneda Terminal 3 to Shinjuku Station West Exit between 00:20 and 02:20 (¥2,800).

Shinjuku Station is on the Yamanote Line. To its south is the Busta Shinjuku highway bus terminal, connected to JR’s New South Gate.

But to board the shinkansen, you go to Tokyo Station. On the day you leave for Kyoto or Osaka, take the Chuo Line Rapid to Tokyo Station, a 14-minute ride. Shinjuku is a large station with many gates and exits, so note the name of the gate nearest your accommodation, including its English spelling.

For details, see “Staying in Shinjuku“.

Who might prefer another area

Want a direct Skyliner train from Narita → Ueno
Coming for anime and manga → Ikebukuro or Akihabara
Going to Tokyo Big Sight → The Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake)
Planning a Disney day → Maihama, where Disney is, is in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture. You could split your stay and spend just that night in Urayasu

If you’d rather compare the areas yourself, see “Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip“.

Before you go, just these things

Check whether you will leave Tokyo for another city by shinkansen after your stay. If so, choose the Yaesu and Nihombashi side of Tokyo Station; if you are only staying in Tokyo, choose Shinjuku
Check your arrival airport and time. If you reach Narita late at night, check the last airport bus to Tokyo Station
On the accommodation booking screen, check the 3 things: cancellation deadline, final amount to pay and guest limits
Decide which airport you will fly home from (Narita or Haneda) and which station you will use from your accommodation

More details

Tokyo Station ticket gates and luggage storage → “Staying Around Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi“
Which train to take from the airport to Tokyo → “Airport to City by Train in Japan“
Send your suitcase ahead from Tokyo to Kyoto → “Luggage Forwarding in Japan“

If you are unsure, line up the 3 days of your trip: arrival day, the morning you leave for your next city, and the day you fly home. Stay where all 3 begin at the same station, and you won’t have a day of getting lost with heavy luggage.

Official sources we checked (29)

2026-09-28

Where to Stay in Tokyo on Your First Trip | Choose by Airport, Station Exit, Luggage and the Way Back

Is this your first trip to Tokyo, and are you deciding which area to stay in?

Shinjuku, Asakusa, Ginza, Akihabara. You’ll hear lots of area names.

In this article, we compare areas not by how close they are to famous sights, but by how your day goes when you stay there. You arrive from the airport, step out of the station, move your luggage, and head back to your accommodation at night. Once you pick an area, this becomes your routine every day.

Everything here is a set of pointers for preparing your trip, based on information from public bodies and railway companies (as of October 2026; this is not an explanation of tax or law). Times, fares and rules can change, so before you go, check the official information listed at the end of this article.

Here’s the answer up front.

If you want to ride from Narita without changing trains: Shinjuku or Tokyo Station, where the Narita Express (N’EX) stops, or Ueno, where the Keisei Skyliner arrives
If the places you’re heading to are Yamanote Line stations, stay near a Yamanote Line station too
If anime and manga are what you’re after: Ikebukuro and Akihabara
On a day you’re going to Tokyo Big Sight: the Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake)

If comparing areas has worn you out, our short answer is in “Where to Stay in Tokyo for the First Time“. For your first trip, choose the Yaesu and Nihombashi side of Tokyo Station.

From here, we’ll look at the airports and the way back first, then go through the areas one at a time.

From the airport, and the way back — the Yamanote Line goes around in a loop

Narita and Haneda each get you to different areas without a transfer. From Narita, the N’EX runs to Tokyo Station, Shinagawa, Shibuya and Shinjuku, and the Skyliner runs to Nippori and Ueno. Haneda connects to Shinagawa on the Keikyu Line and to Hamamatsucho on the Tokyo Monorail.

On the way back, it’s the Yamanote Line that makes the difference.

The Yamanote Line is a JR line that loops around central Tokyo. Big stations like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Akihabara and Tokyo Station are on this loop.

So if your accommodation is near a Yamanote Line station, then even on days you go out to another station on the loop, you can get back to your station without changing trains.

What we cover about station exits and luggage applies whichever area you stay in, so we’ve put them together after the areas.

Quick comparison — 5 areas, from the airports and 2 stations

Area	From Narita	From Haneda	From Tokyo Station	From Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku	N’EX, no transfer	Train/monorail, about 50 min / Bus to Shinjuku Station West Exit (西口 in Japanese), about 35 min	Chuo Line (Rapid), 14 min
Ueno and Asakusa	Skyliner to Ueno, fastest 41 min	Train/monorail, about 40 min to either Ueno or Asakusa	Ueno: Yamanote Line, 8 min / Asakusa: change to the Ginza Line at Kanda, 20 min	Ueno: Yamanote Line, 24 min / Asakusa: change to the Ginza Line at Kanda, 35 min
Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi	N’EX to Tokyo Station, fastest 53 min	Train/monorail to Tokyo Station, about 30 min / Bus to Tokyo Station, about 35 min	Ginza: Marunouchi Line, 3 min (about 15 min on foot) / Nihombashi: walkable	Ginza: Marunouchi Line, 16 min
Ikebukuro and Akihabara	Ikebukuro: N’EX to Shinjuku, then change to the Yamanote Line / Akihabara: N’EX to Tokyo Station, then change to the Yamanote Line	Bus to Ikebukuro Station West Exit (西口 in Japanese), about 55 min	Akihabara: Yamanote Line, 4 min / Ikebukuro: Marunouchi Line, 17 min	Ikebukuro: Yamanote Line, 8 min / Akihabara: Sobu Line, 18 min
Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake)		Bus to Rinkai Fukutoshin (臨海副都心) and Tokyo Big Sight, about 20–40 min	Change to the Yurikamome at Shimbashi, about 30 min to Odaiba	Saikyo Line, no transfer, to Tokyo Teleport, 22 min

All times are approximate. Times from the airports come from each airport’s and railway company’s information; times from Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station come from the area pages of “GO TOKYO,” the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s tourism website. Blank cells are ones this article doesn’t cover.

1 Shinjuku — east or west of the station, the city shows a different face

Shinjuku Station is where lines from many companies meet: JR, private railways and subways. It’s also a Yamanote Line station. From Narita, the N’EX gets you here without a transfer, and buses from Haneda arrive at the West Exit (西口 in Japanese).

The east side of the station is the gateway to shopping, dining and entertainment. The area around Kabukicho stays lively at night, too.

On the west side, skyscrapers line the streets, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building is on this side as well. Head south and you’ll find the highway bus terminal (Busta Shinjuku).

If you’re torn between Shinjuku and Shibuya: Shibuya is also a Yamanote Line station, and the N’EX from Narita stops there. Even if you stay in Shinjuku, you can get to Shibuya on the Yamanote Line without changing trains.

Stay on the east side, and the nightlife area (around Kabukicho) is close by. On the west side, you wake up in a neighborhood of skyscrapers. For details, see the Shinjuku article.

2 Ueno and Asakusa — where the train from Narita arrives

Ueno is the station where the Skyliner from Narita arrives. It’s also a Yamanote Line station, and besides JR, it has Keisei and the Ginza and Hibiya subway lines.

Asakusa has the Ginza Line, plus Toei Subway and Tobu stations.

Ueno and Asakusa are linked by the Ginza Line, with no transfer. Whichever one you stay in, you can get to the other without changing trains.

Stay in Ueno, and you reach your station from Narita without a transfer. Stay in Asakusa, and from Haneda it takes about as long as it does to Ueno. Either way, you can head out into the city the same day. For details, see the Ueno and Asakusa article.

3 Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi — a station within walking distance of Ginza

Tokyo Station is where the N’EX from Narita stops. From Haneda, it’s about 30 minutes by train or monorail.

Tokyo Station has two sides. The Marunouchi side faces the Imperial Palace. The Yaesu side faces Ginza and Nihombashi. Buses to the airports leave from the Yaesu side.

Ginza is about a 15-minute walk from Tokyo Station. Nihombashi is within walking distance of Tokyo Station, too.

If you stay near Tokyo Station, you can drop your bags at your accommodation and walk out to Ginza (about 15 minutes from Tokyo Station). For details, see the Tokyo Station, Ginza and Nihombashi article.

4 Ikebukuro and Akihabara — if anime and manga are what you’re after

If anime and manga are what you’re after, it’s Ikebukuro and Akihabara.

Ikebukuro is a station where JR, Tobu, Seibu and subway lines meet. Akihabara and Ikebukuro are both Yamanote Line stations.

So whichever one you stay in, you can get to the other on the Yamanote Line without changing trains. Stay in the neighborhood you came for, and the time you’d spend getting there and back becomes time to have fun. For details, see the Ikebukuro and Akihabara article.

5 Waterfront (Odaiba and Ariake) — for a day you’re going to Tokyo Big Sight

The Yurikamome stops at Tokyo Big Sight Station and Ariake Station. From Haneda, there are also buses to Rinkai Fukutoshin (臨海副都心) and Tokyo Big Sight.

For getting to and from central Tokyo, from Shinjuku the Saikyo Line takes you to Tokyo Teleport without a transfer. From Tokyo Station, you change to the Yurikamome at Shimbashi.

On the morning of an event, the venue is right there. For details, see the Waterfront article.

The area around Disney is in Chiba Prefecture

Maihama, home to Tokyo Disney Resort, and Shin-Urayasu are outside Tokyo, in Urayasu City, Chiba Prefecture.

When choosing a place to stay, put the address into a map and check how long it takes to get where you want to go.

On the night of your Disney day, stay in Urayasu; on other nights, in central Tokyo. Splitting where you stay, night by night, is one way to do it.

Leaving the station — at Shinjuku Station, remember one exit name

In Shinjuku Station’s English signage, similar names point to different places.

East Gate … one of the JR ticket gates
East Square … the plaza at street level (東口 in Japanese)
East Concourse … the underground passage (東口地下通路 in Japanese)

They all say “East,” but each takes you somewhere different.

So if your accommodation’s directions name an exit, write it down exactly as it’s spelled in English. You can then match it directly against the station map.

For maps, you can use the “Shinjuku Terminal Map” (新宿ターミナルマップ) and the “Shinjuku Terminal Elevator and Stairs Map” (新宿ターミナルエレベーター・階段マップ). There’s a Japanese-and-English version, and a Chinese (Simplified) and Korean version (as of November 2025). They’re handed out at places like the Shinjuku Tourist Information Center (新宿観光案内所), and you can also view them on Shinjuku City’s website.

Once you’ve settled on one exit, you come out right on the side where your accommodation is. If you have a suitcase, you can use the Elevator and Stairs Map to find a route with elevators ahead of time.

Moving your luggage — you can also send your suitcase ahead to your accommodation

On JR East trains, you can bring up to 2 pieces of luggage at no extra charge, as long as each piece’s three dimensions add up to 250 cm or less, it’s 2 m long or less, and it weighs 30 kg or less. No reservation needed, either.

However, your luggage may be refused when it would get in the way of other passengers, or when trains are especially crowded.

The N’EX has luggage storage areas with combination dial locks.

You can also send your luggage ahead to your accommodation. At the counter at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 Station (Keikyu), drop off your bags between 7:00 and 16:00, and they’ll be delivered the same day to accommodation in Tokyo’s 23 wards and Urayasu. From 1,600 yen per bag (as of August 17, 2026). Apply online in advance, or at the counter on the day.

Hand off your bags in the morning, and from the afternoon of the day you arrive, you can walk around the city traveling light. The rules for leaving luggage at your accommodation are also covered in the “Business Hotels” and “Capsule Hotels” articles.

Booking and money — booking early, and the accommodation tax (宿泊税)

Room prices change from place to place and from day to day. You can see current prices at the end of each area section.

The room occupancy rate across all accommodation facilities in Tokyo was 75.3%, the highest in Japan (Japan Tourism Agency, preliminary figures for July 2026). Once you’ve decided on an area, book early.

In Tokyo, an accommodation tax may be charged when you stay at a hotel or ryokan (旅館). Right now, it’s 100 yen or 200 yen when the room-only rate (before tax) is 10,000 yen or more per person, per night. For stays from April 1, 2027, when the accommodation charge is 13,000 yen or more, the tax becomes 3% of that charge, and people staying at simple lodging facilities (簡易宿所) and vacation rentals (minpaku, 民泊) will also have to pay it.

You may have to pay the accommodation tax at the front desk, separately from what you paid for your trip. If you know about it, you’ll understand what it is when the front desk brings it up. For details, see the “Paying for Your Stay” article.

For now, just this

Your area comes down to which airport you arrive at and where you’ll spend your days. From Narita, a station where the N’EX or Skyliner arrives; if the places you’re heading to are Yamanote Line stations, a Yamanote Line station; if you have a clear goal, that neighborhood.

Once you find an area you’d like to stay in, see its article for the way from the station to your accommodation. On top of that, these 4 things work in any area.

Write down the name of the exit nearest your accommodation, spelled exactly as in English. At Shinjuku Station, East Gate, East Square and East Concourse are different places
For suitcases on JR East trains, up to 2 pieces within the set size and weight limits
If you’re sending luggage ahead, Haneda Terminal 3 Station takes it until 16:00
The accommodation tax: you may have to pay it separately at the front desk

Official sources we checked (25)

2026-09-28

Category: Places to Stay

For now, just this

1 Taxes and fees: what the list price may leave out

2 Can you cancel? The conditions beside the price

3 A listing that keeps the property name hidden until after booking: Secret Deals

4 Member prices and coupons: rates with conditions

5 Sort order: the first result may not be the cheapest

To compare prices, compare like with like

For now, just this

Three ways to pay: to whom, and when

Pay Now: the full amount when you submit the booking

Book Now, Pay Later: payment on the stated date

Pay at Hotel: at the property on the day you stay

Even with Pay at Hotel, the property may hold your card

Which currency to pay in: line up three currencies

If you cancel: how much comes back, and when

What you pay at the property

The Short Answer — Rent a whole house in towns where you stay two nights. For a one-night stop, book two or three rooms in the same hotel. For a ryokan night, choose a large tatami room

The four types at a glance

Before deciding, write down how many of the ten are adults and how many are children (and their ages)

1 A whole house — ten people under one roof in a town where you stay two nights or more

2 Apartments — one room for five or six; two in the same building for ten

3 A large Japanese-style room — one ryokan night together in one room

4 Two or three rooms — the same hotel for a one-night stop

For example, four nights for this group of ten

Three final checks on the booking screen

For families of other sizes

Before you go, just these things

More details

Three seaside neighborhoods, linked by the Yurikamome

On the morning of an event — the venue is right there

Leave your suitcase at your accommodation

On big event days, give yourself extra time

From evening — lights on the sea and the bridge

A sandy beach, and a path for night walks

Crossing the bridge on the Yurikamome

Mornings in Toyosu

Arriving from the airport, heading to the airport

Heading back at night after a day out in central Tokyo

Ikebukuro or Akihabara — choose by what you love

Ikebukuro — the East Exit side is the anime town

Go a little farther: the Tokiwaso Manga Museum

Akihabara — step out of the Electric Town Exit, and you’re right there

Sunday afternoons: the pedestrian zone

Don’t get lost at the station

Ikebukuro: “Tobu at the West Exit, Seibu at the East Exit”

Akihabara: start from the Electric Town Exit

Getting to and from the airports

Getting back at night, and heading to other areas

For now, just this

Tokyo Station has 2 sides, Marunouchi and Yaesu

Ginza and Nihombashi have subway stations

Mornings out to your next city by shinkansen

Big suitcases: reserve them along with your seat

Getting to and from the airports

Narita

Haneda

Luggage — leave it at the station and travel light

From Tokyo Station to other areas

Places you can walk to on the mornings and nights of your stay

Morning — around the Imperial Palace

Weekend midday — Ginza’s main street

Nihombashi — the stone bridge, and the Ginza Line

Night — the Marunouchi Station Building, and the fountains

For now, just this

Ueno or Asakusa: which one to stay in

In Ueno, Keisei and JR have separate stations

In Asakusa, each line has its own station

The day you arrive — from the airport

From Narita, by Skyliner to Ueno

To Asakusa, by airport bus

From Haneda, by train

Luggage — drop it at your accommodation before the museum

Heading back at night — the Ginza Line runs past midnight on weekdays

To the airport in the morning

Places you can walk to on the nights and mornings of your stay

Asakusa — Sensoji Temple at night, and the main hall in the morning

Ueno — the park in the morning, and the museums on Friday and Saturday nights

From Tokyo Station and Shinjuku Station to Ueno and Asakusa

For now, just this