#45 Shinbashi as a choice to stay in Tokyo
Airport access, eating out, and access to tourists attractions
I’ve been curious to know where and how travellers decide their accommodations when it comes to the hotel in Tokyo. I am always puzzled when I start searching for a hotel, particularly when I visit a place for the first time. Tokyo is a big city in the point of its offers a variety of choices, and it is also a small city when you look at it from geographical size and condensation of the population. Like other travellers, you may not have any crews where to stay in Tokyo. This week I will focus on Shinbashi, located next to Ginza and not far from Tokyo station. I hope this will give you some idea of the approach when you choose the accommodations in Tokyo.
Airport Access
You’ll head to Tokyo city centre either from Narita Airport or Haneda Airport. There are bus and train services from both airports, but Haneda Airport is far too much more convenient than Narita Airport. The biggest difference is the distance from the airport to your hotel. You can take a taxi from Haneda Airport to your hotel for the worst scenario. Narita Airport is about 50 km east of central Tokyo, and you don’t have a choice but to take a train or a bus if you consider the cost from the airport.
So where do you think it is convenient to book a hotel when you are coming from Haneda Airport or Narita Airport by train? Keisei, Keihin Kyuko and Toei Subway, basically these three operators are all connected by one line from Haneda Airport to Narita Airport. Any stations on this route in central Tokyo are possibilities. But one station I'd like to recommend is “Shinbashi” for various reasons.
Accessibility to attractions
When you compare the accessibility to major attractions in Tokyo by subway and Japan Rail, Shinbashi is one of my favourite locations mainly for accessibility.
Direct access to Narita Airport and Haneda Airport by train: You can use this area on such an occasion that you arrive at Narita Airport and stay over a night in Tokyo, then you will catch a domestic flight the next day.
Two subway routes: Ginza Line(Tokyo Metro) and Toei Asakusa Line(Tokyo Metropolitan Subway): Ginza Line will provide you access to Ginza, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Asakusa by a single line.
Access to Ginza: Shinbashi borders 8-chrome, the southern end of Ginza, and can be reached on foot.
Access to popular restaurants in Akasaka and Ginza: Most top-end Japanese restaurants in Tokyo are concentrated either in Ginza or Akasaka. Even though you want to take a taxi, it doesn’t cost too much.
The tourist information centre at the underground pass to the Shiodome.
Restaurants
Top-end restaurants: As I mentioned above, you’ll find top-end restaurants in Ginza and Akasaka. It’ll cost less than 1,000 Yen by taxi.
Budget travellers: There are many places where you can have a meal for less than JPY 5,000 per person with a few beers, as typified by the reasonably priced restaurants under the railway guards.
Shinbashi Ekimae Building is old, but there are lots of small old-style bars.
<Some of the recommendations>
Uokin: Seafood restaurants serving seafood at very low prices. They are concentrated within five minutes walk from the Karasumori exit of Shinbashi station.
Maruya: This pork cutlet-specialized restaurant chain is very popular among office workers in the area, with the price starting at 700 Yen for the loin cutlet. It’s a pity that they no longer provide free refills of rice and miso soup, but it is still a very good value.
Shinbashi Ekimae Building: This building has been likened to an oasis for office workers and symbolizes the office worker's town of Shinbashi for many years. Normally, tourists don’t go there, but I have a recommendation for those who would like to explore Japanese culture.
There are lots of temptations in Shinbashi at night.
Hotel Range
There is a variety of hotels around Shinbashi. The size of the bed is frequently asked by travellers since the bed in the room are relatively shorter than those in the west. If you are concerned with this point, I’ll advise you to choose one of the four-star hotels in the Shiodome area east of Shinbashi station. I don't talk about individual hotels in this area, but there is a good variety of three-to-four-star hotels in this area. If you want great views from your room, choose a four-star hotel in the Shiodome where hotel rooms are located on the upper part of a high building.
Conclusion
If you choose a place to stay in Tokyo based on the following points, Shinbashi is a strong candidate.
Shinbashi has good access from and to Haneda and Narita Airport by train.
Easy access to most tourist attractions.
Reasonable three-to-four-star hotel choice.
Variety of reasonably priced restaurants.
ONE STOP/Cherry blossoms forecast
Although temporarily affected by cold weather in late February, temperatures are expected to be normal or higher from March onwards. As a result, the predicted flowering date will be around 3-4 days earlier in many places.
Fukuoka: 19th of March （-4）
Tokyo: 22nd of March（-4）
Nagoya: 23rd of March（-3）
Osaka: 25th of March（-3）
Kyoto: 25th of March（-4）
Aomori: 19th of April（-1）
Sapporo, Hokkaido: 29th of April（±0）
©Japan Weather Association Projections are as of the 16th of February by JWA.
