PLAN THE TRIP

Where to Stay in Tokyo for a Shopping Trip

Written in Japan. Neighbourhoods are judged on what is within walking distance and what lines run through, not on any one hotel.

Tokyo is large enough that the station you sleep next to decides how much of the day you spend travelling. For a shopping trip the useful test is simple: can you drop bags back at the room in the middle of the afternoon without it costing you an hour?

Shinjuku

The busiest station in the world, and the most useful base if you want everything in one place. Department stores, two large electronics chains, drugstores on every block and a 100-yen shop inside most shopping centres. The JR Yamanote line, the Chuo line and three subway lines all stop here, plus the express to Haneda and the bus to Narita.

The trade-off is noise and price. Rooms on the east side sit in the entertainment district; the west side around the government buildings is quieter and usually cheaper for the same distance to the platform.

Ikebukuro

The same range of shops as Shinjuku, generally cheaper rooms, and fewer visitors. Two large department stores sit directly over the station and the surrounding blocks are dense with drugstores and stationery shops. Good if this is a second trip and you already know what you are looking for.

Ueno

The best base if you are arriving or leaving from Narita, because the Keisei Skyliner runs straight there in about forty minutes. Ameyoko market under the tracks is the cheapest place in central Tokyo for snacks and dried goods, and the area around the park is calmer at night than either Shinjuku or Ikebukuro.

Ginza and Shibuya

Both are excellent to shop in and less convenient to sleep in. Ginza is department stores and flagship shops, quiet after eight in the evening, and priced accordingly. Shibuya is busy, well connected and increasingly expensive. Visit both; base yourself elsewhere unless the price is right.

What to check before you book

1. Will they hold a parcel addressed to you? Most business hotels will. It is the single most useful thing a hotel can do for a shopper, and it is what makes sending purchases ahead work.
2. Luggage storage on both sides of the stay. Standard at business hotels, far less reliable at small guesthouses.
3. A coin laundry in the building. Washing mid-trip means packing less and leaving more room for what you buy.
4. Room size. Japanese business hotel rooms are small. If you are spreading purchases out to repack, book one size up.
5. Walking minutes to the ticket gate, not to the station building. They are not the same number in Shinjuku.

Rakuten Travel lists Japanese hotels and ryokan with the domestic rate in yen, including a lot of smaller places that never reach the international booking sites.

Next: where to stay in Osaka and Kyoto, or when to go.