Where to Stay

The short answer for a first trip: in Tokyo, base yourself near a Yamanote Line station — Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo Station or Ueno — and your transit problems mostly disappear. The harder questions are the ones we answer here: Shibuya or Shinjuku, east side or west side, Gion or Kyoto Station, and whether that one ryokan night is worth the splurge. Every guide in this section compares neighborhoods with numbers — median double-room prices, minutes from the airports, how many train lines stop at each station, and what the area is actually like after 8pm. We also cover the practical traps nobody warns you about, like Japanese "double" beds that are 120cm wide, and which hotel chains you can book without checking the room twice. No sponsored fluff: hotels are cited because the price and location make sense, and every affiliate link is disclosed where it appears.