Tokyo for ¥10,000 a night

Whether you’re looking for a place for your friends to stay when they come to visit, or you’re planning your own trip to the city that never stops, an affordable place to stay is paramount. Of course, in an ideal world you’d insist that friends and family forgo the hotel and stay with you, however, with the average Tokyo apartment being a tight fit, the hotel is the more practical option. The question is: Where can they enjoy a relaxing stay at a reasonable price?

Tokyo hotels may be relatively small, but what they lack in size, they make up for by efficiently using available space and providing all that’s necessary for an enjoyable stay. Listed below are five hotels that accept online bookings for prices in the vicinity of ¥10,000 a night, as recommended by Naoko Terada, a travel journalist who stays in hotels overseas for as many as 150 days a year.

Ochanomizu: Hotel Juraku

Located an approximate two-minute walk from the Hijiribashi exit of Ochanomizu Station (JR Chuo Line and Sobu Line), Hotel Juraku may seem a little drab when merely judging from its external appearance, however – thanks to an interior refurbishment – the rooms here are in fact relatively stylish. In addition to offering a range of services (including free internet access) and items such as slippers and mineral water, the hotel also houses a restaurant, named Akebinomi, that takes pride in serving guests with a range of healthy wholesome foods and offers a buffet-style breakfast menu that includes both a range of Japanese-style breakfast side dishes (made using farm-fresh produce), various western-style breakfast options, fresh juice and fruit. The staff are friendly and ready to serve, with rooms starting at ¥7,000 a night, or ¥8,000 including breakfast.
(Full details & map)

Kinshicho: Lotte City Hotel

Lotte City Hotel is the first hotel in Japan to be owned and operated by food and shopping conglomerate Lotte. The hotel opened in April 2010, offering something a bit beyond the run-of-the-mill room. In addition to offering guest rooms that feature Koala’s March (the character from Lotte’s perennially popular chocolate-filled biscuits) themed cushions, they also offer a special ‘Koala’s March Room’ that makes use of Koala’s March designs throughout its décor, right down to its curtains and bed covers. Conveniently located close by to Kinshicho Station, which provides easy access to popular places such as Akihabara and Shitamachi area, the hotel is also only a short walk away from the Tokyo Sky Tree, making their rooms which overlook the giant structure particularly popular. Single rooms here are relatively small, however rooms such as the hotel’s ‘Elite Single’ rooms feature items such as a trouser press and a relatively large desk that business travellers may find especially useful. Additionally, the hotel also offers an entire floor reserved especially for female guests – a measure of comfort for those with trepidations about staying in a hotel alone. Reservations made via a special campaign currently taking place, entitled ‘Shucho Oen Single 7500’, which start at ¥7,500 per night.
(Full details & map)

Odaiba: B:Conte Ariake

This hotel caters to guests looking to rent a space in which to live for an extended period of time. B:Conte Ariake, which describes itself as a ‘residential hotel’, opened in Odaiba in June 2009, and offers rooms that come fully equipped with a kitchenette, a washer and dryer, tableware, bed linen and various other items required for everyday life. Furthermore, located almost adjacent to Tokyo Big Sight, rooms here also offer an ideal platform from which to enjoy the Odaiba scenery. Rooms are offered on either a daily, weekly or monthly basis and, for anybody wishing to spend a substantial period of time in Tokyo (on a lengthy business trip for example), provide a relatively cheap alternative to staying in a regular hotel and having to continually pay the same daily rates. Additionally, the hotel also makes an ideal place to stay for families or groups coming with the intention of visiting Tokyo Disney Resort. For a ‘Studio B Type’ room (compact but well laid out and relatively inexpensive) expect to pay ¥11,800 per night; however, when rented on a weekly basis this fee is reduced to ¥10,200 per night and when rented on a monthly basis, the fee reduces to only ¥6,300 per night.
(Full details & map)

Tokyo Station, Yaesu Kitaguchi: Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo

A branch of the Ryokan Ryumeikan Honten, a company founded in 1899, Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo opened in June 2009. This stylish hotel is located directly outside Tokyo Station and provides guests with amenities such as safe deposit boxes, mineral water and a range of extra services including free wireless internet access. The standard fee for a single room here is ¥16,500 per night; however, they periodically offer special discounted rates online that occasionally equate to less than ¥10,000 per night.
(Full details & map)

Ochanomizu: Hilltop Hotel

A clear cut above regular business hotels, Tokyo’s Hilltop Hotel is a place known to have been loved by literary giants such as Shotaro Ikenami, Yukio Mishima, Seicho Matsumoto and Shusaku Endo. The main building is reminiscent of Japan’s Showa period, and its rooms could easily be mistaken for being part of a set created by the late film director and scriptwriter Yasujiro Ozu. In addition to being a well-known literary hangout, the hotel is also famous for housing a number of great restaurants and bars. Rooms have a check in time from 8pm and a checkout time until 9am, and start at ¥10,500 per night. Furthermore, they also offer a special ‘ladies plan’ and various other special offers that are well worth looking into.
(Full details & map)