Tokyo - Where to stay?

DJ-99

So I went to Paris last fall and got some good tips from the forum on what part of town to stay in. Now I'm planning a trip to Tokyo and Seoul. My brother lives in Seoul, so I think I'll be ok there, but I know nothing at all about Tokyo, and speak no Japanese.

I plan to spend 4 nights in Tokyo in late June. It will be 2 or 3 American guys, aged 24-28. We're basically just looking to enjoy some nightlife, experience some culture, and see some cool stuff. Would like to spend less than $100 per night, per person, on lodging.

I'll be sure to pick up some travel guides before I head over, but I would still like to hear some opinions.

Are there any particular parts of Tokyo I should be looking for hotels in? Any personal recommendations? Any general advice about going to Tokyo?

MagicToaster

When I went last year, I stayed in Asakusa, at the Sakura Hostel. It's a pretty good and cheap place to stay, withing walking distance of Kaminari mon. You can take the subway almost anywhere; Harajuku the fashion district, Akihabara the technology district, Roppongi... the kinda rich district, Tokyo Tower which is a giant tower that lets you go up to an observatory and Ginza... the really really rich district.

Personally, I enjoyed Asakusa a lot, lots of little shops you can browse at Kaminari mon.

Edit: Eat yakisoba.

Bartholamue

I just came back from Japan actually. I stayed in Minowa and Asakusa in hostels. Minowa tends to be the place that is the 'bad' part of town, but I found no problems with it. Just be prepared that no one will speak any good english, and it may be a little daunting for someone who knows no japanese at all.

Weretaco

Just got back two weeks ago.

We stayed at K's house hostel which was cheap and nice. First 6 nights we were at the SunRoute plaza hotel in Shinjuku. Super close to the JR station for easy transit, friendly staff and a lot of stuff nearby to checkout before you even need to get on the trains.

Soyduck

Hello ... I hope you don't mind me poking in on this thread, my friends and I are planning a trip to Japan in November and are also looking for some good advice. I've found some pretty helpful reviews on TripAdvisor. Here are a couple places we're looking to stay that are well priced for a large group:

http://www.tokyoryokan.com/
http://homepage2.nifty.com/kikuya1/
http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html
http://www.katsutaro.com/ryokan_accom.html

You can do a search on TripAdvisor for any of those locations and get reviews as well.

Bartholamue

If you ever go to Shinjuku, I wholeheartedly recommend going up the twin tower government building. It has a view of the entire city and you can see up to Mount Fuji, as well. It was spectacular, and free.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs483.snc3/26422_10150152184975627_904495626_11853759_6214320_n.jpg if you don't know what it looks like. It's pretty easy to get to from the station.

Kelor

I stayed here, the Ace Inn Shinjuku.

The place is about 5 minutes out of Shinjuku and literally 30 seconds walk from the station exit, so it's easy to get to and in between a lot of different places you'll probably want to visit. Says it's a capsule inn on their website, but it's just a hostel. I'm 6'2" and fit in the beds with plenty of room to spare. Had a lot of other international travellers when I was staying and there's a big comunal lounge upstairs with a TV and couches. Banks of computers downstairs for skype etc if you want to talk back home.

It was about $30-40 a night and there is some great food places around there too.