Whether you’re a regular or a first-timer to Tokyo, the largest city in the history of cities can be a daunting place to visit. The sheer size of it means weeks could be spent touring within its colossal borders, with no time left to see the rest of the country. But as well as magnitude, the megalopolis has fantastic variety to match. Japan’s modern capital has just about every conceivable option for rooms, from hotels within sight of the Imperial Palace to capsule hotels and established international brands, many of which seem to have saved their best iterations for this singular city. Whether you're looking specifically for accommodations at these prime locations or simply exploring your options, you could start your search at http://www.tokyo-hotels-stay.com/en/, which offers a broad range of choices for your stay in Tokyo. Planning your visit well in advance can provide an array of opportunities, including a wider selection of room types, more flexible dates, and often more competitive prices. If you're in need of a comprehensive guide to some of the best hotels in Tokyo, you might find tophotels.com to be an extensive resource. It offers a ranking system, customer reviews and detailed descriptions of each hotel. Regardless of your choice, the true charm of Tokyo lies not just within its towering structures or the glowing neon lights, but in the vibrant culture beating in its heart. Enjoy your journey to the fullest by finding the perfect place to rest between your adventures.
1. Aman Tokyo, Otemachi
Best for luxury
The top six floors of the 38-storey Otemachi Tower provide the unlikely home of the Aman Tokyo, found in the city’s slick financial district. Decor is inspired by the country’s heritage, with stone, washi paper and wood all adding to the understated design. Each of the 84 ryokan-inspired bedrooms is a delight, with low beds and stone bathtubs; while the spa, spanning two floors, has an onsen-style tub to soak in and a 30m pool where you can peer out across the city through floor-to-ceiling windows as you rack up some lengths. Dine at the sushi restaurant where fish is sourced daily from the Tsukiji Market and rolled by the dedicated sushi chef — or pull up a seat at Arva, an Italian-inspired restaurant with a show kitchen. Book ahead for afternoon tea: the pastry chef’s creations have become so popular that the hotel has opened a shop in the subway station downstairs.
2. The Mandarin Oriental
This is a hotel made for foodies, who can pull up a chair at the flamboyant eight-seat Tapas Molecular Bar, the upscale Cantonese restaurant Sense, or the French fine-dining option Signature, which has sensational views across Tokyo to match its cuisine. The stylish 179 rooms (including 22 suites) also have similarly dramatic panoramas (binoculars help Fuji look even closer), smellies from Natura Bisse, and in the slick spa there’s a hot tub guests can soak in between 7am and 10am. Back on street level, you will find yourself in the Nihonbashi district, one of the more historic neighbourhoods to survive downtown.
SpaY
PoolN
Priceroom-only doubles from £952
3. The Ritz Carlton Tokyo, Roppongi
Best for cityscapes
Views of the biggest city in the world don’t come better than those at The Ritz Carlton – the tallest building in Tokyo. By day it’s your perch from which to wonder at Mount Fuji, by night a front-row seat for watching a sea of city lights sparkle. Its never-ending rooms are as sleek and contemporary in design as they are vast in space; rich grey fabrics, floor-to-ceiling windows and lavish marble-clad bathrooms. The hot tub – and pool – feel equally indulgent and you can dine at one of seven restaurants, choosing between sushi, kaiseki, tempura and teppanyaki.
Pool Y
Spa Y
Price room-only doubles from £1,520
4. The Millennials Shibuya, Shibuya
Best for hipsters
If you thought that Shoreditch and Brooklyn were full of hipsters, brace yourself for the mad world of the Harajuku district. For some young Tokyoites, every day is Halloween here — no costume is too wacky, and no style is too strange. Matching this outlandish locale, The Millennials Shibuya offers a new high-tech take on the famous capsule hotel model, with beds that morph from seats to beds in front of their own projector TVs. They also have a (very) happy hour every day, with free beer for all guests.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £140
5. Palace Hotel Tokyo, Marunouchi
Best for Imperial Palace views
It’s hard to beat Palace Hotel Tokyo for location — sitting adjacent to the Imperial Palace and overlooking its gardens, its 1-1-1 Marunouchi address is among the most expensive in Japan. The rooms are remarkably spacious, especially the Premier Suites introduced in 2022 to mark the tenth anniversary of its opening. Tradition is key here and is what draws its often kimono-clad guests. Afternoon tea is served on lacquerware stands while its Japanese restaurant Wadakura has private rooms with tatami flooring. Esterre, the Michelin-starred collaboration with legendary French chef Alain Ducasse, has handmade washi paper adorning its walls.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price B&B doubles from £690
6. BnA STUDIO Akihabara, Akihabara
Best for families
For some, visiting Akihabara will be a trip to the Tokyo of their imagination. Once dubbed Electric Town, today it’s the heart of the city’s nerd (or otaku) culture, with thousands of computer games on offer in colossal arcades, a dizzying selection of tech shops, manga and anime meccas and (in)famous maid cafés. Leaning into its unsubtle surroundings, the BnA STUDIO is a loud art hotel in the heart of the action. Rooms are designed by local Japanese artists, including one by the wonderfully named collective 81 Bastards.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £221
7. Grand Hyatt Tokyo, Roppongi
Best for restaurant choice
If hotels are supposed to match their surroundings, the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills fulfils the brief admirably. This huge, stylish hotel is cool enough to tempt well-to-do residents from this much-envied postcode to join hotel guests in dining here (there’s a choice of ten excellent restaurants). Any first-time visitors to the city will be able to begin their sushi journey at Roku Roku, while Shunbou offers much more elaborate kaiseki menus. For anyone who can’t be bothered to leave their room, it’s possible to get room service delivered to your balcony.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price room-only doubles from £568
8. Azabu Ten Tokyo, Higashiazabu
Best for Tokyo parklife
The Azabu Ten, just a short walk from the Tokyo Tower, opened in the summer of 2019 and got off to a slow start as the pandemic shut down the world — but this petite property has impressed almost everyone who has been able to stay. The proximity of Shiba Park is one of the hotel’s real selling points. As well as the tower, Tokyo’s oldest public park hosts the Momiji-dani, a valley filled with trees that look especially gorgeous in autumn.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £250
9. Ryokan Sawanoya, Yanaka
Best for tradition
While ryokans are more typically associated with Kyoto and rural areas of Japan, Tokyo has managed to retain a few amid its rampant growth over the past 70 years. Few are more popular, or offer a more traditional Japanese experience, than Ryokan Sawanoya. Guests will be expected to leave their shoes at the door and wear yukatas (cotton kimonos) inside. Nights are spent sleeping on futons rolled out on the tatami mat floors, while the Yama family will do their utmost to make sure you’re comfortable. Even their website feels traditional, having been designed in the 1990s and stayed almost heroically lo-fi ever since.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £68
sawanoya.com
10. Park Hyatt Tokyo, Shinkjuku
Best for city views
As far as free marketing goes, few hotels have enjoyed more than the Park Hyatt thanks to Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost in Translation. Back then it was one of the finest hotels in Tokyo, and while it’s no longer a new kid on the mega block, it’s still very popular and provides excellent service in the ever lively Shinjuku neighbourhood. The 47th-floor swimming pool is one of the highest in the world and offers incredible city views. On clear days it might even be possible to see mighty Mount Fuji too. Even if you’re not staying, it’s worth dropping by for a dizzying cocktail and to compare settings from the film; the friendly staff take it all in their stride.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price room-only doubles from £960
11. Andon Ryokan, Nihonzutsumi
Best for old meets new
While super-traditional ryokans are rare in Tokyo, modern takes on the historic Japanese inn formula have become more common. Few do this better, or for a more reasonable price, than Andon Ryokan. Instead of hot baths there are Jacuzzis, and there are plenty of western dishes alongside Japanese options at breakfast. That said, guests can still participate in authentic tea ceremonies, while it’s futons rather than four-poster beds in the rooms. Anyone staying here will also be walking distance from the Kappabashi district, renowned for expertly crafted tempered steel kitchen knives.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £55
12. Hoshinoya Tokyo, Otemachi
Best for couples
There are many fine hotels close to the Imperial Palace gardens but none quite like Hoshinoya. At once a modern luxury hotel, ryokan and skyscraper, it offers a uniquely Japanese experience in the heart of Tokyo that begins with the impossibly enthusiastic greeting. Incredibly, there’s an onsen on the 17th floor, allowing guests to unwind in hot spring water at an improbable altitude. The decor is authentic and practical, with tactile touches tempting you every few yards as you pad around in your yukata and slippers. In the low-lit, wonderfully pared-back basement restaurant you will be served the executive chef Noriyuki Hamada’s exquisite French-Japanese creations; factor in the whole evening for dining because you will spend plenty of time lingering over each dish before reluctantly compromising the quite extraordinary presentation.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £554
13. Conrad Tokyo, Shiodome
Best for location
The Conrad may not be the most imaginative hotel in Tokyo but its service is first-rate and it has an enviable location in Ginza. A host of Japanese artists have contributed to works around the property too, while its position — spread over eight floors of a 37-storey skyscraper — afford it superb city views. The five restaurants on site are worth considering but for gourmands, the fact that the property is walking distance from a hat-trick of three-Michelin-starred restaurants will alone justify the reservation.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price room-only doubles from £470
14. Trunk (House), Shinjuku
Best for your own private world
The geisha districts in Kyoto and Kanazawa may be more famous but Tokyo’s Kagurazaka was once renowned too. Opened in 2019, Trunk (House) has been built inside an old Geisha training school. The novelty doesn’t stop there — it has just a single room and, intriguingly, a miniature nightclub as well. Karaoke is available on request but such is the bijou nature of this unique boutique property that you won’t have to worry about a big audience. The decor is a clever blend of traditional Japanese and western, while the cypress-wood bath will feel like a treat for anyone who makes time for it.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £4,652
trunk-house.com/en/tokyosalon
15. Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu, Shibuya
Best for nightlife
Tokyo has more oddities than most cities, and not just because of its colossal size. It perhaps shouldn’t be surprising, then, that one of the most popular experiences is simply crossing a road. Thousands of pedestrians simultaneously cross Shibuya Junction during rush hour and this intense activity has resulted in it being featured in dozens of films. The Shibuya Stream Excel is remarkably close to this curious attraction, and all of Shibuya’s great nightlife. The decor inside is western in style, with exposed brick and polished woodwork to the fore, and the Torrent Bar is ideal for a couple of looseners before heading out into Shibuya’s sea of neon in the evening.
Spa N
Pool N
Price room-only doubles from £204
16. The Peninsula Tokyo, Marunouchi
Best for early check-in/late check-out
With a dedicated exit from Hibiya Station, the Peninsula Tokyo is all about thoughtful extras. Take the dressing tables for example, where a discreet fan exists solely to dry your nail polish. Need to send something to the laundry? There’s a dedicated cubby where you can leave items for your valet and vice versa. Even the smallest rooms resemble suites, with their own seating area and double-sinked bathrooms. But perhaps best of all is Peninsula Time — you can check in from 6am on arrival and enjoy a late check out of 10pm.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price room-only doubles from £870
17. The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon
Best for guests with tattoos
A hotel with a pool is virtually useless in Japan if you have tattoos; while no longer illegal, body art is still frowned upon due to their association with the yakuza (the Japanese mafia), with guests often asked to leave gyms, pools and bath houses. Not so at the Tokyo EDITION, where cocktail maestros in the edgy Gold Bar proudly sport them. Modernity streaks through the rest of the property too, from the indoor jungle that’s the lobby to the spacious rooms in muted colours reminiscent of Scandi-chic and Japanese minimalism.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price room-only doubles from £715