Where to stay in Tokyo
Tokyo has several separate centres linked by rail, so your base decides your evenings, your airport run and your daily transfers.
Updated: 13 Oct 2026
Tokyo's main districts are spread out and tied together by rail: the JR Yamanote Line loops through Tokyo Station, Shinjuku and Shibuya, while Tokyo Metro and Toei subway lines fill the gaps, such as the Ginza Line out to Asakusa. Shinjuku to Shibuya is 7 minutes on the Yamanote, but Shinjuku to Asakusa takes about 35 minutes with a change at Kanda. Pick a base on the lines you will use most, including the one to your airport.
Quick picks
- First trip: Shinjuku. Shinjuku Station has about a dozen lines, including the JR Yamanote Line, plus Narita Express trains, and its exits open onto department stores, restaurants and bars.
- Food and evenings: Shibuya. Shibuya Yokocho's restaurants run from sushi and ramen to gyoza and yakitori, and Udagawacho and Maruyamacho add live music venues and clubs.
- A calmer base: Tokyo Station and Marunouchi. It is an office district beside the Imperial Palace rather than a nightlife hub, which tends to make evenings calmer, but the exact block and room still matter.
- Local feel: Asakusa. Locals have come here for decades to relax after dark, at the open-air yakitori stalls on Hoppy Street just west of Sensoji and in laid-back bars.
1. Shinjuku
Shinjuku-ku: around Shinjuku Station, including Kabukicho and Nishi-Shinjuku
What it is like: Skyscrapers fill Nishi-Shinjuku west of the station, and the east side is for shopping, dining and Kabukicho's late-night bars, all built around one huge station.
Good for: First trip to Tokyo, Late-night bars and food, Day trips toward Mount Fuji
Skip it if: You want calm streets outside your door, You find huge, crowded stations stressful
The catch: The station is labyrinthine, with about a dozen lines and millions of people passing through daily, and Kabukicho mixes hotels with bars that run through the night, so noise depends on the exact block and room.
Getting around: Shinjuku Station serves the JR Yamanote and Chuo lines, Narita Express trains, Tokyo Metro's Marunouchi Line, Toei's Shinjuku and Oedo lines, and Odakyu and Keio trains. JR limited expresses to Kawaguchiko and Matsumoto also stop here.
Nearby: Kabukicho, Golden Gai, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
Open in Google Maps, Sources: Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (GO TOKYO), Japan National Tourism Organization, East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.
2. Shibuya
Shibuya-ku: around Shibuya Station, including Dogenzaka and Udagawacho
What it is like: Shopping streets, live music venues and clubs fan out from the station, with the Scramble Crossing at its door and Harajuku a 20-minute walk away.
Good for: Fashion and lifestyle shopping, Clubs and live music, Walks to Harajuku and Omotesando
Skip it if: You find dense crowds draining, You want streets without building work
The catch: Crowds flood the crossing outside the station every two minutes, and the station area is in the final stage of a rebuild that Shibuya City expects to largely finish in fiscal 2030, so expect building work and changing walkways.
Getting around: Shibuya Station is on the JR Yamanote Line, 7 minutes from Shinjuku, and Narita Express trains stop here, as do Tokyo Metro's Ginza, Hanzomon and Fukutoshin lines, Tokyu lines and the Keio Inokashira Line.
Nearby: Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Shibuya Scramble Square, Shibuya Parco, Udagawacho
Open in Google Maps, Sources: Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (GO TOKYO), Shibuya City Office, Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
3. Asakusa
Taito-ku: Asakusa, around Sensoji Temple and the Sumida River
What it is like: You stay in a temple town on the Sumida River, where Sensoji and Nakamise's stalls fill the days and laid-back bars fill the evenings.
Good for: Temples and traditional streets, Direct trains to both airports, Sumida River walks
Skip it if: You plan most evenings in Shinjuku or Shibuya, You want a JR Yamanote Line station close by
The catch: Asakusa Station has no JR lines, so Shinjuku is about 35 minutes away with a change at Kanda, and with trains ending around midnight, late nights on the west side need planning.
Getting around: Asakusa Station is the end of Tokyo Metro's Ginza Line, which runs direct to Ueno, Ginza and Shibuya, and is also served by the Toei Asakusa Line and Tobu Skytree Line. Toei Asakusa Line through trains reach Haneda and Narita airports via Keikyu and Keisei tracks.
Nearby: Sensoji Temple, Kaminarimon, Nakamise shopping street, Azuma-bashi Bridge
Open in Google Maps, Sources: Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (GO TOKYO), Japan National Tourism Organization, Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Toei)
4. Tokyo Station and Marunouchi
Chiyoda-ku: Marunouchi and Tokyo Station (the Yaesu side, east of the tracks, is in Chuo-ku)
What it is like: You stay in an office district of towers and cobbled shopping streets, between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station, with Ginza a short walk east.
Good for: Shinkansen day trips, Airport trains and buses, Imperial Palace and Ginza walks
Skip it if: You want a lived-in neighbourhood feel, You want late-night bars outside your door
The catch: Marunouchi is an office and financial district, so it has more towers than neighbourhood streets. Tokyo Station, Japan's busiest by number of trains, splits into Marunouchi and Yaesu sides, so check which exit your hotel uses.
Getting around: Tokyo Station is on the JR Yamanote Line, the fastest Narita Express reaches it from Narita Airport in 53 minutes, and JR East's Tohoku, Hokuriku and Joetsu shinkansen start here. Tokyo Metro's Marunouchi Line runs direct to Ginza and Shinjuku.
Nearby: Imperial Palace, Marunouchi Naka-dori Street, KITTE, Ginza
Open in Google Maps, Sources: Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (GO TOKYO), East Japan Railway Company (JR East), Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd.
