Tokyo Great Values

The soaring Tokyo Metropolitan Government offices are just outside your window here, and on a clear day, you can see Mt. Fuji. Keio Plaza was the first mighty tower to pop up in this skyscraper farm of a neighborhood west of the transit hub of Shinjuku station. And big it is – nearly 1,500 rooms in two towers (upgrade to the Plaza Premier level for the most contemporary rooms) – but somehow that really makes it feel like Tokyo. In fact, it really is like a mini-city with a spin-the-globe selection of restaurants (French, Italian, Korean, tempura and more), medical clinic and drugstore, plus a beauty salon and men’s sauna. Insider’s tip: Be sure to sign up for the free Executive International Club card prior to your stay for on-site rewards like complimentary buffet breakfast and evening wine receptions.

Perched atop an office building (the lobby’s on the 24th floor and the rooms go up from there), the Royal Park offers low-key luxury – white linens, internet built into the TV, and fogless bathroom mirrors – at a very decent price. Many rooms have views across Hama Rikyu Gardens and Tokyo Bay.

Shibuya branch of a beloved suburban sushi bar, offering the same quality and reasonable prices....more

You’ll be as dazzled by the views (from the 52nd floor of a Shinjuku skyscraper) as you are by...more

The name comes from a long Japanese tradition of tachinomiya (literally “standing-while-drinking house”), and this one offers a traditional Japanese aesthetic of lanterns and exposed beams, plus cheap drinks (try the shochu, Japanese vodka).

The name of this trendy café which is hidden down a side street in the fashionable...more

Ramen (Chinese-style noodles in broth) is an obsession among the Japanese – particularly...more