Where to stay in Tokyo: the best areas compared

For most first-time visitors, the best area to stay in Tokyo is Shibuya or Shinjuku. Both have Narita Express stations, direct airport buses and big nightlife districts. Pick Ginza or Tokyo Station if you plan shinkansen day trips, Asakusa for old Tokyo and direct airport trains, Ueno for the fastest train to Narita, and Roppongi only if late nights are the point of the trip.

Tokyo is big but well connected, so no choice here is a mistake. What changes is how many minutes you spend on trains each day and what is outside the door at 22:00.

The six areas compared

Fares checked October 2026.

Area	Best for	Airport links	Trains to know	Watch out for
Shibuya	First-timers, nightlife, shopping	N’EX from Narita ¥3,330; Haneda bus ¥1,300	JR Yamanote, Ginza Line terminus	Station rebuild to FY2034; drink-spiking warning
Shinjuku	First-timers, Fuji day trips	N’EX ¥3,330; hotel airport buses	JR Yamanote, Fuji buses from Busta Shinjuku	Kabukicho at night
Ginza / Tokyo Station	Shinkansen trips, families	N’EX to Tokyo ¥3,140	Tokaido and Tohoku Shinkansen, Ginza Line	Farther from Shibuya and Shinjuku
Asakusa	Old Tokyo, temples	Direct trains to Haneda and Narita	Toei Asakusa Line, Ginza Line terminus	19 Ginza Line stops from Shibuya
Roppongi	Nightlife, art	No N’EX station	Hibiya and Oedo lines	Drink-spiking warning
Ueno	Museums, Narita flights	Skyliner to Narita from 41 min	JR, Ginza Line, Keisei	No Narita Express stop

One line ties four of these areas together. The Tokyo Metro Ginza Line runs from Shibuya through Omote-sando, Ginza and Ueno to Asakusa, 19 stations in all, so Shibuya, Ginza, Ueno and Asakusa never need a change between them.

Getting in from Narita

Narita is the airport that makes the choice of area matter most, because it is far out. Checked October 2026; times are the fastest or typical figures the operators give.

Base	Train from Narita	Time
Shibuya	Narita Express, ¥3,330	About 90 min (hotel figure)
Shinjuku	Narita Express, ¥3,330	About 80 min (hotel figure)
Tokyo Station	Narita Express, ¥3,140	From 53 min
Ueno	Keisei Skyliner to Keisei Ueno	From 41 min
Asakusa	Keisei Access Express through to the Toei Asakusa Line	About 50 min
Roppongi	No Narita Express or Skyliner station	Change trains

From Haneda, Shibuya has a ¥1,300 airport bus and Asakusa a direct Keikyu and Toei train. Our Haneda to Shibuya guide compares every option.

Shibuya

Shibuya is where this site lives, so we will be plain about it: it is the easiest base for a first trip. The Narita Express stops here (¥3,330 from Narita, October 2026), the airport limousine bus from Haneda costs ¥1,300, and the JR Yamanote Line, the Ginza Line and the Hanzomon and Fukutoshin lines all meet at the station. Harajuku and Omotesando are within walking distance.

Two downsides. The station area is a building site, with the main redevelopment scheduled to run to FY2034, so walking routes change. And at night, the UK Foreign Office lists Shibuya among Tokyo’s high-risk areas for drink spiking. Street drinking near the station is banned every night from 18:00 to 05:00.

Hotels:

• SHIBUYA STREAM HOTEL (formerly Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu) is directly connected to the station, 1 to 2 minutes from the JR New South gate, and a little away from the crossing crowds.
• Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel is a full-service tower hotel 5 minutes from the station, with airport limousine buses to the door: about 60 minutes from Haneda and 85 from Narita.

Our Shibuya hotels guide covers more options, from capsule pods to crossing-view rooms.

Shinjuku

Shinjuku has the same Narita Express fare as Shibuya and its own airport buses. It is also where the highway buses to Mount Fuji leave from, at Busta Shinjuku. Kabukicho, the nightlife quarter east of the station, is the area the UK Foreign Office says most British drink-spiking victims were targeted in. Don’t follow street touts into bars, there or anywhere.

Hotels:

• Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo is 5 minutes from the West Exit and runs its own limousine buses to Narita and Haneda. The whole hotel closes from 14:00 on 16 February to 12:00 on 17 February 2027 for an electrical inspection.
• Hotel Gracery Shinjuku has 970 rooms in the Shinjuku Toho Building in Kabukicho, 5 minutes from the JR East Exit. Its own site showed rooms from ¥22,230 a night (checked October 2026).

Torn between the two? Our Shibuya vs Shinjuku guide compares them point by point.

Ginza and Tokyo Station

Tokyo Station is the terminus for the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka and the Tohoku Shinkansen north, and the Narita Express stops here too (¥3,140 from Narita, October 2026). If your plan has several day trips by bullet train, staying here saves you a transfer every time. Ginza, next door, is on the Ginza Line to Shibuya and Asakusa.

Hotels:

• The Tokyo Station Hotel opened in 1915 inside the station’s brick Marunouchi building, restored by 2012. It is the splurge pick.
• Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza PREMIER is on the Shimbashi side of Ginza: 4 minutes from Shimbashi on the Ginza Line and 5 minutes from JR Shimbashi.

Asakusa

Asakusa is the old-Tokyo choice. Senso-ji, whose history the temple traces back to 628, is the centre of the district; its main hall opens at 6:00 (6:30 from October to March). The other strong point is airports. The Toei Asakusa Line runs through onto the Keikyu line to Haneda and the Keisei line to Narita, so both airports are a single train away.

The downside is distance from the west side of the city: Asakusa is at the opposite end of the Ginza Line from Shibuya.

Hotel:

• THE GATE HOTEL KAMINARIMON by HULIC is 2 minutes from Asakusa Station exit 2 on the Ginza Line and 3 minutes from the Toei Asakusa Line, near the Kaminarimon gate of Senso-ji.

Roppongi

Roppongi is a nightlife district with a major art museum. The Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills is normally open until 22:00 (17:00 on Tuesdays), which suits a late evening. The same UK Foreign Office warning applies here as in Shibuya and Kabukicho, and Roppongi has no Narita Express or Ginza Line station, so airport days take longer.

Hotel:

• Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Tokyo PREMIER is 5 minutes from Roppongi Station exit 5 on the Hibiya and Oedo lines.

Ueno

Ueno suits museum lovers and anyone flying from Narita. The Keisei Skyliner runs from Keisei Ueno to Narita Airport in as little as 41 minutes. Ueno Park holds the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art in its Le Corbusier building, and Ueno Zoo. Ueno is also on the Ginza Line, so Shibuya is a direct ride.

Hotels:

• Mitsui Garden Hotel Ueno is 2 minutes from the JR Ueno Asakusa exit and 6 minutes from Keisei Ueno, where the Skyliner starts.
• NOHGA HOTEL UENO TOKYO is 3 minutes from the Ginza and Hibiya line exits and 5 minutes from JR Ueno.

Two things to know before you book

Book early for the busy weeks. JNTO names New Year, Golden Week (from 29 April) and Obon in mid-August as Japan’s busiest travel periods, and late March is cherry blossom season; our best time to visit Tokyo guide has the dates.

From 1 April 2027, Tokyo’s accommodation tax changes to 3 percent of the room charge per person per night, collected at check-in on top of the rate (Hotel Indigo’s worked example: a ¥80,000 room for one guest adds ¥2,400).

Our recommendation by visitor type

• First trip to Tokyo: Shibuya. One station gives you the airport train, the Yamanote Line and the Ginza Line to the old east side. Start with SHIBUYA STREAM HOTEL.
• Nightlife: Shibuya, close enough to walk back from the bars, with Harajuku and Omotesando nearby for the daytime. The UK drink-spiking warning covers Shibuya, Kabukicho and Roppongi alike, so watch your drink in all three.
• Families: Tokyo Station. The shinkansen and the Narita Express leave from the station, so day trips and the airport run need no transfers.
• Old Tokyo and temples: Asakusa, with direct trains to both airports.
• Museums or an early Narita flight: Ueno.
• Fuji day trip on the itinerary: Shibuya or Shinjuku, which both have direct buses to Kawaguchiko. See our Mount Fuji day trip from Tokyo guide.
• Budget: Shibuya, where our Shibuya hotels guide lists capsule pods and a hostel.