oooohhh I’m feeling cheeky and controversial today, aren’t I?
Why controversial ? Well.. because some tourists ( and tour companies) get so grumpy when I say this.
If you have already booked accommodation in Shinjuku it’s really fine – you will still have an AWESOME holiday still, I promise! ( In fact, I wrote a post here on why you don’t need to stress if you already have accommodation booked in Shinjuku here.)
But if you’re starting planning your accommodation from scratch, here are some reasons that I think you should also look at areas OTHER than just Shinjuku.
1) The travel agents and tour companies have major accommodation kick backs in Shinjuku
This means that you will pay more and you will most likely be in a hotel with lots of other large touristy groups.
2) When you don’t really know where to go…. Shinjuku seems to pop up first
This is also why your travel agent who doesn’t really know about where to stay in Tokyo will send you here. It looks safe – and you know what.. it is. But its not the loveliest, the most central or the cheapest place to stay.
3) Because it is so well known, touristy and “sold” to you by your travel agent… the rooms are smaller but the prices higher
‘Tis true.
4) You may splurge and book Shinjuku because you want to be in the middle of everything but one thing you need to know is ….
It is hardly ever the most cost effective and not always the most convenient place to stay.
Many of the major brand hotels in Shinjuku are actually in Nishi-Shinjuku. Nishi = West … so it is West Shinjuku. Is it a gazillion miles away from JR Shinjuku Station ? Nope.
How far on foot though? 20-25 minutes OR you can take the subway OR you can take a cab. But.. doesn’t that defeat the purpose of why you chose to stay in Shinjuku ? You wanted to be in the middle of everything…and near the JR Yamanote line…. well… you just made your holiday just a little bit more inconvenient than you planned to … AND you paid more to do so,…
5) Shinjuku is touristy but that doesn’t mean that you will have the hand-holding touristy aspect/ peace of mind that you might be expecting
Shinjuku seems to pop up in people’s minds because it is spoken about in the movies and youtube clips etc. The movie, Lost in Translation, right?
When I’m nervous about a new country and I want to make sure I see all the things with a lot of help. I’m not scared of being in the cheesy spots in a major city because I want to see the Eiffel Tower or Times Square etc from my window. (The only exception that I would maybe go for is if I really could be sure that I could see the giant Shinjuku Godzilla Statue from my room ( The Hotel Gracery has some rooms where he is right outside the window.. make sure you get that room.) * Please note that Hotel Gracery Shinjuku is temporarily closing its doors August 1st, 2020.
But Shinjuku is, honestly, a little bit …no man’s land. You can get a room where you step out at night and it’s all neon and buzzing There aren’t a lot of sightseeing spots and the drinking spots ( if Golden Gai & Piss Alley are what you are after) are easily accessible from other places too.
Shinjuku isn’t more English friendly than other parts of Japan.
There aren’t more restaurants.
There are some great shopping complexes but , once again, you don’t need to live right next to them in order to go shopping.
6) Do I think you should still visit and spend time in Shinjuku ? Absolutely. I just don’t think you need to sleep there.
I LOVE getting up to this kind of thing during the day in Shinjuku.
I LOVE getting up to this kind of thing at night in Shinjuku.
7) The Kabukicho side of Shinjuku is pretty much the only part of Tokyo that I don’t feel safe walking around in the late afternoon / evening with my kids
Kabukicho is Tokyo’s red light district.
Now, don’t let me exaggerate here.. it is still Japan so it’s hardly the ghetto .. BUT … this is the area of massage parlors ( ie. lots of pictures outside shops that my kids don’t need to see and I CERTAINLY don’t need to be answering questions about) and spruikers ( I think this is Aussie slang? But I mean those people that hand out pamphlets and try to coax people into their stores/clubs) on the street, approaching pedestrians. When I’m with my kids I have never been approached as, clearly, we are not their target market ….but its just not a nice and safe vibe.
* Side note: I promise I’m not being a Nanna when I do highlight how dangerous it is to follow these people into their bars. I have heard horror stories ( one of them first hand) where people have been drugged and woken up with their bank accounts empty and passports gone. It’s a real thing. I can talk more about this if anyone is interested…
Oh and if you are looking for clubs and bars, there aren’t that many great bars in Shinjuku area ( especially nightclubs) so I wouldn’t base myself in Shinjuku for that reason. I would probably be more likely to look at Roppongi or parts of Shibuya.
8) The people who recommend Shinjuku have probably only ever stayed in Shinjuku
I’m a moderator of a large facebook group about Japan and the majority of people who get defensive about staying in Shinjuku are those who have their accommodation locked in already or they have only stayed in Shinjuku and have nothing to compare it to you. Shinjuku, for a first timer especially is shiny and loud and like a big computer game. But you don’t need to “live” there to experience this.
I’m not here to make anyone feel bad about their holiday but I do want to let people know that there are other options – more convenient, cheaper, more vibey and more “real Japan.”
9) If you, for one reason or another , MUST be in Shinjuku… these close by options are cheaper….
Still not my top places to stay but if you have a buddy in Shinjuku who needs you close by etc… I would look into accommodation in Takadanobaba or Shin-Okubo.
– even by just googling these names.. you will see a significant drop in accommodation prices
– they are still on the JR Yamanote (City loop) line
– you can still reach Shinjuku from these places on the subway in under 3-4 minutes!
– these are still built up areas so you will still get the BIG BIG city vibe
– if you are out drinking late in Shinjuku ( still, not my favourite area to drink in Tokyo but I do know why people like to do one night in Piss Alley and then Robot Restaurant – I wrote about Robot Restaurant here and why I love it here … I get it) you can take a 10 minute cab back to these places for 1600 yen ( before trains finish for the evening you can take the train, of course for less than 150 yen.)
10) Because, I find that the majority of the people who choose Japan to holiday.. chose Japan because they want something different & outside of the box
I mainly want to encourage you to just “shop around” and it doesn’t even require being more ballsy or brave. It doesn’t mean going to an area with no English around you or away from the Yamanote (city loop) line even.
Just look around for more. For more REAL Japan. For even more convenient options with lots of different sides to Japan close by. And, even, a more cost effective way to spend the night in Japan – get more “real Japan” for your buck ( yen?), I mean.
If you like this post, I think you will also really enjoy my post on the biggest mistakes I see tourists make when choosing accommodation in Tokyo.
See here for my favourite areas to stay, in Tokyo, with small children.
