On my trip to Tokyo in May I was thrilled to find that my hotel had direct access via an overhead walkway (across the road and Shinjuku railway) to two of my favourite stores: Tokyu Hands and Kinokuniya.
Straight ahead into the door of Tokyu Hands, turn right and you're in Kinokuniya.Although I didn't buy any children's books at Kinokuniya I had a lot of fun browsing amongst them. Please excuse the light flares - the photos were all taken surreptitiously. The illustrations are all so lovely and fun that I wanted to share them despite the dodgy photos.
If you're looking for an inexpensive hotel in a fantastic location I would highly recommend the Hotel Sunroute Plaza in Shinjuku. It's a minute's walk from Shinjuku station and is clean and modern. The rooms are small, but you have to expect that in Tokyo. I booked my stay via Expedia. My only gripe was that the rooms were supposed to have WiFi, but they didn't. There is free internet access in the guest lounge downstairs, but there was always a queue to use the computers. The staff speak English and are very helpful. The airport limosine bus will drop you at the hotel and pick you up there on your return trip to the airport. It was a great option for me with all my heavy luggage going home.
On our previous trip to Japan last year we were in Tokyo for about 3 weeks, so we stayed in an apartment. We shared a 3 bedroom serviced apartment at the Oakwood Shinjuku with the firends we travelled with. It was a fantastic option when travelling as a family because Roxy and Amara (our friends' daughter) were able to go to bed at night without us disturbing them. We also had a full kitchen and a laundry - essentials when travelling for an extended period with kids. The Oakwood is on the opposite side of Shinjuku station to the Sunroute, and about a 10 minute walk away. There was also a great supermarket around the corner from the apartment and some fantastic ramen noodle bars close by.
Shinjuku is a great location because it is a central hub for the two rail networks, so it's never too difficult to get anywhere from there. It's also got a wonderful park to chill out in and great shopping.
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