So excited! just booked the hotel room for our stay in Tokyo for our honeymoon next Jan ^^

This is the initial travel itinerary:

Arrive in Tokyo - 23 Jan
Leave for Osaka and Kyoto - 26 Jan
Return to Tokyo - 29 Jan
Depart for Singapore - 31 Jan

We got our air tix to Tokyo from ANA at a special promo price of $795 per pax.





We will be taking the night flight from Singapore and arriving in Tokyo on 23 Jan at 8.35am morning. On our way back, it's also a night flight and guess what? there's a special new inflight Service provided by ANA:

New Inflight Service Debut on ANA Late Night Departure Flights from Oct 31, 2010.

Economy Class

• We invite you to take a good rest so you can wake up refreshed
  • Cabin lights will be dimmed from the moment you board to set the mood for a good sleep.
  • We will offer aromatherapy cards--"Relax". You may enjoy them before going to bed or after waking up.
    *We will distribute eyemasks, earplugs and other sleeping aid amenities.
• Enjoy ANA exclusive hot meals before arrival.
  • We will serve hot meals and Japanese traditional miso soup before arrival.
  • Passengers who wish to sleep are welcome to make use of the "Don't Disturb"card.

how cool is that??

For the first 3 nights stay in Tokyo,I actually wanted to book Oakwood Shinjuku where sha and I stayed our trip to Tokyo in 2008 which was such a nice place but when i tried to search for prices, i realized that it was no longer open for hotel stays by end 2009 due to a change in owner and now its only available as apartment houses for long term leasing only! Read here

So i did some research and shortlisted the following hotels near to the Shinjuku station. Shinjuku is a great place to stay in Tokyo because its the busiest station in Japan and well connected to other parts of Japan.


Shinjuku

Was thinking of either staying at the following hotels:

1. Best Western Shinjuku Astina Hotel Tokyo
2. Hilton Tokyo
   
3. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo
   
4. Annex Katsutaro (ryokan in Ueno area, no.1 rated in Tripadvisor)
   

All these hotels except the Annex are near to the Shinjuku station and had pretty good reviews in Tripadvisor (which is my trusty travel guide for planning any trip). Most keen on Keio Plaza because it is literally just outside Shinjuku station (5 mins walk), very good reviews on Tripadvisor and I recall during my trip in 2008 that it looked nice and was so convenient that i thought to myself if i ever have the chance, i must stay there!

I checked the rates at JTB @ Ion orchard, wego.com, japanican and other travel sites. Best Western Shinjuku sounded pretty good however i was more interested in Hilton Tokyo and Keio Plaza because they are very highly rated (four stars and above) and known to be more prestigious, like have the luxury feel haha. Between the both, of course my choice would be Keio because Hilton Tokyo you have to take a short shuttle bus to the Shinjuku station or walk 15-20 minutes, whereas for Keio Plaza its really at the doorstep of the station from the west exit.

JTB quoted $225 per night for Hilton Tokyo (my colleague stayed there) and Keio $250 plus per night so was going to settle for Hilton but today when i searched the net, i found this super good promo rate at $227 per night for Keio Plaza on chanbrother website!! Its for the Plaza Biz Plus room:



Furnishings and Fixtures

• Simmons mattress*
• Large business writing desk*
• Air purifier*
• Iron & ironing board*
• Espresso machine*
• TV (CNN, BBC ,ESPN, Discovery and movie channels)
• Two line phone jack
• Voicemail
• International direct dial
• Japanese bathrobes (Yukata)
• Mini bar
• Tea making facilities
• Bathroom amenities (towel, shampoo, conditioner, bath & shower gel, toothbrush, razor, shower cap, comb, hairdryer, etc)

Now we just need to settle the booking for Osaka and Kyoto and the remaining 2 nights in Tokyo!