9 unique places to stay in Tokyo

Welcome to Tokyo, where you can bed down among books or sleep in a fiberglass capsule, where robots complete the check-in process and Godzilla looms large. Sure, the city has plenty of ordinary hotels, but who comes to Tokyo for ordinary? Here are our picks for the most unique stays in Tokyo.

1. Hotel Gracery in Shinjuku

Best for Godzilla fans

Tokyo loves a themed venue, and you can find decor inspired by popular characters at cafes, bars and hotels around the city, like Hello Kitty at the Keio Plaza Hotel and Gundam at the Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba. But Hotel Gracery takes the concept to another level, with a giant – maybe even life-size? – statue of Godzilla on the rooftop. In addition to looking like he’s about to take a bite out of the building, every so often he roars to life, with glowing eyes and smoky breath.

A portmanteau of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira), Godzilla is the king of the kaijū (strange beasts) that ruled the country's popular cinema for decades, and Hotel Gracery occupies the top floors of the Shinjuku Toho Building, named for the production company that brought him to life. The rooms themselves are modest, except for one that's kitted out in Godzilla paraphernalia and another with a direct view of the statue.

Themed bars nearby: Deathmatch in Hell (death metal), Bar Cinema Club (film), Bar Plastic Model (music and books)

2. Ryokan Sawanoya in Yanesen

Best traditional inn

Ryokan (Japanese inns) offer a traditional experience, with tatami (woven floor matting) in rooms and futons on the floor instead of beds. They can be modern structures or rambling wooden buildings that look straight out of a ukiyo-e (woodblock) print, humble inns or the height of luxury. Many travelers look to Kyoto for a ryokan experience, but it can be had in Tokyo too.

Ryokan are famous for hospitality, and that’s where Ryokan Sawanoya really shines. This inn, run by the same family for three generations, has been welcoming international guests for decades and is beloved by travelers. In addition to the cozy rooms, there are traditional soaking tubs with garden views (available for private use by couples or families). It’s in Yanesen, which is one of Tokyo’s most attractive districts, with many wooden buildings from the early 20th century.

What’s nearby: Tokyo National Museum, Ueno-kōen, Yanaka Ginza

3. 9 Hours in Shinjuku

Best capsule hotel

Capsule hotels offer a sleeping space the size of a single bed, with just enough headroom for you to sit up. It’s like a bunk bed with more privacy – there’s usually a curtain to seal off the entrance, in addition to plastic or fiberglass walls on three sides.

Capsule hotels became popular in Japan in the 1980s, during the height of the country’s work-hard-play-hard economic bubble, supposedly as a place for commuters to get a few hours of shut-eye before heading back to the office. While not for the claustrophobic, capsule hotels are definitely among the more unique accommodations in Tokyo. They’re a neat experience as an alternative to a hostel, but they do have their own conventions, such as gender-segregated floors.

The central Shinjuku North location of the traveler-friendly 9 Hours is our pick for first-time capsule-hotel guests, as all of the policies are explained in English. Also, the capsules are styled as futuristic space pods, and there are private shower booths instead of the usual communal baths.

What’s nearby: Golden Gai, Hanazono-jinja

4. Reversible Destiny Lofts in Mitaka

Best apartment rental

This is a rare opportunity to sleep within one of Tokyo’s most eccentric architectural landmarks, the Reversible Destiny Lofts. Designed by the husband and wife team of Arakawa Shūsaku and Madeleine Gins and completed in 2005, this housing complex has nine units, with undulating floors, spherical dens and ceiling hooks for hammocks and swings. It's meant to create a sensory experience beyond the visual – though the building is plenty colorful – and maximum wonderment.

Two of the apartments are available as short-term rentals. One sleeps two, and the other sleeps four; both have kitchens and washing machines. The rest are rented out to long-term tenants.

What’s nearby: Ghibli Museum, Inokashira Park

5. Book and Bed in Shinjuku

Best for bibliophiles

Hostels have long had small libraries – a bookshelf in the corner where guests could exchange their tattered paperbacks for new reads. Book and Bed asks the question: What if the library was given equal prominence as the sleeping areas?

The answer: sleeping cubbies fitted into plywood floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, filled with comic books, novels, travelogues and essay collections. The majority of the publications are in Japanese, but there is a selection of English reading material, including Japanese fiction in translation and books written in English about Japanese culture and history.

Book and Bed is also open during the afternoon as a lounge space (700 Japanese yen per hour) to visitors who aren’t staying over – great for a rainy day or resting before heading to Shinjuku's bars and restaurants.

What’s nearby: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku-gyoen

6. Muji Hotel in Ginza

Best for shopping

Fashion-forward Ginza is the domain of luxury boutiques, sophisticated cafes, high-end restaurants and grand shopping complexes. Many international luxury brands have their flagship stores here, and the buildings themselves are examples of great design and architecture – elevated by their creative window displays.

Take your immersion into Japanese design even further by staying at Muji Hotel, entirely furnished and stocked with products from Japan’s favorite lifestyle store.

Shops nearby: Koju (for incense), Ōnoya (for textiles), Kyukyudo (for paper)

7. Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya in Dōgenzaka

Best for audiophiles

After WWII, bars dedicated to playing jazz records became a sanctuary from the increasingly frenetic city life in Japan. Called kissatens or kissa, these listening bars proliferated, prizing high-quality vinyl, top-line sound systems and finely curated playlists.

At the luxury high-rise Hotel Indigo, colorful rooms with towering views function as personal listening bars, with a handpicked collection of vinyl records for in-room use on request.

What's nearby: Shibuya Crossing, Hachikō Statue, Spain-zaka

8. Henn na Hotel in Maihama

Best for robots

Japan’s Henn na Hotel chain was the first to employ robots for every customer-facing function, from check-in to checkout. (Don’t worry: humans are around should any problems arise, though they probably won’t speak as many foreign languages as the robots do.)

The hotel made quite a splash when it debuted in 2015, and while automation is more common everywhere now, how many other robot workers look like a grouchy T. rex? There are several branches in Tokyo (and indeed across Japan, as well as in Seoul and New York City), but we pick the one in Maihama, where the dinosaur works.

What’s nearby: Tokyo Disney Resort

9. Dormy Inn Premium in Ginza

Best for onsen

Highly volcanic Japan has thousands of onsen (hot springs), which feed soaking tubs up and down the archipelago. Onsen can be in the form of naturally forming pools in the countryside to ryokan with private rotemburo (outdoor baths). While many travelers associate the springs with hiking and skiing, the blissful relaxation of good long bath after an urban day out may just make you an onsen fanatic.

Set yourself up at Dormy Inn to cap off your sightseeing in its real onsen, plus a postsoak ice cream.

What's nearby: Kabuki-za, Shiseido Gallery, Tsukiji Market