Best hotels and hostels in Tokyo

In creating this contemporary ryokan in the heart of Tokyo, Hoshinoya has barely put a foot wrong, overcoming a location boxed in by office towers. Staying here is all about insulating yourself from the city in a...

Overlooking the Imperial Palace from atop Ōtemachi Tower, this outstanding hotel incorporates natural materials – including dark stone walls, blonde wood and white washi (Japanese handmade paper) – into its...

About 2km north of Asakusa, the contemporary Andon Ryokan is fabulously designed in form and function. It has 20 tiny but immaculate tatami rooms, bathrooms decorated with specially commissioned manga art, and a...

Occupying the top six floors of Toranomon Hills, this sophisticated hotel exudes class and offers panoramic views all around. The best of Japanese craftsmanship, including beautiful carpentry and washi paper, has...

A project of Tokyo University of the Arts, Hanare offers five immaculate tatami rooms in an old dormitory house, which has been tastefully upgraded to retain original features such as wooden beams. There is a...

This eyrie atop a Tange Kenzō–designed skyscraper in west Shinjuku looks no less tasteful and elegant than when it opened more than 20 years ago, and it remains a popular spot for visiting celebrities. The rooms...

Sawanoya is a gem in quiet Yanaka, run by a very friendly family and with all the traditional hospitality you would expect of a ryokan. The shared cypress and earthenware baths are the perfect balm after a long...

Opened in 2018, Mimaru has beautifully designed rooms with fully equipped kitchens and proper bathrooms (no pokey unit baths!). Its apartment studios, some with Japanese tatami (tightly woven floor matting)...

The Bakurochō area has exploded with flashpacker hostels in the last few years – this is one of the biggest and the best. The trendy young staff are very helpful, and both dorms and private rooms (all share...

This industrial-looking hostel ticks all the boxes, with a super-convenient location above the subway and a relatively short walk or taxi ride from Marunouchi and Ginza. A clever configuration of wooden-cubicle...

Mustard is the most exciting of Shibuya's new crop of hotels. The glossy white interior is the work of design firm Tripstar, and there are a variety of sleeping spaces to accommodate different budgets. The hotel...

Five different artists and artist groups have brought their creative visions to the studio apartments here. Designs are influenced by colourful street art and local culture – we love the minimalist Zen Garden...

Opened in November 2018, this super-stylish hotel ups the ante on midrange digs around Ueno. Fronted by attractive greenery and with a very pleasant restaurant-lounge area, Nohga's developers have incorporated...

The rooms at this well-run hotel with English-speaking staff are typically small but come with tatami floors (even though you sleep on beds) and other Japanese touches. Breakfast is served in the top-floor...

One of the cheapest places to sleep in chic Ginza is this capsule hotel, which is suitably contemporary in its stylings. For a bit more headroom than in your average capsule, request one of the corner pods when...

In a former warehouse, this stylish hostel has rooms with high ceilings, translating to bunks you can comfortably sit up in. There's also an enormous shared kitchen and work space. Best of all is the ground-floor...

While the beloved original 1962 hotel has been demolished to make way for a new building (set to open in September 2019), the Ōkura's elegant South Wing remains intact – and long may it do so! Rooms are bright,...

With its prestigious address, the gorgeous Palace Hotel offers the refinement and elegance that its name suggests. Sniff the botanically perfumed air as you stride its plush corridors. Request a room with a...

This is your chance to stay in a beautiful wooden building (which dates to 1920) that has been turned into one of Tokyo's most attractive hostels. Dorms with wooden bunks open onto a deck with a view of a...

Kudos to the Park Hotel for commissioning 31 artists to decorate 31 of its 31st-floor rooms. The results are very impressive with all-Japanese themes ranging from sumo and Zen to yokai (monsters) and geisha. See...