Tokyo Hotels

There are many types of accommodations available in Tokyo, from hotels, ryokan (Japanese style inns), minshuku (Japanese style tourist homes) to youth hostels (YH). The grade of the hotels varies widely from luxury five-star hotels to economical business hotels, allowing tourists to choose one that fits their budget. Many major hotels are conveniently located for shopping and sightseeing and are easy to access from/to both Narita and Haneda Airports by an airport limousine. Although it is better to make a reservation in advance of your trip, you will find a place to stay easily from a number of choices even after you arrive in Japan. Hotel reservation counters are available at both airports.

While the ryokans and minshukus are not common in central Tokyo, they are the majority of accommodations available in the countryside, including Tokyo's islands. The room charge generally includes a dinner and breakfast, which gives you a chance to try a local cuisine. Some ryokans and minshukus have hot spring baths. If you would like to experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle with tatami mat, futon, yukata, washoku and so on, the ryokans and minshukus should be your choice to stay.

As for the youth hostels, six locations are available in Tokyo. The youth hostels are popular worldwide among frequent tourists for their clean, comfortable room at reasonable charge. Although the youth hostels accept basically only those who has a membership, Tokyo International Youth Hostel accepts non-member guests with an advanced reservation. You may also stay at other youth hostels if you pay some additional fee (about 1,000 yen) to the member's room charge.

There are various types of parking facilities available in Tokyo. Basement parking at commercial buildings, ground parking lots, and parking towers are common, although there is no unified sign like traffic signs they use to indicate themselves (many of the parking facilities use a capital letter of "P"). While it could be troublesome to find a parking space when you are driving unfamiliar areas, a car navigation system may help you to determine where to park as it can tell the location of the parking facility on the map. Even without the navigation system, finding a parking space in Tokyo shouldn't be so difficult. It is worth doing some advance researches and know more than one parking facility near your destination, since the ones on a convenient location are popular and could be full in many cases. Parking charge is usually around 500 to 600 yen per an hour in central Tokyo.

Remember that illegal parking, including street parking in a prohibited zone, will be punished with no exception whether you are a tourist from overseas or not. It is recommended to park your car always at an appropriate parking facility to avoid receiving a fine.