Shinjuku is where Tokyo’s skyscrapers and its small-bar nightlife sit close together. This guide helps you choose a side of Shinjuku to stay on, compares two luxury hotels using their own official information, explains how to visit the Golden Gai bar district, and covers Tokyo’s accommodation tax.

Step 1: Choose a side of Shinjuku

Shinjuku Station has a west side and an east side. The two hotels below are on the west side. Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo says it is a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of Shinjuku Station and a 1-minute walk from Tocho-mae Station. Golden Gai is on the other side of the station. The official Tokyo travel guide, GO TOKYO, says it is a few minutes from the east exit of Shinjuku Station, next to the busy Kabukicho area, and lists it as a 5-minute walk from the station. If you want to visit Golden Gai, plan your route across the station.

Step 2: Compare two luxury hotels

The details below come from each hotel’s official information, checked on October 28, 2026. Features and offers change, so check the hotel’s page before you book.

Park Hyatt Tokyo. According to Hyatt’s press release of December 9, 2025, the hotel reopened after a 19-month restoration. It opened in 1994 as the first Park Hyatt hotel in Asia, and it occupies the upper 14 floors (39 to 52) of Shinjuku Park Tower. The release says the studio Jouin Manku redesigned the hotel’s 171 rooms.

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo. The hotel is in Nishi-Shinjuku, a 5-minute walk from the West Exit of Shinjuku Station. It says it runs direct limousine buses to Narita and Haneda airports every day, and that from Narita Airport the Narita Express train takes about 80 minutes to reach Shinjuku Station. Its Premier Grand rooms are located 160 meters above the city and include access to a Club Lounge. The hotel also has a sky pool.

Step 3: Visit Golden Gai with respect

According to GO TOKYO, Golden Gai has around 280 bars in a tight six-row block of alleys. Many bars seat only five or six people at a time, and some bars are for members only. Most bars open around 20:00.

The Shinjuku Golden Gai Shopping District Promotion Association asks visitors to follow these points. The district is on private property. Do not smoke on the pathways, and do not walk around with a drink. Get approval before taking photos or video. Do not hang around or make noise in the alleys. Visit in small groups of two or three people, and check with the bar before you enter. Most bars charge a seat fee, called otoshi-dai, which comes with a small dish and is separate from the drinks. It ranges from 500 to 1,500 yen (about $3 to $9.50) depending on the bar, and some bars do not charge tourists. The association advises checking the prices before you sit down, because a few bars have no menu.

Step 4: Check the cancellation terms

Rates and cancellation terms differ by hotel, by room type and by rate plan. Read the terms on the page you book, and check that they match your travel plans before you pay.

Step 5: Know Tokyo’s accommodation tax

Tokyo’s accommodation tax currently applies to stays of 10,000 yen (about $63) or more per person, per night: 100 yen (about $0.60) for 10,000 yen to under 15,000 yen (about $95), and 200 yen (about $1.30) for 15,000 yen and above. From April 1, 2027, the system changes. The tax becomes 3% of the accommodation fee, and stays under 13,000 yen (about $82) per person, per night are exempt, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s announcement of June 30, 2026. Check whether the price shown on the booking page includes the tax.

Dollar amounts in this guide are approximate, at about 158 yen to the dollar on October 29, 2026. Exchange rates change, so check the current rate.

Where to book

Trip.com lists both hotels. Each listing shows its own room types, price and cancellation terms, so compare them before you book.

Sources: Hyatt Newsroom, “Park Hyatt Tokyo Reopens Following 19-Month Renovation” (December 9, 2025); Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo, official site (Access); GO TOKYO, “Shinjuku Golden Gai” (official Tokyo travel guide); Shinjuku Golden Gai Shopping District Promotion Association, “Drinking Lessons”; Tokyo Metropolitan Government, accommodation tax announcement (June 30, 2026, in Japanese). Photos: Francesco Albanese, jesus esteban (Pexels).

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• Shopping in Ginza: Four Stores to Visit and How Japan’s New Tax-Free Refund Works

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