Location is everything for your Tokyo hotel. You’ve come a long way to live at a hotel that’s 20 minutes walk from the closest subway station and another half hour subway ride from Shibuya – the best way to go is to find a tiny hotel that is located above a convenient subway line close to the action. Which means: unless you want to spend three days in the Tokyo National Museum and walking with all the other tourists up and down Nakamise dori in Asakusa, don’t get a hotel way up north of Ueno.

Find a place walking distance from nightlife spots like Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi, etc. since trains stop running a bit past midnight. Unless you want to stay out until first train/the sun comes up (not difficult to do…) you’ll be stuck in the middle of Tokyo with nowhere but a capsule hotel, love hotel or Manga Kissa (actually, good for adventurous travelers) to stay. For more options stop by the Welcome Inn Reservation Counters provided by the JNTO before exiting the Narita Airport, near Yurakucho Station, or online for qualifying (speak English, Â¥8000/Â¥13000 single/double per night or lower) hotels, and they’ll help you through it personally. If you’re looking for the "real" Tokyo experience? The cramped, modern hotels, like the Granbell and Tokyu Stay Aoyama Premier below are it.

Looking for something more traditional? Rather than stay in a poorly-located "traditional inn" that’ll lock you out past 10PM in the backwood Tokyo suburbs, head off to a Ryokan in Hakone Yumoto for hot springs, nature, and legitimate, traditional Japan.

Tipping is almost never expected or accepted, for eating, bellhops, etc – the excellent service you recieve everywhere is customary of Japanese culture. However, visiting traditional Ryokan where they serve you meals in your room, it is customary to offer Â¥2000-3000 in new bills, wrapped in tissue paper or ina Kokoroduke Bukuro envelope when first introduced to the room, per family.