Shinagawa Tobu Hotel

The room was clean and spacious, with good lighting and basic amenities. It’s a short walk from the station, and the staff greeted us with a smile. After a long day, the big tub was great for soaking. I’d stay again and recommend it.

The staff gave me very detailed directions when I asked, and the hotel is near the train station. The rooms are nice and accommodate everyone properly. There’s also a vending machine and coin laundry, which are convenient. I highly recommend it.

The friendly staff and vending machines on the second floor were about the only bright spots for our group from the southern USA. We spent a week at Shinagawa Tobu Hotel during the Tokyo part of our vacation, and we dreaded coming back each night. We’d chosen it because the listing said it had AC, which was a dealbreaker for us. We live with heat for 10 months of the year and like things cool, even in winter. At check-in, the front desk said there would only be heat and no AC. We hoped the 50-60 Fahrenheit weather might mean the room would be okay, but it was sweltering, with the heat blasting even after we turned off the air controls. The window only opened an inch, and bugs flew in right away. Even the steamy bathroom after a shower felt cooler than the bedroom. We rushed out to buy a small fan, but it only made things worse. None of us slept well the first night. There were no blankets, just sweating and no sleep. Ice melted in the bucket, and the fridge didn’t keep drinks cold. When we asked the front desk for help, they said the building was set to heat and offered fans. They also left a note in the room repeating that. To their credit, the fans helped, but unless you stood right in front of one, the room still felt like an oven. Four twin beds crammed into one small space were hard to manage for four people for a week. Two queen beds would have made a more practical layout. The beds bounced and weren’t very comfortable, though they weren’t the worst. The blankets were thick, but we barely used them because of the heat. Dust in the vents and black spots across the bathroom tiles added to the discomfort. There was grime and mildew in the shower vents, and by the second night we were all sneezing and stuffy, with the fans blowing the dust around. We also needed to do laundry. The online listing said there were facilities on site, and there were two washer-dryer combo machines. Washing and drying cost 500 yen, with another 100 for extra drying, which seemed reasonable. But the dryer didn’t seem to work. After three tries and 800 yen, we gave up on drying our T-shirts and hung them in the room, where the heat dried them quickly. We stayed up late to avoid getting in the way of other people doing laundry, but this took much longer than we expected. The walk uphill from Shinagawa Station wasn’t the end of the world, but after hauling luggage up there was no cool place to recover. If these issues wouldn’t bother you, the hotel may work for you. I know travelers from the US can have different needs from locals, but tourists, especially in the colder months, should know what to expect.

The rooms are more spacious than those in most Tokyo hotels, and both the hotel and rooms feel new. The bathroom is a little older but clean, with a good amount of space. It’s also close to the train station, so the location is great.