Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo

Hotel Ryumeikan Tokyo traces its story back more than 120 years to the original Ryokan Ryumeikan, and today it is a modern hotel with a strong Japanese sensibility, a short walk from Tokyo Station. The family business has kept its connection with Japanese hospitality while adapting to the needs of today's travellers, and the design mixes contemporary comfort with traditional touches such as natural wood and Japanese patterns.

The hotel offers fourteen room types, from compact doubles and standard twins to suites and an accessible universal room, so it can accommodate solo travellers, couples and small families. Rooms are comfortable and practical, with good soundproofing and well-designed bathrooms. Check-in is at 14:00 and check-out at 11:00. Reservations can be made through the official website, by phone or by email to the reservations team.

The in-house Japanese restaurant, Hanagoyomi, serves seasonal courses at lunch and dinner, and it has recently added Hungarian wines to its drinks list. Breakfast is served as a buffet with Japanese and Western dishes. The hotel has posted a notice of a temporary restaurant closure, so check the website before planning a meal there. Plenty of other restaurants are within a few minutes' walk in Yaesu and Nihonbashi.

Location is the clincher for many guests. The Yaesu North Exit of JR Tokyo Station is about three minutes' walk away, which makes shinkansen departures and airport transfers simple, and Nihonbashi Station on the Tokyo Metro is only a minute's walk. That makes the hotel an excellent choice for a first or last night in Japan, for business visitors with meetings in Marunouchi, and for travellers making day trips by bullet train to places such as Nikko, Kamakura or Mount Fuji.

The surrounding streets are busy on weekdays and quieter at weekends. The Imperial Palace East Gardens are about fifteen minutes' walk to the west, the historic Nihonbashi bridge and the Mitsukoshi department store are a short walk north, and Ginza can be reached on foot in around fifteen minutes. The Tokyo Station building itself, with its restored red-brick facade, and the shopping streets beneath it are worth exploring.