Tokyo family hotel

Hi we are travelling to Japan next month as a family of 4. Our itinerary is currently 6 nights at the Hotel Granvia in Kyoto, 1 night at a ryokan and we get to see Gozan no Okuribi before catching the shinkansen to Tokyo. I have managed to find a company in the UK who have booked our tickets for us which is a huge relief as I was worried about getting a seat on the shinkansen on 17 August!

We then have 3 nights at the Hilton Tokyo Bay as we are spending some time at the Tokyo Disney resort.

We currently have 2 hotels booked for our stay in Tokyo which is for the next 8 nights and I need to cancel one of them. We originally booked the Hilton Tokyo but there was a TV programme on in the UK a couple of weeks ago called the busiest train station in the world and it focussed on Shinjuku and I'm thinking Shinjuku might not be the best base for us. We also have the Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Iidabashi booked for the same period. We have stayed here before or 4 nights and we had no problems with transport. It is also a saving of around £400 on the cost of the Hilton. It's my birthday on our last night in Tokyo and the £400 could be put to a really special birthday dinner (ideas welcome).

We have a junior suite booked in the Hilton so I think we would have more room there. Our children are aged 4 and 11 so seperate rooms aren't an option at the minute for us.

So my question is which hotel reservation would you keep?

I woiuld stay away from Shinkuju. We stayed for about a week when our kids were younger (at the Hyatt, quite nice though the rooms are small and the area meh), but the station is intimidating and bedlam. The traffic volume is so high you cant see your kids in the crush and we were always worried about losing them (and we were always lost ourselves). Lately we've been staying at Shibuya which is much better, though I'm tired of it because it is pretty much just shops and more shops.

Thanks for the response. That is what we thought but it is good to get some confirmation. I think we will stick with Iidabashi as it was fairly quiet even at peak travel times.

Which areas in Tokyo would you visit?

[Hotel in Tokyo]

We originally booked the Hilton Tokyo but there was a TV programme on in the UK a couple of weeks ago called the busiest train station in the world and it focused on Shinjuku

Shinjuku Stations are not the closest stations to Hilton Tokyo.
You can choose Nihi-shinjuku Station (M-07) or Tochomae Station (E-28). Each of these two subway stations is much simpler and much smaller compared to the Shinjuku terminal. None of the two is a station for a transfer to/from another line.

The mentioned programme, I presume, focused either on only Shinjuku Station of JR-East or on Shinjuku Stations of five operators as one terminal.

Anyway, if you start from Hilton Tokyo, you can visit many tourist spots in Tokyo neither embarking nor disembarking in Shinjuku Station(s).

For your information: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings are located nearby. Building No. 1 has two observatories about 200 meters above the ground, which do not require any admission fee.
http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/TMG/observat.htm

We also have the Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Iidabashi booked for the same period. We have stayed here before or 4 nights and we had no problems with transport.

Do you remember which line(s) you used from Iidabashi?

Three railroad (including subway) operators have Iidabashi Stations on five lines. That may be both a merit in terms of convenience (though it depends on your destinations) and a demerit in terms of a risk of a small kid getting lost.

In Iidabashi, platforms for subway Tozai Line and JR Chuo (Sobu) Line are rather easily accessed from Hotel Metropolitan Edmont, while platforms for the other three subway lines are a little away.
If your comment "we had no problems with transport" is about all the five lines, Iidabashi may be better.
However, if you have not used the further three subway lines from Iidabashi, I am not sure whether the same comment will apply to them.

Anyway, please note that convenience concerning railroad (including subway) in Tokyo may depend highly on which route you choose, not only on which area you start from.

Thank you for the detailed response. We were in Tokyo for a much shorter period last time and we mainly used the Chuo line only using the subway to get to the Skytree.

I appreciate the feedback and it has certainly got me thinking once again as to which is the better option. Originally we booked the Hilton as we thought it would be a more convenient location with more options for eating nearby. We found Iidabashi to be very quiet which has its pros and cons.

The programme on Shinjuku focussed on the JR station (I think) and was typically sensationalist with the usual footage of pushing people onto the trains at a ridiculous amount of rush hours per day (I think they said 5). We only encountered the trains at peak time once at Shibuya and I have blotted it out of my memory as I'm quite claustrophobic which is why I was thinking it may be better to avoid if possible.

Whew, the rainy season of this year seems be over in Kanto Region.
It may well be muggy during this journey, especially on Kyoto Basin, where Kyoto City is.
Knowing some brands of sport drinks (containing sodium ions [Na+]) may help you.
http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/product/pocarisweat/images/keyvisual.jpg
http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/a6/83/a074c8e04e319cc740855c1c0498/...

The subway lines listed below have platform doors in all the stations. Please make sure the little kid can smoothly get on and off the train.
: Kyoto City subway Tozai Line.
: Tokyo Metro (subway) Marunouchi, Fukutoshin, Yurakucho and Namboku Lines.
: Toei subway Mita and Oedo Lines.
- A photo of platform doors along Tokyo Metro (subway) Yurakucho Line
http://www.tokyometro.jp/safety/prevention/station/images/index_img_01...