Tokyo - 1 or 2 hotels?

I'm planning a trip to Japan with my ten-year-old daughter next January, including a week in Tokyo. Our rough itinerary includes a day each at Disneyland/Sea, plus the Ghibli museum, Sunshine City, and exploring Shinjuku/Shibuya/Harajuku and Asakusa. We arrive by train from Kyoto and fly out of Narita.

I'm trying to decide between staying at Disney for part of the time and elsewhere in Tokyo (Shinjuku? Shibuya? Ikebukuro?) for the rest, or staying in one hotel for the whole week (near Tokyo Station or Ginza, or somewhere with a shuttle to Disney?).

What would you suggest would be easiest logistically? Hotel recommendations would be great as well. Budget is about 17,000 yen a night, twin beds preferred.

Thanks in advance!

Considering your budget. You can rule out Disney as a hotel. So choice is made. haha

A inexpensive centrally located hotel with twin rooms.

https://www.mystays.com/en/hotel/tokyo/hotel-mystays-kanda/?cid=l_pc_g...

Thanks! The Disney hotels themselves are out of my budget, but the Sheraton, for example, is an option.

I can't answer to your main question, although I would think that changing hotels will take more time and be less convenient than just staying in one place, but I would like to caution you about Ghibli tickets. They will be sold out when you come (chance of this is about 99,99 %), so make sure to buy the through JTB as early as possible.

Enjoy your trip to Japan!

Disney is the best hotel to stay

I would probably change hotels. We went to Tokyo Disney this past trip and (me and 6.5 DD.) While trains to Maihama are frequent from Tokyo Station, the Keiyo line is all the way on the south Yaesu part of the station. If you were to stay at the Kanda MyStays (as an example), it's going to take you 4-5 minutes to walk to Kanda. Then 2 minutes by train, then another 5-6 minutes to walk to the Maihama platform which depending on when the next train is could have a 15 minute wait before the 15-20 minute ride to Maihama. You then need to either walk 5-10 minutes to Tokyo Disney, walk and take the monorail to Tokyo Disney, walk a bit and take the monorail to Sea, walk about 15-20 minutes to Sea. (I've not walked to Sea from Maihama, but the walk between Maihama and Tokyo Disneyland is very straightforward and I did it many times.) So that's ~12 minutes just getting to the right part of Tokyo Station and another 20 minutes to Maihama.. you're looking at 30 minutes at a minimum before even getting to a park. I guess if you're both super morning people and are going to be out the door to be at the parks by 8:30 am... I definitely wouldn't want to come from Ikebukuro, which is going to take you 20-30 minutes by train without including getting to the station. Shibuya is not great either from that perspective.

I went on two very low attendance days. People line up very early. My first day, was pouring rain and there were still 1 hour lines for Journey to the Center of the Earth and at least 40 minutes for Nemo. (Toy Story was closed for refurbishment and my DD won't go near ToT.) The rain helped more at DL, where we had no line for many popular rides. Our second day in good weather, the lines in Tokyo Disney quickly got long for the popular rides.

Personally, I would prob stay at the Sheraton or the Hilton (look for one of the flash sales) and then switch to elsewhere. A lot of Odaiba hotels have shuttles, but I wouldn't stay there unless you also want to see Odaiba because getting to or from Tokyo proper is going to take you 20+ minutes on the Yurikamome line.

I was disappointed with the Tokyo Disney Hotel. The only reason to stay there is the Happy 15 and park hopping.

Outside of Ghilbli, none of the things you want to do in Tokyo are timed and a lot of shopping places don't even open until 10 or 11am so I don't think the transfer will necessary take away a lot of touring time from you. Maybe move to the Kanda MyStays post TDR? It would be easy to get to the NEX at Tokyo Station if you have the discounted round trip tickets or you could try the 1000 yen bus from near Tokyo Station.

For me, 2 hotels: one with convenient connections for Disney, and one on the other side of the city.
Variety is the spice...

While I agree changing hotels is a pain, you'll only do it one time. Whereas multiple trips to/from the Disney area will add up to a lot of lost time. And if you are anything like me, all you want to do after a long day at Disney is relax, not take a long train or bus ride. Also, getting there right at opening can give you a little time to enjoy the park (and race to your favorite ride or 2) before the hordes pile in. Staying close makes that easier.

I'd probably split the trip into 2 hotels if it were me.

Thanks everyone! I think I'll go with 2 hotels. And will definitely book the Ghibli Museum tickets early!

Hi,
If the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku is within your budget, consider it as a one hotel for all your stay. It has a free Disney Shuttle that can take you from the hotel straight to Disney.
http://www.keioplaza.com
Being close to Shinjuku station, you can also easily go to Ghibli and other areas that wish to explore