Restaurants near New Hotel Otani & weather

HI
I'm coming with my parents and 11 year old daughter to Japan for the first time in March - we arrive on 7th March for 12 days.

Our first hotel is the New Hotel Otani in Tokyo and I'm especially looking for recommendations for where to eat on the first night when we wont be familiar with anything and wont have our bearings.

We land at Haneda airport at 17.55 and have coach transfer to the hotel New Otani.

Ideally looking for recommendations of somewhere I can make a reservation that is within walking distance of the hotel.

Or do we just need to eat in the hotel on first night do you think? We don't generally favour hotel restaurants as they tend to be overpriced and very generic. But also need to be practical about tiredness and overwhelm of first night in new country, especially with 2 older folk and a child.

I'm also struggling to decide what to bring clothes wise - we are 7 - 19th march, Tokyo/ Hakkone / Hiroshima / Kyoto / Osaka. Any weather tips?

Grateful of all advice - thank you in advance ;)

It has been a while since I stayed at New Hotel Otani in Akasaka, but I do recall the restaurants and food service was very expensive. 5-10 minutes away is the Asakasa-Mitsuke subway station and the area around that has dozens of restaurants - you will be spoiled for choice.

I kind of agree with JCT. The only point about Akasaka Mitsuke is that it is very lively.
Your choice of the New Otani Hotel seems to say that you don�ft mind spending money on a trip and that you cherish luxury. Akasaka Mitsuke is a lively neighborhood with hundreds of restaurants and bars. And while not as overwhelming as Shinjuku from the quiet peace of the Otani will look quite lively.

However that�fs the real Japan. So yes, I�fd also suggest to walk from your hotel there and chose a restaurant while walking through the streets.

If you want a reservation you can ask the hotel concierge before your arrival.

Re what clothes, layers-depending on the climate you're coming from. It can be pretty chilly in early March, or not. We (briefly) got snow one year at that time.

So some light thermals, tshirts, jumpers and a warmer and less warm jacket. I always bring a couple of scarves, from toasty warm through to lightweight. I'd probably put in some gloves as well.

I wear fairly lightweight pants with thermals, or thermal tights, or regular tights or no extra layer under them. Where I live I don't need really warm long pants so I don't own any, and don't want to buy them just for a couple of weeks holiday.

Enjoy your time in Japan!

Personally, I like a cafe, brasserie and boulangerie called AUX BACCHANALES.
I've never been to a store in Kioicho, but I've been to Ginza store, Kyoto store and Takanawa store, and I like them.
You can use the cafe even at night, so you can have light meals such as sandwiches.
https://www.auxbacchanales.com/shops/
https://www.auxbacchanales.com/cafe/

most of restaurants don't need reservation, if you don't mind to eat dishes which ordinary Japanese eat.
as already indicated above, in big cities, there must be many restaurants near train stations with no exception. many restaurants show their samples and prices outside of them.

Thank you so much for all of your speedy replies - you are very helpful!

How do you recommend we get from Hotel New Otani to the Akasaka Mitsuke area? Is it within safe walking distance or do we need to take public transport or taxi?

Thank you again so much ;)

Hi, it's about 15 minutes by foot and I don't think you can get lost, but the walk itself if quite boring. And waiting at the 3-streets crossing just after the bridge feels like an eternity. Maybe a taxi to go to the restaurant, and walk back to the hotel?

From the New Otani to the center of the lively area of Akasaka it is about 650 m per google maps. You should definitely walk this. You�fll be walking a lot more during your visit to Japan. This is a country of public transport plus walking. So in regards to your clothes being comfortable shoes for the entire family. You�fll probably be walking 5-10 km every day while sightseeing.
And yes, it is totally safe. I would walk there (Akasaka) alone at night. (As anywhere else in Tokyo)

I almost always recommend walking, but in this case, they are landing at 6pm which means checking-in at the hotel around 7:30pm. I was suggesting the taxi (if it can be arranged by the hotel) to get to the restaurant area as quickly and stress-free as possible, since money doesn't seem to be an issue. Traveling in group generally takes more time, and we don't know if the parents are still energetic. Mine would probably collapse just at the hotel with a convenience store meal, haha.

Which makes me think: don't make any reservations. It just adds more stress if your plane is late, or if immigration procedures take longer than expected. You can have dinner at the airport, by the way. There are plenty of decent options and the price markup is not too crazy.

The walk is 10 minutes including waiting at the crossings. Depends a bit on which part of the hotel you are staying in. The garden at the hotel is nice, you should definitely have a walk through that.