Stay in Shinjuku or Roppongi?

I'm not sure if I should stay in Shinjuku or Roppongi for the nightlife. I'll be going out at night in Tokyo. I would think it would be best to stay near the nightlife. I'm in my mid twenties and would be going to bars and clubs. Which area would have the more appropiate nightlife for me? Or perhaps nearby areas I can stay in?

I just came back from staying in the Shinjuku Prince hotel.

[IMG]http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff208/ptforest/Tokyo%20-%...[/IMG]

That's the view from my hotel room. It's literally across the street from the Shinjuku nightlife, and a block from the train station, making transportation easy. Breakfast buffet was free with the room (natto every morning...mmmm!) and there was wireless internet in the lobby, the only hotel with wireless in my entire trip (that includes about 10 other hotels).

It may be a bit pricey (I think we paid $150 for our room, 2 people), but I'd guess most hotels in the area are about that much or more.

Any other questions I can answer about it, feel free to ask.

Roppongi is much better for nightlife, especially if you are a foreigner. I understand you will want to meet Japanese people but you won't feel comfortable going into bars/clubs in Shinjuku as you might feel out of place. You might even not realize the place is a bar as everything will be in Japanese.

My least favourite part of my trip to Japan was Roppongi Hills. Its too much of a tourist trap and I didn't enjoy the vibe at all. Plus, there are doormen (most are from Africa but front like their from NYC) who just walk up to any foreigner, grab your arm and try to pull you into the clubs they work for. Some will try and offer you "sexy girls, free drinks and drugs", but do not buy into any of it. Just ignore them. Them being there and doing what they do just ruined the vibe in Roppongi. Although Roppongi on a Friday/Saturday night IS the place to be. There isn't nearly as much of this in Shinjuku. It offers a more local vibe, which I enjoyed much more. Shinjuku also offers more variety in terms of tourist and local hangouts. Plus, if you DO find it kinda dry in Shinjuku, its right by the rail station, so you can hop on, and pretty much go anywhere you want.

I stayed 2 weeks in Roppongi. It's cool and all, but it's really touristy. I had far more fun in Shibuya and shinjuku. Roppongi has many hostess bars (if that's your thing) where as Sibuya you can stroll around and eat yakitori and drink beer. It may not be cheap (at either distric), we (my husband and i) saw most beer at about 400 yen a cup (roughly 8 oz each). Roppongi is the best to go if you want to pay for the company of cute girls though.

It depends on what you are after. If you want to enjoy some local culture, you should stay away from Roppongi, it's not only a tourist trap but also a foreigner trap. Some of my international colleagues go there almost every weekend, but mostly because they are not interested in japanese culture at all, all they want is to get drunk in a place that they can relate to.
blargh.

I've been in Shinjuku just this weekend with some friends, most of them were japanese, we had some okonomiyaki while sitting on the floor, really nice. :)

Can anyone compare the nightlife between Shibuya and Shinjuku? Which is better? Also, why is Shibuya known for all the love hotels if all the nightlife is in Roppongi?

Shibuya is known for love hotels because guidebooks writers are lazy or don't even actually go to the place they write about and troll the internet in English only instead. There are love hotels in other parst of Tokyo! perhaps not in Ropongi because so many people are foreigners not used to these love hotels. The high price of real estate in Roppongi also doesn't favor love hotels.

As above, there are love hotels all over the country. Shibuya happens to have some really quirky ones (so I hear...) all on the same hill, and there is lots of nightlife in Shibuya too. Roppongi is known as a nightlife spot that attracts foreigners, but it is far from the only place for nightlife.