Apa Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Higashi

“Good hotel for the price”

You get what you pay for. We stayed here due to an issue with our flights. Since it was last minute, we were looking for a cheap hotel in an area that was close to the subway and ended up choosing this hotel for a two night stay. Compared to what I paid for other, much more spacious Japanese ho… more

You get what you pay for. We stayed here due to an issue with our flights. Since it was last minute, we were looking for a cheap hotel in an area that was close to the subway and ended up choosing this hotel for a two night stay. Compared to what I paid for other, much more spacious Japanese hotels; this place is on the cheaper side. I think it ran me about $200ish a night? I get that that still can be expensive and I bet there’s other hotels around Tokyo that might be cheaper but I don’t know if they’re as centrally located as this one. I at least couldn’t find any cheaper hotels super last minute located in Shinjuku. I didn’t read many of the reviews before booking and the ones I did read I’m pretty sure were about the other Shinjuku APA hotel with an onsen. This hotel doesn’t have an onsen. On that note, be careful to make sure you’re booking the right hotel and going to the right one since there are literally about 4-5 APA hotels with similar names all in the same area. We arrived early and were told that our room wasn’t ready. I know there are other reviews saying the staff was unhelpful but they were very helpful when I arrived and walked me through the check in process. Not sure if maybe they took the negative reviews to heart and improved their customer service? I booked a double room since it was for myself and my partner. We got a room on the 8th floor. I was already keeping my expectations low but was pleasantly surprised with the room. It was tiny (two people cannot walk around the room at the same time) but it was tidy and spacious enough considering my partner and I are not small. If you’ve ever been to the POD hotels in New York City, the rooms are similar in size and include a private bathroom which is big enough for my partner who is 5’8”. That being said, I, personally, wouldn’t stay here more than two nights if it’s more than just a solo traveler. It gets a little cramped especially if you need to spend any amount of time in the room. I also would not recommend that anymore than 2 people stay in one room. Three people would be packed into the room like sardines. I am unsure if they have bigger rooms available. The biggest issue I had was not understanding that the A/C is centrally controlled. That was my fault for not doing my research. I woke up boiling at 4am and couldn’t figure out how to cool off the room. I thankfully ran across a review that mentioned windows that open and was able to crack open the window in my room. It helped a bunch but I will say that made the noise outside 1000 times louder (they have free earplugs at the front desk that I didn’t grab initially and regretted that first night). If you are like me and can’t sleep in a hot room at the very least in the cooler months you can crack open a window. I will say that there is a panel to at least turn off the A/C or heater for the unit which also helps. As for the noise, the hotel is centered right in Kabukicho and near the red light district so I was expecting some noise. However, it’s a little insane that even though I was on the 8th floor I could still hear legitimate drunk screaming from the street below at 3-5AM so that’s something to keep in mind. Last few things, check out is at 10am which is early at least in my experience with other Japanese hotels that allow free check out until noon. If you do have the funds, you can pay for later check out (It’s 1000 yen per hour after 10am). Overall, the hotel is a three star hotel and pretty much on par with other three star hotels I’ve been to in other places. I gave it a four star review because it did exceed my admittedly very low expectations for this hotel (based on other reviews). I hope this review helps some other travelers to plan their hotel reservations accordingly.

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“Small but nice”

Okay, yes, the room is matchbox sized and the bathroom is basically a closet which looks like it's been dropped in by bath-fitters, but it was all very clean and very nice. The bed was comfortable, and though the pillows were basically like wrapped cardboard, if you ask at the desk for a "fluffy p… more

Okay, yes, the room is matchbox sized and the bathroom is basically a closet which looks like it's been dropped in by bath-fitters, but it was all very clean and very nice. The bed was comfortable, and though the pillows were basically like wrapped cardboard, if you ask at the desk for a "fluffy pillow" you get an American-style pillow which was very comfortable. The staff were SUPER nice and answered every dumb question we threw at them about Tokyo. The street noise can be loud, but that's what headphones are for. For the price, this is a great choice!

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