Tokyo hotels · head to head
Kabukicho nightlife against an east-side tower with a pool — four-star Shinjuku energy versus three-star Ryogoku value, and almost nothing in common except Tokyo.
By Kaiser Khan · last reviewed
Rates for both move constantly, so nothing here quotes a price. Each full review carries the rate comparison for that property.
One is the stay you book to walk home from Golden Gai; the other is the stay you book for Skytree, sumo and a swimming pool at three-star pricing. When readers ask whether Tokyo should be a night-out base or a facilities base, these are the two answers on this site.
We publish a handful of comparisons per city, chosen by an editor. We do not generate a page for every possible pairing: at thirty hotels that would be 435 near-identical pages per city, and at five hundred it would be 124,750 for one city alone — which is a doorway-page pattern, not a service to anybody trying to pick a hotel.
Should you book this hotel?
Gracery if Kabukicho is the point of the trip; the APA tower if you want a pool, a quieter east-side address and more facilities per yen.
Geography is the whole product difference. Gracery sits in Kabukicho, five minutes from JR Shinjuku, with Shinjuku Gyoen 0.6 km away. The APA is in Ryogoku: Sumo Hall 0.2 km, Edo-Tokyo Museum 0.3 km, Tokyo Skytree 1.2 km, Sensō-ji 2.1 km. Location scores favour Gracery, 9.22 against 8.74, which matches the nightlife-versus-sightseeing split.
Facilities run the other way. The APA lists an outdoor pool, a fitness centre, a garden and a children’s playground; Gracery lists no gym, no pool and no full restaurant, and amenities score 7.20 against the APA’s 8.32. That is why the three-star wins for families.
Room complaints land on both. Gracery’s are small room size and some staff not helpful; the APA’s are slow elevators, small room sizes and pricey restaurant options. Cleanliness favours Gracery, 8.71 against 8.03.
Check-in and check-out tip in opposite directions: Gracery from 02:00 PM, out by 11:00 AM; the APA from 03:00 PM until midnight, out by 10:00 AM — the earliest check-out of any hotel we cover.
Verdict last reviewed . Rates, refurbishments and management change — re-check anything time-sensitive before booking.
4-star hotelShinjukuIndependent
A four-star independent in the middle of Kabukicho, open since 2015, five minutes on foot from JR Shinjuku. Clean and well-run; short on facilities and short on floor space.
Third-party guest reviews: 8.4/10 from 15,267 reviews — as of
3-star hotelRyogoku & SumidaAPA Hotels&Resorts
A three-star APA tower in the sumo district, 0.2 km from the Kokugikan and 1.2 km from Tokyo Skytree. Has an outdoor pool, a gym and a garden, which is unusual at this price.
Third-party guest reviews: 8.2/10 from 19,863 reviews — as of
Read the full APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Ekimae Tower review
Every row is checkable against the supplier data on the two property pages. “Level” is a real answer and is used — a comparison where one side wins every row is usually a comparison somebody wrote backwards from the conclusion.
| What is being compared | Hotel Gracery Shinjuku | APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Ekimae Tower | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official classification | 4-star | 3-star | Hotel Gracery Shinjuku |
| Position | Kabukicho 1-19-1. Shinjuku Gyoen 0.6 km, Meiji Jingu 2.5 km. | Sumida-ku Yokoami. Sumo Hall 0.2 km, Tokyo Skytree 1.2 km, Sensō-ji 2.1 km. | Level |
| Location (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 9.22, as of 12 December 2025 | 8.74, as of 8 December 2025 | Hotel Gracery Shinjuku |
| Cleanliness (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 8.71, as of 12 December 2025 | 8.03, as of 8 December 2025 | Hotel Gracery Shinjuku |
| Amenities (third-party guest score, /10 — display only) | 7.20, as of 12 December 2025 | 8.32, as of 8 December 2025 | APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Ekimae Tower |
| Pool | No pool listed | Outdoor pool listed | APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Ekimae Tower |
| What guests complain about | Small room size; some staff not helpful | Slow elevators; small room sizes; pricey restaurant options | Hotel Gracery Shinjuku |
| Check-in / check-out | From 02:00 PM, out by 11:00 AM | From 03:00 PM (latest arrival 12:00 AM), out by 10:00 AM | Level |
Rows taken: Hotel Gracery Shinjuku 4, APA Hotel & Resort Ryogoku Ekimae Tower 2, level 2. Counting rows is not how you pick a hotel — one row usually decides it, and the verdict above says which.
Every property we cover in Tokyo, the areas they sit in, and the verdict on which area suits which trip.
IC cards, rail passes, what a day costs, when to go and which districts are worth your time — the long-form guide behind these hotel picks.
