Thursday, November 25, 2010

My Foodie Tokyo Hotel Stay - Nishi Shinjuku Hotel Tokyo

I was more impressed by the eateries around my Tokyo hotel than by the shopping in Tokyo. Maybe I had raised my expectations a little too high. Oh well...


Anyway, for the 3 nights in Tokyo, we stayed in Nishi Shinjuku Tokyo Hotel. It is really value for money at 315000JPY/504SGD for 3 nights. It worked out to be only $84 per person per night only.


This is the entrance to the hotel and you can see it on the road level when approaching it. There's a lift to the reception level, so don't worry just by looking at this pic. ;)




The room is spacious, clean and neat. It's much bigger than Dotonori Hotel we stayed in in Osaka but the service staff are not as warm. At least we didn't have to squeeze when bathing and pack our luggages.

And this time round, no free toiletries samples were given but the hotel uses Kose toiletries.


To get there from the big Shinjuku Station, you'll need to exit from the West exit, passing by the departmental store, Odakyu. It takes about 10 mins to walk there rather than 5 mins as stated on its website.

Initially, I was a little apprehensive about this location as web users were recommending other hotels and not many mentioned Nishi Shinjuku Tokyo Hotel. 

But there was a foodie surprise awaiting us....


Every night, we will deliberate what to have for dinner. Little did we know that there's a lot of good eateries situated right at our hotel's door step.


Best Meal In Tokyo: Sashimi, Oyster, Potato Salad, Fish, Bi-ru

The meal above which was enough to feed 3 people cost us a mere 60SGD. We had 3 bottles of beers, 1 raw mackerel, a cooked fish dish, potato salad and 6 humongous fried oysters. It was so filling that I could only finish 1 oyster. I don't know how bf managed 5!!!

And the food was very fresh and succulent. There's even a staff that can speak English to help recommend what's fresh and good for the day.


You see, in the day time, the store looks like a usual fresh fish store supplying to customers nearby.


By noon, it'll be crowded with the office crowd. And when night falls, the place gets even more crowded and bustling throughout the night. We thought the food won't go wrong if it can draw so many customers and we were right! 

It was my best meal in Tokyo!


Just about 50m away lies another cozy hideout; A friendly Yakitori restaurant. 


It's a plus point that the lady boss can speak English and she is very warm and friendly, making sure we feel welcomed and happily recommending a nice sake for us. This restaurant has a family run cozy feel to it.


We spent our last night in Tokyo enjoying beer, warm sake, claypot and Yakitori yet again.


The lady boss was so obliging that she even made onion Yakitori when I asked for spring onion ones. She got confused and looked confused since I suppose they don't usually make that. It tasted sweet and nice though.


On our last day in Japan, we decided to head back to our hotel area and try out the Udon restaurant that seems to perpetually have customers inside.


It offers about 20 kinds of Udon. After collecting your selected Udon, you'll need to head to the Tempura counter (inside left of restaurant) and pick your Tempuras.


We were real greedy and picked a total of 5 side dishes when most people only pick 1 per person. My Udon at the bottom of the pic was supposed to be a dry one but bf assume that all Udons come with soup. 

This eating place is filled with the working crowd mid-day. Don't be deceived by the boring signboard on the outside. A wide selection of tasty food awaits if you step in.

And now you know, if you don't mind the 10 mins walk from Shinjuku station, do check out the 1st Sashimi stall I mentioned. It's worth the walk!

I have still yet to try Robotayaki in Japan. Any recommendations for good Robotayaki for my next trip?


**Read more about my Japan trip here.**



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your trip looks interesting.. do u mind sharing your full itinerary??

Mei said...

Hi there,

My itinerary is in red in this post: http://life-bite.blogspot.com/2010/11/all-about-japan-rail-bullet-train-aka.html

And yes, the Japan trip was really enjoyable and I want to go back really soon!

I can also send you some of the info I've gathered for Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nara.

Just let me have your email.

Cheers! =)

Anonymous said...

Looks like a fabulous trip.

I am also planning to go. Can U also email me the information in hand at eng.daphne@hotmail.com?

How much do you estimate is required per day for food & commuting around? Any idea of the average rate for food per meal?

Sorry for the many questions... :)

Mei said...

Hi there,

If you were to go on a budget as in eat in the cheaper eateries, 1 meal can go for about 8SGD. Ramen and Udon are the cheapest but for about $12, you can have decent meal especially in those eateries along the small alleys.

As for traveling within Tokyo will cost about $5 if distance is not far (within main city area). I bought the 7 day JR pass so traveling on all JR trains are free for me.

Where are you going to?

No worries, do feel free to ask me questions and i'll try to help if I can.

I'll send you the brochures etc to your email shortly too!
Cheers,
Mei

Mei said...

Hi there,

I've only sent the Tokyo info as I don't know where you'll be heading.

How many days will you be in Japan?

Mei

Anonymous said...

Hi Mei, came across your blog entry with the exact same places I'm planning to head to in March i.e. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe. Do you mind sending me the info you have on hand as well? It'd help me tremendously in my planning for the coming trip! Thanks a bunch!

siewcheng[at]gmail[dot]com

Mei said...

Hey,

Sure, will be sending you shortly! ;)

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mei, received the info you sent me! Will probably e-mail you for some questions that I may have. It's rather challenging to travel F&E in a country with language so foreign to us =)

PS: Will click on the Nuffnang ads to help you get more ka ching! ;)

S.Cheng

Mei said...

Sure, please do and I hope I'll be of help!

Yes, it was fun and the challenge lies mainly in the many train changing and catching the right train when we traveled around.

And thanks! Hope more "ka ching" too. Haha... ;)

Anonymous said...

Dear Mei,

Just stumbled upon your blog via a review you left on tripadvisor. Really love all the detailed info on Japan! It really helps me plan! I am planning a trip through the same cities you visited for coming september (3 weeks). Would you mind sharing your other info you have? Everything you write is so useful since you seem to have the same interests in hotels, shopping and FOOD!
My mail:
anouk bogaert @ hotmail . com
Thank you so much!

Mei said...

Hi there,

Sure, I'll send the info to you by end of this week!

Yah, I have great interest in food! Haha...

Cheers! =)

Anonymous said...

Hi Mei,

Thanks for the info you have shared on your blog! Will be going to Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo in Sep! Can't wait! Mind sharing additional info you have on hand to help me plan for the upcoming trip? Would greatly appreciate it! My email is ma5quer@yahoo.com.sg =)

By the way, you mentioned you bought some eyeshadow palette from Daiso..are they really good? Keen to try too!

Mei said...

Hi,

I'll send you the info soon by tomorrow.

And yes, the eyeshadow is surprisingly good for its price. The colour pigments do show up and the texture isn;t too bad either.

Cheers! =)

Anonymous said...

Hi!! Just wanna let you know that your this blog brought back wonderful memories during my last JPY trip with hubby. We love the yakitori restaurant, went back almost every night till the owner recognised us!!! But it was a guy, about middle age who managed the shop at that time & yes they are all very friendly. :)

Never tried the fish stall but will try on our next trip. Udon restaurant.... maybe we ordered the wrong selection (natto with udon) and we didn't really like it, but the place is interesting. :)

Mei said...

Hi, great to hear this! This place bring back fond memories for me too. ;)