Trip GrapevineTop places, picked by travellers

Tokyo · Hotel shortlist

The best 3 star hotels in Tokyo

Mei-Lin Zhou

Mei-Lin Zhou Japan

Updated 1 September 2026 · 256 Tokyo hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Tokyo, out of the 256 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.9 down to 4.7.

Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex is the one I would book myself.

Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex

Highest rated of the five

Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex

★★★★★4.9 from 388 reviews

Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.9 from 388 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $180 a night on the dates we checked.

256 hotels in Tokyo qualified for this list and five made it. Sakura Cross Hotel Tokyo Kayabacho is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip

Check rates Read more

All five, ranked

  1. Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex1

    Sakura Cross Hotel Shinjuku East Annex

    ★★★★★4.9 from 388 reviews

    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  2. Sakura Cross Hotel Tokyo Kayabacho2

    Sakura Cross Hotel Tokyo Kayabacho

    ★★★★★4.9 from 342 reviews

    • Air conditioning

    Check rates Read more

  3. Tokyo Little House3

    Tokyo Little House

    ★★★★★4.8 from 491 reviews

    • Kitchen

    Check rates Read more

  4. ICI HOTEL Asakusabashi4

    ICI HOTEL Asakusabashi

    ★★★★★4.7 from 1,235 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Pet friendly
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

  5. hotel MONday AKIHABARA-ASAKUSABASHI5

    hotel MONday AKIHABARA-ASAKUSABASHI

    ★★★★★4.7 from 950 reviews

    • Restaurant
    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Accessible

    Check rates Read more

How this list was put together

256 Tokyo hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Mei-Lin Zhou

Mei-Lin Zhou Japan

Works agency hours in Vancouver and spends all 18 vacation days abroad. One new country and one repeat visit per year. Five trips to Japan and a running list of ramen shops.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.