Tokyo neighbourhoods: where to stay and what each one actually feels like

Tokyo is not one city. The metropolitan area holds 37 million people across a geography roughly equivalent to Greater London multiplied by three. "Which neighbourhood?" is not a trivial question — it shapes the version of Tokyo you experience, the daily commute to sights, and the price you pay to sleep. The good news is that the city's rail network, once understood, makes almost any base workable. The better news is that several neighbourhoods have distinct personalities worth choosing between deliberately.

Shinjuku is the city's gravitational centre and the one that matches most people's mental image of Tokyo: the neon, the pachinko parlours, the six-exit station that requires a map. The east side — Kabukichō entertainment district, Golden Gai's cluster of bars the size of cupboards, Omoide Yokochō's yakitori smoke — is what the city sells in every photograph. The west side is the business hotel district, where some of Tokyo's best-value accommodation sits in glass towers alongside the metropolitan government building observation deck, which gives you the view without the ticket price.

Shibuya, a few stops south on the Yamanote Line, is where the famous pedestrian crossing is and where the city's fashion and youth culture concentrate. Harajuku and Omotesandō — the boulevard connecting them — move through fashion and design into high-end retail architecture; the Meiji Shrine, a five-minute walk from Harajuku station, feels like a different country from the streets outside. Shimokitazawa, a short Keio Line ride west from Shibuya, is where the bars are smaller, the music is live and the vintage clothing is better. It has a specific quality — genuinely bohemian without performing it — that rewards an evening or an afternoon away from the centre.

Yanaka, in the northeast near Nippori station, is the Tokyo that survived both the 1923 earthquake and the Second World War intact. The Yanaka Ginza — a covered shotengai shopping street — sells sembei, tofu and wagashi to locals rather than selfie sticks to tourists. The cemetery behind it, where several major historical figures are buried, doubles as one of the city's best cherry blossom parks and one of its quietest walks in every other season. Staying in this area means traditional shitamachi Tokyo rather than the neon version; it suits return visitors who already know the obvious sights.

For most first visits, Shinjuku or Shibuya give you the iconic experience and the best transport connections — both are Yamanote Line stations, which means every other major area is within thirty minutes. For longer stays or second trips, Yanaka, Shimokitazawa or the west-side neighbourhoods of Koenji and Nakameguro offer a city that most visitors never find. One practical note: Tokyo hotel rooms are significantly smaller than the equivalent price point in Europe. This is not a problem — the city is designed for being out, not in — but it is worth knowing before you book.