Hotel Advice

A Guide to Hamamatsucho – All About its Attractions, Hotels and Transportation

As I wrote in Accommodation Advice, Tokyo is a large city with many interesting districts and hundreds of hotels.

In this post, I’ll show you how fascinating the district around Hamamatsucho Station is. 

I’ve received some thank-you messages from international travelers for this article. You’ll be the next!

(I know it’s so hard for many people to pronounce the name of this station. To make it easy, divide it into 3 parts, “Hama- matsu-cho.” In Japanese language, it is written in 3 characters.)

The Key to Find the Best District to Stay

I suppose some of you are looking for a hotel in Tokyo and confused with the place-names like Ginza, Shimbashi, Tsukiji, etc. For example, you might be wondering, “Is Inter Continental Tokyo Bay good enough? Where is Akasaka??”

The key to find the best hotel for you in Tokyo is to understand the map and the train stations.

First of all, open The Easiest JR Train Map.

Link: The Easiest JR(Japan Railway) Train Map by Tokyo Direct Guide (open in a new window)

Many first-time travelers get overwhelmed to see the full train map. And at the same time, you’ll learn the importance of JR train stations – the hubs and many popular places in Tokyo are on the JR railroad. Eventually, you can get a great advantage if you stay near a JR station.

How Convenient Hamamatsucho Is

From a local’s point of view, I think Hamamatsucho is a good place for ANYONE to stay.

JR Trains to Go Anywhere in Tokyo

First, Hamamatsucho Station is a very convenient place to catch a train of JR Yamanote Line and JR Keihin Tohoku Line. This enables you to go ANYWHERE IN TOKYO so easily! These two lines include Tokyo Station, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, Akihabara, etc, so you can go to these popular places without changing trains.

It’s a great relief in the big city know as a maze, isn’t it?

Subways to Go to the Popular Places

You might think, “How can I go to Asakusa from there?”

Then, open the Easiest Subway Maps I made.

Link: The Easiest Subway Maps of Tokyo

Daimon Station, which is connected with Hamamatsucho Station, has two subway lines; Asakusa Subway Line and Oedo Subway Line.

You just sit on an Asakusa Subway Line train and will arrive at Asakusa and Oshiage(Tokyo Skytree). No stress again!

Terminal from/to Haneda Airport

If you will arrive at Tokyo Haneda Airport, Hamamatsucho is the terminal station of Tokyo Monorail to go to Tokyo City.

So when you land on the airport, you can just jump into the monorail, sit there until it stops at the last station and check in the hotel soon. It’s so easy! And the return is same. If you will have a domestic flight, you can take the monorail from the terminal again.

But not only the convenience. The point is that the district has beautiful views of Tokyo’s bayside area. Let’s see them with many photos! There are some cherry blossoms as well…

The Nearest JR Station to Go to Tokyo Tower!

Tokyo Tower has not been working as a broadcasting tower since Tokyo Skytree opened, but it is still be loved as a symbol of Tokyo. You’ll see how attractive the red tower is in the all-silver building scenery of Tokyo. At night, it is lighted up.

But how can we get there exactly? Actually, many people can’t tell!

Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Tower, the symbol of Tokyo

The important fact is that Hamamatsucho is the nearest JR train station to Tokyo Tower.

Can you see? If you stay around it, you’ll never get lost to go there.

Read More: How to get to Tokyo Tower – the simplest explanations & maps

Link: Tokyo Tower Official Website

Hidden Gem: Kyu-Shiba-Rikyu Gardens

Everyone knows Tokyo Tower, but I know a “hidden gem” just in front of Hamamatsucho Station. There is a beautiful Japanese garden in 1 minute walk from the busy train station.

It’s a calm place in the middle of the megalopolis. Beautiful, isn’t it?

A large pond with a stone bridge in a Japanese garden

Built by a samurai in the 17th century, it is one of the oldest samurai gardens which remain today, along with Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens. Now it is registered as a Place of Scenic Beauty of Japan.

A tourou and pond in a Japanese garden

As you see, this garden is made up for a large pond and plants surrounding it.

a pine tree, pond in a Japanese garden surrounded by buildings
Looking down the pond from the “hill” in the garden.

You may get surprised that there is a large and wide space in the middle of Tokyo City.

Every time I went there, I see many kinds of people – photographers shooting birds and flowers, travelers with suitcases waiting for the time to go to Haneda Airport, picnicking families, office workers around Hamamatsucho Station, etc. If you arrive at or fly from Haneda Airport, you can see the monorail you get!

A Japanese garden with a large pond and a monorail.
The Japanese garden and the monorail are in the same view.

[Opening Hours]

9:00 – 17:00

Entrance Fee: 150 yen for an adult

Hidden Cherry Blossom Spot in Tokyo!

What’s important is that – you may have realized – it’s a great garden to see cherry blossoms!

cherry trees in a Japanese garden
Looking down at fully blooming cherry blossoms…

We will be surrounded by cherry blossoms from the feet to head. I think it’s really an amazing experience.

cherry trees in a garden
Take a rest under cherry blossoms.

cherry trees and the blue sky behind

Although it is such a beautiful place, it is not counted as a top place for cherry blossoms. That’s why there are just moderate number of visitors.

What’s more, remember that Hamamatsucho is the nearest JR station to Tokyo Tower…

cherry trees with pale pink blossoms and Tokyo Tower
Cherry blossoms in the Japanese garden and Tokyo Tower!!

The view cannot be better in Tokyo!!!

More Beautiful Things to See in the Garden

I showed you many cherry blossom pics, but it is not the only attraction here. Kyu Shiba Rikyu Garden is beautiful enough without them.

To talk about seasonal natural beauty, wisteria will bloom in early May. It’s a good place to see autumn leaves as well.

Don’t forget living lives there, too. When it’s sunny, I always see turtles sunbathing on a rock.

Turtles on a rock in a pond
Sunbathing turtles

It’s a place for birds, too.

a duck on a rock in the pond
There are SO MANY of them in the pond.

In my opinion, it is excellent and compact at the same time.

It is far smaller than famous Shinjuku Gyoen Park, Hama-Rikyu Garden, etc, but it has every essence of beauty of Japanese gardens. I’m sure you will experience the most without being exhausted by walking too much. The entrance fee is very cheap, too.

Tourist attractions that  are on every travel guidebook are not all. I proudly recommend Kyu Shiba Rikyu Gardens for international travelers.

5-Star Hotels near Hamamatsucho & Shimbashi Station

If you have searched for hotels in Tokyo, one of the hotels below may be in your mind.

We find so many 5-star hotels on the map. Actually, some of them are not located in a very convenient place, (I strongly hope you avoid them to make your travel better!) but these hotels are convenient to visit anywhere in Tokyo. Some are international luxury hotel chains and others are run by Japanese hotel companies, but undoubtedly, all of them are 5 Star Hotels.

Browse them and find your best choice. If one of them is in your mind, no need to hesitate to book it!

And in my opinion, Tokyo Monorail is the best way to go to Haneda Airport because of the beautiful bay side views which make me excited, “Oh, I’m flying today!”

If you are going to visit Asakusa and/or O-Daiba, Shimbashi has the good connections to Ginza Subway Line and Yurikamome Line.

More Hotels around Hamamatsucho & Shimbashi

You’ll find many hotels in the wide range of features and prices. Not only 5 Star hotels, there are also reasonable hotels near Hamamatsucho Station like this.

Link: Hotel MyStays Hamamatsucho (Easy to find in the street, good reputations on Booking.com)

In Conclusion

I strongly wish you’ll have a comfortable trip in Tokyo – This is one of the missions of Tokyo Direct Guide.

Tokyo is known as a very complicated city, but if you learn some tips that locals know, you can travel so FREELY and enjoy much more of Tokyo.

Glad if this post is helpful for you!

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