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We said goodbye to Okinawa, but hello to Tokyo!

We left Okinawa and arrived in Tokyo on the 4th during the evening sometime and wanted to get to the hotel quickly after dropping our pet off at the Pet hotel in Narita Airport so we decided to take a taxi to our hotel. The taxi was probably the most expensive cab ride my wife and I have ever experienced, costing nearly $250! I guess that is a lesson learned from this trip.

We are actually staying at a nice hotel named the Park Hotel Tokyo . After checking in to our room, my wife and I noticed that it was missing something, that something was space! The room here in Tokyo is about $20-$30 more a night but offers one-third of the space the room in Okinawa offered. I guess that is all part of the big city experience.

Our first full day we ventured to Shibuya to experience an absolutely crazy metro station during peak hours and also to Akihabara to take a look at what Tokyo has to offer in regards to electronics. No surprises, they have everything.

The great thing is that I got pretty sick and stayed in bed all day yesterday. I am writing this today with hopes that I will feel a little better and venture out to see a couple more sites.

Here are a couple pictures from before I got sick.

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The movers came on Friday and packed all of our household goods up. We didn’t realize how much crap we had until someone came to pack it up…wow!

Because we have no stuff, we are currently staying at the Tokyo Dai-ichi Okinawa Grand Mer resort . So far I would say that the hotel is clean, comfy, and provides great service. However, I must complain about their parking situation! For such a large hotel, their parking areas must have been overlooked. After living here in Okinawa for 3 years we have encountered some pretty terrible parking situations, but this definitely ranks up at the top.

Besides the parking situation, we are really enjoying our room and everything else the hotel has to offer.

Here are a couple shots of the hotel.

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Just recently Brittany and I had the pleasure of staying at The New Sanno hotel on our vacation to Tokyo, Japan. If you are unaware,  The New Sanno is a U.S. Naval Joint services hotel strategically located in downtown Tokyo that provides unbeatable prices and unmatched service.

Some of the services offered by the New Sanno include:

Restaurants

Kikuya – A Japanese style eatery.

Wellingtons – Elegant dining at its best.

Emporium – A family style, full service restaurant offering many great options.

Hero’s – A sandwich shop.

Sunrise Cafe – Coffee bar featuring Starbucks coffee and excellent baked goods.

Fair Winds – A place to grab a cocktail and lounge.

Shopping

Hashimoto gift shop – A place to buy a great souvenir of your trip to Tokyo.

Navy Exchange – Award winning Exchange store.

Amit Sanno – Jewelry Shop.

Sutter’s general Store – A general store carrying an assortment of items.

Facilities

Swimming Pool – Heated pool, sun deck, jacuzzi, children’s pool, and sauna.

Fitness Center – Various equipment to accommodate all your fitness needs.

We arrived on Easter Sunday and the place was packed due to their infamous Sunday brunch. However, I was still very impressed with the sophisticated design of the lobby and check-in area. Our rooms were not ready so a bellhop quickly came and stored our bags away safely until we were ready to check-in. We opted to head out for the town while we waited for our rooms to be ready, but the New Sanno offer a considerable amount of shops and restaurants to occupy your time while you wait.

This was our first time in Tokyo and we had some idea of how to get around, thanks to Google! Luckily for us the concierge service offered in the main lobby is by far the best I have ever experienced. They were able to give maps and directions to all the major sights in Tokyo. Also, because we do not speak Japanese they offered to write down everything in Japanese on a paper for us to show if we needed further help. Needless to say, we were impressed.

We checked in and they had a bellhop bring our bags to the room for us. The room was somewhat small but definitely a steal because it only cost forty-six dollars a night. The best part of the room was how comfortable the bed was, it was amazing! I would be willing to fly to Tokyo just to sleep in the bed again.

We ordered room service twice and it was delivered to our room in less than fifteen minutes both times. It was reasonably priced and great tasting.

Overall Brittany and I were both surprised by the great service and friendliness of the staff and also the high standards maintained throughout the entire hotel. I would highly recommend this hotel to any service member taking a trip to Tokyo.

Below I have listed other great information about The New Sanno hotel. Also, check out The New Sanno’s factsheet to determine price and eligibility requirements.

Location

4-12-20, Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 106-0047, Japan

Military Address:
U.S. Naval Joint Services Activity
The New Sanno
Unit 45003, APO AP 96337-5003

DSN:
229-7121-Lodging Reservations
229-7220 / 7231 Front Desk
229-8111 (Switchboard)