Gorgeous Ginza

In my recent travels to Japan, I'd often stay at Shinjuku because of convenience and the fact that it's the place I know best. From here, it's easy for me to go to Shibuya and Tokyo, and even to Urasa. Once, due to unavailability of rooms, I had to stay at Suidobashi which is also a nice place.

This trip, however, I thought of trying something totally new. I've been reading about this hotel for quite sometime, and I thought this would be the best place to stay on this trip. The area is Ginza and the hotel is Ginza Washington Hotel.


Tucked inside one of the quiet sidestreets, it's the perfect place to escape from the noisy, shop-laded streets of Ginza. Unlike the other hotels in the Washington chain, this one is only 12 floors and has an aura of a boutique hotel. Not surprisingly, the corridors and rooms have that boutique feel, too. And compared to the nightmare of a room we stayed in the night before at Shinjuku, this place was a welcome, welcome change.



The rooms have a dark wood, burgundy and white motif. The beds are comfortable and spacious, and it's well laid out. There's a mini-fridge, a TV which also doubles as a computer, and it has free broadband internet. Woohoo!



What's wonderful about Ginza - aside from the shopping - is that there are a lot of interesting buildings. But the shopping part has to come first. In one street, you can find the usual luxurious suspects like Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Prada, Lanvin and Christian Dior. There are also the casual, everyday brands like Gap, Uniqlo and Muji. Fast fashion freaks can get their fill at Zara. There's a big Shisheido building for make-up mavens like Arnie. And those who are into jewelry can easily hop on to the Tasaki and Mikimoto buildings.

Segueing from Mikimoto to interesting architecture, they have a beautiful shop here. The building is surrounded by a pearlescent pink material, and the windows are odd shaped. It easily stands out among the glass and concrete skyline of Ginza.




The Apple store is also a sight to see. It has about 4 floors of Apple stuff, and when we went there, we got to play with the new iPod Nano with video. I want one!!!


We later found out that it was a holiday in Japan, and that's why all the main roads at the Ginza strip were closed. In lieu of cars, we saw benches and parasols, and the locals immediately took to the streets and relaxed. Because the roads were clear, Mark was able to get a nice photo in Ginza.



Another great thing about Ginza is its convenience. It's only 1 station away from Tokyo Central Station, it's near the Yurikamome station. It has a number of JR and Metro stations around it, and there's a good mix of shopping and eating places. And given all these plus points - shopping being the major one - I think i'll be staying in Ginza the next time I find myself in Japan.