Is Shinagawa a good place to stay in Tokyo?

Shinagawa is a good base if you're flying from Haneda, taking the Shinkansen or here on business. Shinagawa Station has the Tokaido Shinkansen, the Yamanote line and the Keikyu line, which runs straight to Haneda Airport, so arrivals and departures are about as easy as they get in Tokyo. It suits business travellers, families with luggage and anyone on a tight schedule.

The area is calm and practical. On the Takanawa side, west of the station, big hotels stand in landscaped grounds, and the Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa has a large Japanese garden. The station is full of shops and restaurants, Shinatatsu has ramen counters under the Keikyu tracks, and Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa puts on dolphin shows inside the Shinagawa Prince. Sengaku-ji, the temple where the famous ronin of the Chushingura story are buried, is a short walk north.

The downside is that Shinagawa has little atmosphere of its own. Evenings are quiet, most restaurants are in the station or the hotels, and you'll take the train to every major sight. The station itself is huge and very busy at rush hour.

What makes Shinagawa worth considering is how smoothly it makes a trip run. You can reach Haneda in minutes, catch the bullet train to Kyoto without crossing the city, and come back each evening to a quiet hotel with a garden view.