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Shinjuku Washington Hotel can still be a practical option if you want to stay in Shinjuku without spending more than necessary, but there are a few trade-offs to know before booking.
On the other hand, the hotel has convenience stores and restaurants inside, and airport limousine buses to both Haneda and Narita stop right in front of the hotel.
If you mainly need a place to sleep and find it noticeably cheaper than nearby hotels, I still think it is worth considering.
Shinjuku Washington Hotel is divided into a Main Building and an Annex, and the two buildings have separate front desks .
Getting to Shinjuku Washington Hotel from Shinjuku Station
Shinjuku Washington Hotel is about an 8-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Shinjuku Station .
From Tochomae Station on the Toei Oedo Line, the hotel is about a five-minute walk away.
You can also reach the hotel from Shinjuku Station through an underground passage.
At first, that sounds like the obvious choice when it is raining or when you have luggage.
In practice, though, I found it a little more complicated.
The underground route involves some ups and downs, and carrying luggage through it was more tiring than I expected.
With a suitcase, I personally found the street-level route flatter and easier to manage.
The underground passage is open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m.
ADVICE ADDED
There used to be a local community bus called the Shinjuku WE Bus between Shinjuku Station and the hotel, but that service ended at the end of March 2026.
Airport Limousine Bus Access to Haneda and Narita
The walk from Shinjuku Station is not especially long on paper, but it can feel inconvenient when you are carrying a large suitcase.
The trade-off is airport access.
Airport limousine buses to both Haneda Airport and Narita Airport stop in front of the hotel’s main entrance.
That makes the hotel especially convenient when your trip begins or ends at one of Tokyo’s airports.
Getting a large suitcase onto trains can be a hassle, so being able to board a bus directly outside the hotel is one of the reasons I have personally returned to Shinjuku Washington Hotel when I need convenient airport access.
For travelers with large luggage, the direct airport bus is one of the strongest reasons to choose this hotel.
That said, Shinjuku Washington Hotel is not the only hotel in the area served by airport limousine buses.
For me, the value becomes much clearer when the room rate is noticeably lower than comparable nearby hotels.
If the price difference is small, the compact rooms and the walk from the station are worth factoring into your decision.
Check-In at Shinjuku Washington Hotel
The Main Building and Annex Have Separate Front Desks
Main Building front desk Make sure you go to the correct front desk for the building you booked.
I stayed in the Main Building, where the front desk was on the third floor.
There were also self check-in machines.
Depending on when you arrive, using one may be quicker than waiting for a staffed counter.
During my stay, the number of staffed counters felt fairly limited for such a large hotel, and the front desk became quite busy at certain times.
The Annex front desk was smaller than the one in the Main Building.
The Annex front desk Pick Up the Amenities You Need
Items such as lotion, bath sponges and cotton swabs were available from an amenity area next to the third-floor front desk rather than already being placed in the room.
It is easiest to pick up whatever you need after checking in and before heading to your room.
Main Building Single Room Review
The Single Room Is Only 13 m²
I stayed in a Single Room in the Main Building, a room type I had also used on previous stays.
The Main Building Single Room is only 13 m², so first-time guests may be surprised by how compact it feels.
The Casual Double is also 13 m².
Based on the space I saw, I would personally find that quite tight for two people, so a larger room may be worth considering if you are staying as a couple or sharing the room with another person.
For one person who mainly wants somewhere to sleep, I had no real problem with the size.
If you want space to spread out and relax in your room, however, 13 m² may feel limiting.
The Rooms Show Their Age
I already knew the room would be small, but what stood out more to me was its age.
The wooden shelving, table and fittings around the bed in my room looked dated.
The hotel originally opened in 1983, and the room I stayed in clearly felt older than rooms at newer hotels.
Room renovations appear to be underway in stages, so the experience may differ in a renovated room.
Room Facilities Are Basic but Practical
Despite the small footprint, my Single Room had the basic equipment I needed for my stay, including a TV, refrigerator, electric kettle, air purifier and free Wi-Fi.
There was no proper desk, just a small table.
I could still open my laptop and do some light work on it.
What actually impressed me was how efficiently the room used its limited space.
For such a small room, most of the essentials fit in without much wasted space.
The Bathroom Is Compact but Has a Bathtub
The bathroom is compact as well, which is hardly surprising in a 13 m² room.
I did not have any particular problem using it during my stay.
Although the bathroom is small, having a bathtub was a welcome feature for me.
The 140 cm Bed Is a Major Plus
One area where the hotel performed better for me was the bed.
The hotel uses bedding jointly developed with Slumberland, a British luxury bedding brand, and I found the bed genuinely comfortable.
More importantly, the Main Building Single Room has a 140 cm-wide bed despite the room itself being only 13 m².
That larger bed made the room feel more comfortable to sleep in than the floor space alone might suggest.
The Main Building and Annex differ here.
The Single Rooms in the Annex have 120 cm-wide beds, while the Main Building Single uses a 140 cm bed.
Other room types also often have larger beds in the Main Building, so if bed size matters to you, the Main Building is worth looking at first.
Loaner pillows were also available in the hallway if the pillow already in the room did not suit you.
Check room types and current rates at Shinjuku Washington Hotel
Convenience Stores, Laundry and Luggage Storage
The dining floor in the basement of the Main Building of the Shinjuku Washington Hotel One of Shinjuku Washington Hotel’s biggest strengths is how much you can do without leaving the building.
The Main Building has a FamilyMart on the first floor, while the basement has a Lawson as well as a floor with restaurants.
Being able to buy drinks, food and everyday essentials inside the hotel is genuinely convenient, especially when you mainly use the room as a place to sleep.
There was also a microwave on the third floor of the Main Building and an ice machine on each floor.
Coin Laundry for Hotel Guests
Guest-only coin laundries were located on the first floor of the Main Building and the second floor of the Annex.
The rooms required a hotel key card for entry.
When I visited, there were five machines in the Main Building laundry room, with washing and drying available.
Despite the size of the hotel, the laundry room did not seem particularly busy when I saw it.
Free Self-Service Luggage Storage
Another useful feature is the self-service luggage storage area.
The self-service luggage storage is free, and it can be used from your check-in day through your check-out day.
That means you can leave your luggage after checking out and head out for the day before returning to collect it.
The system uses a transit IC card.
If you do not have one, ask the front desk for help.
Restaurants and Breakfast Venues
In addition to the restaurants on the lower floors, the hotel has two restaurants that also serve as breakfast venues.
One is Manhattan Table on the 25th floor of the Main Building.
Its main appeal is dining with views across the surrounding Shinjuku buildings.
The night view from the counter seats at “Manhattan Table” on the 25th floor of the Main Building I particularly liked the view at night.
The other is Teppanyaki Fujita on the first floor of the Annex.
It is a higher-end teppanyaki restaurant where the chef cooks meat in front of guests, and the small garden outside gives the space a different feel from the high-rise views at Manhattan Table.
The garden as seen from the counter seats at “Teppanyaki Fujita” on the first floor of the Annex Guests staying in either the Main Building or the Annex can use either of the two breakfast venues.
Is Shinjuku Washington Hotel Worth It?
Who I Think This Hotel Works Best For
Shinjuku Washington Hotel is not a hotel I would recommend to everyone.
The Single Room I stayed in was only 13 m², some of the room fittings felt dated, and even though Shinjuku Station is listed as about an eight-minute walk away, moving between the station and hotel with luggage took more effort than I expected.
Still, the hotel has one important advantage: it can sometimes be found at a relatively reasonable rate compared with other hotels around Shinjuku.
I think this hotel makes the most sense if you mainly need somewhere to sleep, want the convenience of shops and food inside the building, and find it noticeably cheaper than nearby alternatives.
The airport limousine buses also make it particularly practical for travelers who want to travel directly between the hotel and Haneda or Narita without making the whole journey by train.
Who Should Probably Look Elsewhere
If room size, newer facilities or being closer to Shinjuku Station are high priorities, I would compare other hotels before booking.
The same applies if the price is only slightly lower than a hotel that better matches those priorities.
The compact room and station walk are easier to accept when you are getting a meaningful saving in return.
The hotel also offers larger room types, and staying in the Annex is another option, so the 13 m² Single Room reviewed here is not the only choice.
My Final Take
For me, Shinjuku Washington Hotel is a hotel whose appeal depends heavily on price.
The rooms may be compact and some of the facilities may feel old, but the hotel is easy to live with once you are there: convenience stores, restaurants and other useful facilities are inside the building, and the direct airport bus access is a major plus.
If I found Shinjuku Washington Hotel at a clearly lower rate than nearby alternatives, I would still consider staying here.
If the prices were similar, I would compare the other options carefully.
That is ultimately how I would approach this hotel: not as the best choice for every traveler, but as a practical option when the price and airport access work in your favor.
Compare current Shinjuku Washington Hotel rates with nearby hotels
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