Twice merch is killing me......every week im spending lol. And i still havent found a Twice jersey i like enough to buy!

I definitely can see myself using the guitar picks, the cupholders and key cases.

If I buy through Buyee, anybody have an idea how bad the tariff/shipping situation is going to be?

Oh god more merch 😱

TWICE won't even give us a week so we can save up some money to afford these things 😭 Even the Mafia would give people more time before asking for more money 🫠

Link in Twitter post: https://www.twicejapan.com/news/detail/1861

JYP JAPAN ONLINE STORE: https://jypj-store.com/collections/twice-official-goods

ONCE JAPAN OFFICIAL SHOP: https://store.plusmember.jp/oncejapan/

why not just book any 5 star and request for a low floor, im sure 5 stars would accommodate such requests

The Tokyo Station Hotel is pretty low-rise

the Edition Ginza says their rooms are located on floors 3 through 13

Hilton in Odaiba ain’t that tall

Chinzanso might be an option.

Best hotels in Jeju Island would be Shilla, Grand Hyatt, and Lotte (in that order would be my personal ranking). There's also a JW Marriott, but it's double the price for what I felt was an inferior product to Shilla. They are all fine hotels, but none of them are what I would consider luxury hotels. Shilla has good hospitality, but the hotel itself is pretty dated.

When are you going?

I stayed at their bangkok hotel (much more affordable than its tokyo counterpart) and it had a fantastic breakfast. The lounge and restaurant are indeed overpriced though.

So I booked the Okura for 3 nights in Sep. We will be staying in the Prestige Wing in a Corner Room. I went back at forth at the time of booking between the Heritage Wing and the Prestige Wing, and because we'll be coming in from Kyoto where we'll be staying in a ryokan, it just didn't seem necessary to me to stay in the Heritage Wing and I would rather stay in a room with a (partial) view of the Tokyo Tower. However all the subsequent reviews I've read are for the Heritage Wing, but since then prices have increased dramatically and it just doesn't make economic sense to pay cash price to switch to a Heritage Room.

Do you have experience with Prestige Rooms and if so, how are they? We booked via Amex FHR - do you know if they do upgrades (if any) to the Heritage Wing? Many thanks.

This is super useful as I’m considering a stay next month. Breakfast is a really important factor for me when booking a hotel.

A couple of questions:

I have an entry level room booked for $520 per night (inc. tax) in the Prestige wing. I have the option to change to the Palace hotel for $135 per night more. Would you recommend I change if I really value a good breakfast?

How did you find the location and distance to subway?

We loved the Conrad when we went a couple years ago. Had a toddler and they treated him well! The breakfast was a great mix of western and Japanese. Would visit there again even without FHR

For New Otani, make sure you're booking the Zen — the normal hotel vs the Zen is night and day, and I think Amex does make that clear so hopefully that's not an issue.

I would stay at the Palace Hotel imo — Michelin hotels ratings have usually been pretty spot on for me and I've been to at least a dozen stars since the guide came out. And I concur that there is a good reason for each of those hotels getting theirs.

I always stay at the Grand Hyatt. It’s nice. Can’t speak to the others.

We're New Otani regulars, partly out of family nostalgia. It's quite a complex, the location is good, and the garden is glorious. It also has one of the few remaining Trader Vic's, if that's your kind of thing, and I enjoy the bakery near the main entrance.

I can't give any opinions on the others, however.

Mandarin Oriental is fantastic. I’ve stayed there my two visits to Tokyo. Service and hospitality are great. You get access to the metro under the hotel and it’s well located. If you get a chance try their pizza omakase.

Conrad Osaka is ok±. Their toilets were not up to standard. I stayed in a suite with 2 toilets and I was disappointed with both.  

It's a quieter location but easy access to Ginza and subway access is excellent. Service was very good. 

I haven't stayed at Conrad Osaka. We stayed at the Intercontinental and it was incredible. 2 bedroom suite and amazing breakfast. Both bathrooms were top notch. Service went beyond expectations  

If you’d feel to spend a little more, WA Osaka is really good! Opened just a few months ago with the Waldorf and Japanese hospitality combined is amazing.

The Conrad Osaka must be their best property in Asia (including Koh Samui). Plus the location — on Nakanoshima Island — is better than Ginza, although it’s not “bad.” Osaka is like a cleaner Chicago. So much good stuff happening. Stayed at both Conrads last October.

https://preview.redd.it/oqqhmzz7afhf1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb96c00c8eaaf7d09d5e85aeb4ce27356fd3a2b1

My experience at the Conrad Osaka was vastly superior to Conrad Tokyo. Everything to the staff and the room was superior in my opinion. Have been to the Tokyo location 3x, and all three visits were just “okay” compared to my 1x visit to Osaka. Just for your reference, I was denied late check out (even as Diamond) at the Tokyo location, though this was during peak cherry blossom season so YMMV. Didn’t need late check out for the other occasions, so can’t comment on those visits.

I’m pretty interested in trying out the WA, especially now that they’ve had time to iron out any kinks they may have had during their initial opening.

Location wise, the Tokyo location is just ok - pretty close to Tsukiji, but the metro isn’t too far away. Nothing notable in the immediate vicinity otherwise (basically just a business area). I don’t remember much about the Osaka location, other than having a hard time getting my bags around through the metro (lack of elevators).

Could Waldorf in Osaka be an option?

Conrad Osaka is worth the points. Always near the top of best hotels in Japan lists. Really liked that there is a subway station in the basement.

I second the Kimpton in Shinjuku!

I had a great stay at the Kimpton Shinjuku. The staff is great and the rooms are beautiful. I was upgraded as a Diamond Elite and took advantage of the free breakfast at my welcome amenity. I would definitely stay again. My only complaint is that the hotel is a bit further from Shinjuku Station than I thought when booking. You'll want to give yourself about 20 minutes walking to get there.

stayed at IC Strings and Indigo Shibuya. IC Strings had great breakfast, amazing service and the rooms are big. Very handy if you need to take the shinkansen (and get an ekiben beforer boarding the train) from Shinagawa. Area is nice, with some restaurants. You are also on the Yamanote line so easy to get anywhere in Tokyo (travelling by metro always takes time because of the size of the city). Tokyo Tower is in walking distance.

Indigo Shibuya has smaller rooms compared to the IC but amazing breakfast (pancakes are a dream). Great terrace to have a snack and drink while watching the people on top of Shibuya Sky. The location is great, right behind Shibuya 109. Shibuya Parco is close by, lots of restaurants and there is a Mega Donki on the opposite side of the street. Great view from the higher floors. Shibuya Mark City is close as well and very handy to catch the limousine bus to get to Haneda airport.

Stayed at the Strings and thought it was incredible. However, my experience may be based on the fact I had a lounge pass and took advantage of it almost every day. Only downside is it’s in a quiet part of town but there is a rail station conveniently close that makes it easy getting around.

Intercontinental Tokyo bay was solid. It’s what I expect out of an intercontinental, but it didn’t blow me away like some of my other trips have. If you have the annual lounge pass it’s a worthwhile stay though.

Personally I love Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo Ikebukuro. Nice sized rooms, mid range hotel, big windows, possible to wake up to views of Fuji. The limo bus from Narita/Haneda stops right at the hotel. Great facilities. A two minute walk to Ikebukuro station.

I stayed there on my last trip and this trip I thought I would stay somewhere else just to change things but in the end I couldn't find anything that ticked all the boxes as well as Hotel metropolitan so I ended up booking back there.

Aoyama Grand Hotel. Love the interior design, impeccable service, fantastic views, pretty good sushi and breakfast, a nice rooftop bar, and the rooms come with a huge and high quality complimentary mini bar that is fully restocked every day. King suite has in room laundry which is clutch.

Tbh Japanese 3-4 star hotels provide for a lot of amenities, and in Tokyo I find all the bougie 5 star hotels are at inconvenient places or kind of out of the way.

Unless people plan to just come to Tokyo and chill in hotels, theres absolutely no need to splurge that much when you’re going to out all the time

If you're anything like me, business hotels are fine. Typical day in Tokyo for me is leave the hotel by 8 am, come back after 11 pm, fall into bed snoring by 11:30. Not much point paying for opulence if you aren't going to use it.

I’ve loved every hotel I’ve stayed at in Tokyo, so I’ll recommend each of the following based on varying things.

nui Hostel (inexpensive): this hostel seems to have fairly lively common areas for an Asian hostel, and it’s good for meeting other travelers. Do note most of the ppl you meet will be from the west though. Shared bathrooms and showers, and tiny private rooms. Excellent location for exploring asakusa and eastern Tokyo.

Hamacho Hotel (somewhat expensive): really nice boutique hotel with a very good chocolate shop on the first floor. Good for people who care about modern aesthetics and a hip vibe. Also recommend if you like plants (there’s lots of plants growing on the windowsills of each level). Not very central location (it’s close to tsukiji), but you could do worse.

Gate Hotel Ginza (expensive given my room recommendation): this is an above-average hotel with one huge plus: if you get a deluxe king you get an enormous room and have an insane view from your floor to ceiling windows. Recommended for voyeurists, as well as people who like vaporwave and don’t mind bright lights at night. Very central location.

Yuen Bettei Daita (expensive): this is a classic ryokan-style lodging. Very peaceful, beautifully designed, and the best onsen I’ve been to in Tokyo. Recommended for people who really want to Japan-ify their trip and want to stay in a more traditional lodging style. It’s not in a very central location, though you are close to Shimo-Kitazawa if you like neighborhoods like that.

Hoshinoya (very expensive): if I had to evaluate this objectively I think this would be the best hotel I’ve stayed at in Tokyo. The pricing gets better the more nights you stay. Extremely unique layout and concept, beautiful (and exclusive-feeling) rooms and common areas, and (the biggest plus, imo) the opportunity to do lots of cool shit like rooftop sword yoga, tea ceremonies, seeing live performances in the lobby. Also a very nice onsen. The rooms mostly don’t have good views though, as the hotel faces a taller building in Otemachi. Very central location.

The new Waldorf Osaka!

I came in really not wanting to like it. From the pictures before opening I thought the decor would be ugly. In person it's gorgeous, probably the best looking Waldorf I've stayed at. I had the preconceived notion that the staff would be all new and wouldn't be able to run the hotel too well. In truth they brought in the best of the best from the Conrads and WAs from around the world and the staff were so well trained and experienced that it felt like they had been running this hotel in tip-top shape for a while. I assumed the rooms would be small as is typical for a big city but they have more large premium rooms than standard ones so it's easy to get an upgrade. I also didn't think they could treat me as well as my home WA, but they were so warm and welcoming and treated me like a celebrity. The hotel was full and there was literal royalty staying there at the time, but they still treated me like their most important guest and I even made friends there.

The hotel did raise its standard redemption rate from 100K-120k HH points unfortunately (5th night is free), but it honestly was one of the best hotel experiences I've ever had

Just did 3 nights in W Osaka and 2 in Conrad with my wife. We’re on the younger side, so W fit our vibe more, but the views at the Conrad are unbelievable. Conrad would be my pick on a return trip.

A great cheap alternative would be Hyatt caption. We passed it and it seemed to be in a great location. Not as “luxurious”, but points per value, it’s prob just as up there if you have chase points.

I loved the Conrad. It was super nice and had a station in the basement that took us most everywhere.

I loved Conrad Osaka

Conrad Osaka - beautiful hotel, excellent breakfast.