Business Traveller Asia - 07.2019 - 08.2019

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TOKYO HOTEL FOR FIRST-

TIME VISITOR

POSTWSTER

Imagine a first-timer (one of two

travellers anyway) in Tokyo. Limited to

four/five days (not including a plan for

Kyoto after). Everyone tends to suggest

Ginza for the easy access to everywhere.

Would you go for the large chains like

Hiltons, Marriotts, Hyatts, etc? Or try a

local Japanese brand? I have Hilton and

Marriott Gold, Golden Circle Jade and

Discovery Black. Looking at options.

SGJNI

Personally, I would try The Strings by

Intercontinental. Good hotel located two

minutes’ walk from Shinagawa Station

which has excellent connections to

both international airports, particularly

Haneda. It’s pretty easy to navigate the

city from there with a little help from the

English-speaking support sta near the

ticket machines. Hotel is comfortable

and reasonably priced.

SPEEDBIRD

I stayed at Hyatt Regency Shinjuku,

which was a lovely hotel, with nice

views, beautiful rooms and good views.

It was also only a ten-minute walk from

Shinjuku Station which is one of the main

stations in Tokyo.

PETER

I have stayed a few times at the Hilton

Shinjuku. You won’t go wrong there.

You come into the train station from

the airport and it has a pickup point/

courtesy bus outside the station if you

have bags to carry on arrival. The rest of

the time it’s walkable from the hotel back

to the train station, etc.

ST

Shinjuku or Shibuya. Plenty of decent

hotels and easy enough to get where

has a lot to offer in terms of its history

and culture. We are planning on setting

aside 2-3 days to do some exploration – a

brief Google search does seem to indicate

there is a lot to see!

I was wondering if any forum members

have ever travelled there? If so, do they

have any top tips?

MAXGEORGE

Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are

extraordinary historic cities of the Silk

Road, easily reached by train from

Tashkent. Trains are surprisingly good –

a/c, high speed and absurdly cheap. But

book in advance at eticket.uzrailway.uz,

or check out the ever reliable seat61.com.

No visa needed for EU/UK passports.

There are plenty of boutique hotels, but,

as for trains, book in advance for popular

spring and autumn seasons. Hot as the

hinges of hell in summer, mind.

DIPLOMAT_BSB

I was in Uzbekistan in 2008. Wonderful

place. I second maxgeorge on Khiva,

Bukhara and Samarkand. I especially

liked Khiva (I’ve heard it is possible to do

some tours into Turkmenistan from Khiva

now, which must be fascinating).

MAXGEORGE

A reliable and responsive source of

info on Uzbekistan is advantour.com.

Turkmenistan visas are a pain, especially

for land border entry. The British-run,

Beijing-based agency koryogroup.com

handles tours and visas for North Korea

and runs tours to Turkmenistan too. I’ve

used them three times. Never a problem,

very professional.

INBOX FORUM

you need/want to be in Tokyo from

both neighbourhoods. Omotesando

or Roppongi also good. You might

even consider Ikebukuro – all are well

connected and have good amenities on

your doorstep. But my first choice would

still be either Shinjuku or Shibuya.

A_CANADIAN_TRAVELLER

I, too, based myself at the Hyatt Regency

Shinjuku. Perfect stay. Not the most

luxurious hotel in which you’ll ever stay,

but a solid upscale option which is well

maintained and in a great location. As

mentioned, walking distance to the

transportation hub of the area, and a

metro station is beneath the hotel itself.

Some good department stores are within

walking distance, too. Having said all of

that, I remember seeing the Hilton (close

proximity) and thinking that probably the

two are very similar. The Hyatt Regency

represents a reasonable price point for

expensive Tokyo, too.

COSMOB

Hi, a bit of an insider here as I lived and

worked in Japan for eight years. I still

visit twice a year for work and I can

recommend the “Mitsui Garden Hotels”

for your stay. Most of them are brand

new, modern and if booked early enough

they are cheaper than the big chain

hotels. They are more “Japanese” than

the Western hotels which for a first-timer

might be interesting. Ginza, Otemachi,

Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo Station are all

good places to stay as they are close to

the Yamanote Line which will bring you

to the most sights.

TRAVEL TIPS FOR

UZBEKISTAN

POST MININGGUY

My team and I will be heading to

Uzbekistan in a few weeks’ time for a

project. From what we have researched

online, the country has only really

opened up recently to the world, but it

JULY/AUGUST 2019