We stayed at the Toggle Hotel Suidobashi over the 8D7N we spent in Tokyo on this trip. It was tough trying to find a property that could hold the four of us: either a family room, or a property that guaranteed adjacent rooms if not interconnected rooms. The kids are getting older now, so it’d likely be another year or two at most where they share their own room and need not be near us. That would certainly make it much easier to find suitable properties to stay at when we’re on vacation!
But for the moment, on a Japan trip like this — and also because there would be so much travelling both within and out of Tokyo city — we had to find a property that was close to a train station, and also not too far from Shinjuku Station where many Tokyo lines interconnect. This was especially important after our experience in the 2019 trip to Tokyo where we spent a good amount of time just getting to where we needed to go to and from the hotel.
In this sense, the Toggle Hotel Suidobashi fitted our needs perfectly: it offers interconnected rooms, is fairly new, is within a 3-minute walk from the west exit of Suidobashi Station, and the station itself is a manageable 20-minute ride away from Shinjuku Station. The Chūō-Sōbu train line also directly connects to a few places in our itinerary. In terms of amenities, Tokyo Dome City is just another 6-minute walk away, and there are plenty of small eateries and restaurants clustered around Suidobashi Station too. There are two Starbucks outlets located at Tokyo Dome City, and a McDonald’s, plus two cafes (Excelsior Cafe and Caffé Veloce) all within a 5-minute walk. Aside from the half-dozen 7-11, Lawson, and FamilyMart outlets within the same distance, there is also a pharmacy located just opposite Suidobashi Station. The latter proved valuable as I needed large plasters for my Achilles heels after I got blisters early on from the amount of walking we’d been doing.
Our comments after our 7-night stay!
The hotel is located along the Chūō-Sōbu train line. Guest rooms are from levels 2 to 8, with level 9 housing the reception and hotel cafe. The laundry machines and dryers are at level 2 and are operated by e-money (e.g. IC cards) and credit cards.
Many guests have observed that vehicular noise can be an issue. The train noisily accelerates and decelerates as it approaches or leaves Suidobashi Station, and other visitors have reported that the opposite side of the hotel faces a main road. For us, our two rooms on level 6 were facing the train tracks, but the noise was bearable when we weren’t sleeping. When we were sleeping, closing the windows shut out most of the train noise. To note: we could still hear it, but it was sufficiently muffled that it would likely only bother very light sleepers. In those cases, the hotel will provide earplugs upon request. Also, the trains stop running at around midnight, but that’s also when the occasional train track maintenance starts. A couple of times I woke up at around 2–3AM and observed workers doing such maintenance.
Each room in the hotel is very colorfully painted. Ours was yellow and blue, which provided a cheerful and modern look to our stay.
We found the desk areas in each room somewhat dim though. Additional lighting that brightened up the desk areas would have been much appreciated.
The shower stall and toilet are in separate rooms, and this bathroom area is further separated from the bedroom by a sliding partition.
The large screen TVs support Netflix, and the kids binge-watched Teen Titans Go during our evenings!
Our room was a “Light Blue Connection Room B” with a four-single-bed arrangement. That was exactly what we got: two mattresses in each of the two connecting rooms, placed on oversized platforms. The mattresses aren’t especially thick — perhaps around 4–5 inches would be my guess. They were fine for us as we’re not especially large or heavy individuals, but they might not provide sufficient support if you weigh substantially more.
The only complimentary in-room beverages were a few tea bags, but there was a mini-fridge if you still need cold drinks in winter. The hotel also provides the standard bathroom amenities including shower foam, conditioner, and shampoo. Shavers, combs, cotton buds, etc. can be picked up at reception.
In all, we loved our stay at this property, as did both kids! It was a combination of many things: we got interconnected rooms, the rates were affordable, and the location offered plenty of nearby dining options. The only caveat is the vehicle noise, and while it ultimately didn’t bother us that much, your mileage may vary on that. That aside, we’d definitely recommend this property to families with kids!