Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Premier

Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Premier is a stylish, confortable, modern hotel with comparatively spacious rooms on the edge of Roppongi which is ideal for a city stay.

What’s the hotel like?

The hotel feels modern and stylish, houses a high-class restaurant/bar on the top floor and has a relatively late check-out time of 12pm, making it an ideal spot for couples.

What facilities does the hotel have?

As mentioned, the standout feature of the hotel is the restaurant and bar Balcȯn Tokyo on the 14th floor.

While by no means cheap, this is a really classy date spot with beers from ¥950 and glasses of wine from ¥1,000. Light meals start from ¥2,400. There is a range of seating available. There are private booths that comfortably seat 2 or 3 diners, bar seating, high tables with stools, and cafe style seating. The highlight however is the open air balcony, with comfortable sofas for lounging and shade umbrellas.

The hotel has a well used gym with 4 treadmills, and lots of resistance machines. It’s free to use for guests. It also has the usual laundry facilities and vending machines you would expect in a hotel in Japan.

Is there anywhere to hang out in the hotel?

The made-for-Instagram sofas in the lobby are a nice place to lounge for a bit, but they’re quite popular so usually occupied.

You can technically hangout at Balcȯn, but it’s not exactly a lounge, so you would probably have to order something.

What are the rooms like?

As mentioned, the rooms are slightly larger than typical Tokyo hotel rooms and with the spacious bathroom and separate toilet, they’re on a slightly different level to cheaper places like MyStays.

The bed is comfortable, and the room is spotlessly clean. The air conditioning is so silent, it’s hard to tell that it’s running. The hotel provides two big thick pillows per person, or four if you’re alone!

Room lights and temperature can be controlled from a tablet next to the bed. There were five free power outlets in the room, and a multi plug charging cable.

The big screen TV claims to have “mirroring”, but you’ll need a circa 2013 version of Android if you want to cast Netflix from your phone.

How big are the rooms?

The standard room that we stayed in was 21 m² (221 ft²), which compares favorably to the average of around 12 to 15 m² (130 to 160 ft²) for cheaper hotels in Tokyo. There are larger rooms in the hotel too — up to 33 m² (355 ft²).

Are the rooms comfortable?

The rooms are definitely a place to relax, and you can pop the window open a smidgeon to let in some fresh air. They’re not necessarily a great place to get some work done though. In our room, there was a sofa next to the window with a small table which you could perch a laptop or tablet on.

What’s the view like?

The quality of the view depends on your room. Rooms lower than the 6th floor will likely just have a view of the neighboring building. From about the 7th floor up, you should have a view of the urban panorama of Roppongi. Rooms on the south (gaien higashi dōri side) will have views towards Roppongi Hills and Azabu, while rooms on the upper floors on the east side will have a glimpse of Tokyo Tower and a whole eyeful of Japan’s new tallest building.

What’s the location like?

Mitsui Garden Roppongi is located on Gaien-higashi Dōri, on the edge of Roppongi. Behind the hotel is mainly residential, while to the west of the hotel are all the nightclubs, restaurants, and bars for which Roppongi is famous.

How is the access to trains and subway?

The hotel is located about 5 minutes walk from both Roppongi Station — on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya and the Toei Oedo lines — and Roppongi Itchome Station on the Namboku Line.

How do I get there from Tokyo’s airports?

From Haneda Airport, take the Monorail to Hamamatsucho, then switch to Daimon Station and jump on the Oedo Line to Roppongi Station.

From Narita Airport, take the Keisei Skyliner to Ueno then change to the Hibiya Line and get off at Roppongi Station. Alternatively, you can take the Narita Express to Tokyo, jump on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line for one stop, then switch at Ginza to the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. Roppongi is a 10 minute ride from Ginza.

What’s the surrounding neighborhood like?

Roppongi is one of Tokyo’s top nightlife districts. Here, you can find everything from cheap and cheery izakaya through to high end eateries. The area is seedy in parts, but as long as you don’t follow the touts, you’ll be fine.

Well known clubs and bars in the area include Muse, Jumanji 55, V2 Tokyo, and Havana Cafe. For watching sport, British pub Hobgoblin — located nextdoor to the hotel — is a popular venue.

For more, see our guide on things to do in Roppongi.

Are there many good places to eat nearby?

Roppongi is a gourmet’s paradise, with everything including high end sushi restaurants like Edomae Sushi Hattori, modern dining bars like Rigoletto, the pizza and craft beer institution Two Dogs Taproom, and good-value vegan bar/restaurant Falafel Brothers.

What points of interest are within walking distance of the hotel?

If you’re into art, Roppongi is a great place to be. Mitsui Garden Roppongi is just outside the “Roppongi Art triangle”. The three points on the triangle are Suntory Museum of Art within Tokyo Midtown, National Art Center Tokyo, and Mori Art Museum at Roppongi Hills with the iconic Maman sculpture at the base.

Although Tokyo Tower is not as close as it looks, it’s still only a 15 minute walk away. We usually recommend visitors go up to the Roppongi Hills observation deck instead though as you actually get a view with the iconic tower in it.

One thing that Roppongi doesn’t really do is “traditional Japan”, so if you’re looking for that old-Edo vibe, neither this hotel nor Roppongi are the place for you.

Should I order the breakfast?

While we’re usually ambivalent on hotel breakfasts, for this hotel it’s an emphatic yes!

The breakfast (¥2,500/person) can be added as an optional extra to the room at booking, and is well worth the extra expense if you want to treat yourself. Pre-COVID, breakfast at this hotel was a buffet, but now you get to choose from an ala carte breakfast menu which includes an American breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, hashed browns, or English muffin, a “Signature Breakfast” with choices of roast beef or a burger, pancakes, or a Japanese breakfast.

Despite the English speaking staff and international guests (even with the borders still closed) a surprising shortcoming of the menu was the lack of English detail.

A slightly more important shortcoming if you’re a coffee snob, is the shortage of breakfast coffee options. The only coffee available is the pre-brewed jug on the hot plate. If you need a better quality morning coffee hit, you should head to Verve Coffee Roasters across the road, which opens at 7am. They also have food options, so you could skip the fancy breakfast at Balcom and come here instead.

Who should stay here?

If you want to stay at a hotel that feels like it’s in central Tokyo and you want a little more space than is typical, then this is for you. Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Premier is the ideal place to stay for a weekend trip to Tokyo or even longer.

If you need to get some work done while you’re here, it isn’t ideal, although there are places like Downstairs Coffee nearby which are perfect for knocking out some emails.

With the combination of stylish rooms, Roppongi, and the high class Balcon on the top floor, Mitsui Garden Roppongi is also a great place for a romantic urban getaway.

What sustainability measures do they have?

They have a page on their website about Sustainable Development Goals, but we weren’t able to find anything concrete that the hotel is doing in regards to sustainability.

Tips and tricks for the best stay

At peak times, room rates can be a little high, but if you book ahead, you can get a good rate. Reflecting Roppongi’s popularity with couples, room rates tend to most expensive on Friday and Saturday nights. Sundays and earlier in the week tend to be better value.