Hyatt Regency Tokyo review: a revived Shinjuku icon

After extensive renovations completed in 2025, longstanding Shinjuku address Hyatt Regency Tokyo is shining once again.

Shinjuku is a sensation-swirling warren of neon billboards, moody izakayas and hidden ramen dens wedged between round-the-clock convenience stores. There is no shortage of hotels in this buzzy entertainment and shopping district of Tokyo, where I find myself wandering on a crisp Tuesday morning. But few do what the refurbished Hyatt Regency Tokyo does – capture the neighbourhood’s distinctive energy while simultaneously offering escape from the thrum.

The five-star hotel has welcomed guests since 1980, but in September 2025 completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that saw more than 90 per cent of its rooms reimagined by renowned Shibuya-based Nao Taniyama & Associates, alongside a refreshed lobby and new dining options. Owing to its location within close reach of Shinjuku’s electric heart, a steady stream of families, businessmen and sophisticated globetrotters choose to bed down here. But the draw is more than just location.

Checking in

hyatt regency tokyo lobby — The hotel’s lobby and bar make a dazzling first impression.

Calling Hyatt Regency Tokyo’s lobby a ‘grand entrance’ would be a disservice. Three mammoth chandeliers – suspended across eight floors and studded with 115,000 Swarovski crystals – hang like luminous clouds, commanding attention.

Below, the reimagined Nineteen Eighty Lounge & Bar is a sophisticated 80-seater social hub where guests linger for morning coffee, evening cocktails and all-day dining. Designed in collaboration with interior practice G.A Group, the lounge speaks to Shinjuku’s vibrant urban heritage with elements including an imposing railway-style clock nodding to the original Shinjuku train station.

Nineteen Eighty Bar hyatt regency tokyo — Sip coffee or cocktails at the Nineteen Eighty Bar.

My friend and I arrive at the hotel mid-morning and – to our delight – our room is already ready for us, despite check-in time normally being from 2pm. Friendly reception staff make the process fast and fuss-free.

Hyatt Regency Tokyo’s renovated guestrooms

Hyatt Regency Tokyo Corner Studio — The Corner Studios feature a spacious, wrap-around layout.

The hotel offers more than 700 rooms, but I’m staying in one of the Park View Corner Studios – hotel staff advise they’re the best place to be. And smug I am with this decision.

When I enter the suite, I’m surprised at how supremely spacious it is (I later find out it was once two old rooms that were put together). With 64 square metres at their fingertips, guests enjoy a walk-in wardrobe and roomy double bathroom, where there is even an elegant freestanding bathtub boasting views all the way to Mount Fuji on a clear day. But most of all, I love the large window-wrapping daybeds on either side of the king bed that could probably sleep three extra people in themselves. I’m tempted to sit here all day, reading books and watching the ant-like pedestrian movements of Shinjuku Central Park.

Hyatt Regency Tokyo in Japan — Soak in views of Mt Fuji from your freestanding tub.

Unlike the lobby and restaurant designs that nod to Shinjuku’s vibrant essence, guest rooms provide timeless sanctuaries of calm amid the buzzy surrounding streetscapes.

Elegant touches – from streamlined tech and gold-specked resin lamps to a gorgeous vertical artwork above the loo – remind me of Japan’s knack for details. On the walls, hand-dyed materials made using traditional Shinjuku techniques evoke the flowing surface of the Kanda River, bringing a subtle sense of place into the room.

hyatt regency tokyo view — Cosy up in the reading nooks of a Corner Studio.

Waiting for us on the coffee table is a bowl of gigantic, sweet-as-ever strawberries we can’t help but devour all in one go. But for those who prefer a caffeine hit, the room features a luxurious pull-out drawer lined with espresso pods. Decadently fluffy robes that make me want to stay in all day and a huge flat-screen TV provide added comforts.

Hyatt Regency Tokyo dining

Crossroads Kitchen Hyatt Regency Tokyo — Crossroads Kitchen puts an elegant spin on the buffet concept.

While there are numerous restaurants onsite, the new Crossroads Kitchen is the place to be for dinner. Delivering an interactive bistro-meets-modern-buffet concept, the restaurant features live cooking stations where each dish is prepared and artfully plated in full view of guests.

We walk through a fluorescent-lit walkway showcasing digital art to the meal stations, where we mix and match a range of international plates that please all palates. The concept feels in step with Shinjuku’s energetic, at times edgy, rhythm.

Hyatt regency tokyo restaurant — Crossroads Kitchen fuses dynamic design with multicultural flavours.

Meanwhile, the venue’s seating area feels calmer, featuring geometric floor tiling, hits of greenery and garden views. Here, I savour perfectly pink roast beef, pumpkin salad and Malaysian curry. But the real standout is the matcha tiramisu (I may have gone back twice, but if you’d tasted it, you wouldn’t blame me).

Joule Spa and gym

I’m not a regular gym junkie myself, but the sky-high fitness centre at Hyatt Regency Tokyo makes me want to be. From the gym’s location on the 28th floor, the treadmills look out onto a beguiling city skyline.

For those partial to a little R&R, Joule Spa delivers with its suite of rejuvenating therapies. Expect haute couture facials, aromatic massages and couples’ packages.

Getting there

The Shinjuku district in Tokyo, Japan — The hotel is nestled in Yokyo’s buzzy Nishi-Shinjuku district. (Image: Unsplash/Kevin Doran)

Address: 2 Chome-7-2 Nishishinjuku in Shinjuku City

The Hyatt Regency Tokyo is located in the Shinjuku neighbourhood of Tokyo. Guests can fly into Haneda Airport, around 18 kilometres away, where you can hop on a limousine bus service that will transfer you directly to the hotel. I highly recommend this service – we booked a departure transfer at reception and it cost just JPY 1400 (around AU $12.50) per person, plus helped ease worries of navigating my way across Tokyo’s sprawling mass.

If you’re coming by train, it’s roughly a 20-minute ride from Tokyo Station on the metro to Shinjuku Station. This is one of the closest stations to the hotel and is just under 10 minutes’ walk away.

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

How to book

Bookings for Hyatt Regency Tokyo can be made via the website, with rates depending on room type, check-in dates and number of guests. Accessible rooms available.

Quick FAQs

Does Hyatt Regency Tokyo have an airport shuttle?

For an affordable and stress-free trip between Hyatt Regency Tokyo and Haneda Airport, book the Airport Limousine Bus. This can easily be organised at reception for departures from the hotel or via the Limousine Bus for departures from the airport.

How far is Hyatt Regency Tokyo from Shinjuku Station?

It takes nine minutes to walk from Shinjuku Station to Hyatt Regency Tokyo.

Does Hyatt Regency Tokyo have free breakfast?

Guests staying in suites and rooms with club access can enjoy complimentary breakfast, refreshments and evening cocktails at the Regency Club Lounge.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

What it’s like to stay at Hyatt Regency Tokyo, a revived Shinjuku icon