Overview

ONSEN RYOKAN YUEN SHINJUKU gives you a ryokan-inspired retreat in central Tokyo, combining Japanese design with an 18th-floor open-air hot spring bath. You stay at 5-3-18 Shinjuku, about seven minutes on foot from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station, eight minutes from Shinjuku-sanchome Station, and around 16 minutes from the east exit of Shinjuku Station.

The entrance creates a clear break from the streets outside. A tiled roof, wooden latticework, plants, and deep-blue noren curtains lead you into a building shaped by simple lines, seasonal details, soft light, and carefully chosen materials. You remain close to Shinjuku’s shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and transport links, yet you return to a space created for quiet evenings and restorative bathing.

The name YUEN means “origins,” reflecting a focus on the essential parts of a Japanese ryokan: a restful room, warm hospitality, seasonal touches, and time in the bath. The result feels distinctly Japanese without taking you away from the convenience of central Tokyo.

Accommodation

You can choose from seven room categories, ranging from compact rooms for short Tokyo stays to larger high-floor rooms with separate living and bathing areas. Every room uses a simple design with low lines, muted tones, Japanese details, and beds rather than a traditional full-time futon layout.

The 12-square-metre Semi Double Room includes one 140-centimetre-wide bed, a shower booth, and a separate toilet. The 15-square-metre Twin Room has two 90-centimetre-wide beds with the same shower-and-toilet setup. For more space, the 20-square-metre Comfort Twin Room gives you two beds, a shower booth, and a separate toilet on floors three to fifteen.

The 25-square-metre Double Room includes one 180-centimetre-wide bed and a bathroom separated from the toilet. This room sits between floors three and seventeen and can include a futon when an extra sleeping arrangement is required. The 33-square-metre Premium Double Room sits on floors sixteen and seventeen, giving you the same wide bed with a larger layout and a separate bath and toilet.

The 51-square-metre YUEN Suite Room is the most spacious choice. Located on floors sixteen and seventeen, it includes two 140-centimetre-wide beds and a separate bathroom and toilet. Futons can be added when the room is booked for a larger party, allowing you to combine Western-style beds with Japanese floor bedding.

The 20-square-metre Universal Room sits on the second floor and includes one 140-centimetre-wide bed with a modular bathroom. This room cannot be reserved through the standard online booking system, so it needs to be arranged directly.

Your room includes yukata, towels, toothbrushes, a hairbrush, cotton swabs, an electric kettle, green tea, roasted green tea, a small Japanese sweet, indoor footwear, tabi-style socks, and a television. Larger rooms with their own bathtubs let you enjoy private bathing, although the water inside the room is not natural hot spring water. Selected rental items include an air purifier with humidifying function, desk lamp, iron, hair iron, styling dryer, and trouser press.

Onsen and Wellness

The 18th-floor bathing area is the defining feature of your stay. The open-air bath uses natural hot spring water transported from Tsutsuji no Yu near Lake Ashi in Hakone. You soak high above Shinjuku while looking across the surrounding buildings and evening lights, creating a rare contrast between Hakone spring water and central Tokyo scenery.

The spring is classified as an alkaline simple hot spring with low tonicity and a low source temperature. Traditional bathing indications include relief from muscle soreness, joint discomfort, stiff shoulders, bruises, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, and recovery after illness. You should enjoy these as traditional onsen indications rather than medical treatment.

The public bathing area includes an outdoor hot spring bath and an indoor bath. Only the outdoor bath uses natural spring water; the indoor bath uses regular heated water. Bathing hours run from 3:00 PM to 2:00 AM, with final entry at 1:45 AM, and again from 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM, with final entry at 9:45 AM.

Ice pops are prepared after bathing between 3:00 PM and 2:00 AM, giving you a refreshing way to cool down before returning to your room. The changing area includes lockers for valuables, while the women’s bathing area provides face wash, lotion, moisturiser, and hair ties.

The public bath is reserved for overnight stays. You cannot use it before check-in, after check-out, or as a day visitor. There are no reservable private hot spring baths at this property.

Guests with tattoos

If you have tattoos, you cannot use the shared public bath. The property does not offer a private hot spring bath, so there is no tattoo-friendly option for bathing in the Hakone spring water.

Facilities

ONSEN RYOKAN YUEN SHINJUKU has 193 rooms, a 24-hour front desk, an 18th-floor public bath, elevators, free Wi-Fi, coin laundry areas, luggage storage, and a first-floor smoking space. Coin-operated washing machines and dryers are available on the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth floors, which makes the property practical for longer Tokyo stays.

You can store luggage before check-in. Same-day storage is normally available after check-out, while later collection may be possible when another reservation falls within the following three days and storage space allows. The rooms do not include safes, but the front desk can hold valuables, and secure lockers are available in the public bath changing rooms.

The entire building is non-smoking apart from the designated first-floor smoking space. One Universal Room supports easier movement, although the building is not fully barrier-free. There is no on-site or partner parking, so you need to use a nearby paid car park when arriving by car. Pets cannot stay at the property.

Activities

You can walk to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for broad lawns, Japanese and Western garden areas, cherry blossoms in spring, and autumn colours later in the year. The nearby Shinjuku-sanchome area gives you access to Isetan, cafés, restaurants, smaller shopping streets, and direct subway connections across Tokyo.

Central Shinjuku brings you department stores, entertainment, ramen shops, izakaya, and the bright evening streets around Kabukicho. On the western side of the station, you can visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and look across the city from the observation level.

A simple day can begin with a morning soak, continue with a walk through Shinjuku Gyoen, and move into shopping or sightseeing around Tokyo. In the evening, you can return from the city, put on your yukata, head to the 18th-floor bath, and end the night with views across Shinjuku.

Additional features

Onsen Ryokan Yuen Shinjuku offers you a rare combination: true hot spring bathing, traditional design, and a prime Tokyo location. You stay here to experience the city fully while always having a calm place to return to at the end of the day.