Century Southern Tower Hotel

Century Southern Tower Hotel is a practical Tokyo base for divers who want the city close at hand and a proper place to recover afterwards. The building has 375 rooms over 17 floors, so this is a substantial city hotel rather than a small inn where everyone knows what you had for breakfast. That can be useful in Tokyo: you get lifts, a 24-hour front desk and services designed for short stays as well as longer ones.

English is spoken by the hotel team, alongside Japanese. That matters when you are arriving with luggage, arranging a transfer or trying to explain what you need after a long day out. The hotel also has a restaurant, lounge, café and bar, so you can eat or sit down without immediately setting off into the city again.

The tone is straightforward and urban. You come here for access to Tokyo, a comfortable night and useful hotel services, not for a resort programme.

The address is 2-2-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Shinjuku is close by, with Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government among the nearby places to explore. The hotel is around 5 km from central Tokyo, putting you in the thick of the city rather than out on its edge.

For a diver, the location also makes the practical side of a Tokyo stay easier. The nearest listed dive shop, mic21 Shinjuku, is about 300 m away, and its team speaks Japanese and English. It offers nitrox and night diving, giving you a nearby point of contact for arranging the diving part of the trip without turning every enquiry into a cross-city expedition.

You can also use the concierge, luggage storage and airport transfer service when the route from the airport to the hotel needs less improvisation. Parking is available on site, and the hotel is accessible by lift, with wheelchair access and an accessible restaurant.

The room choice is mainly about how you want to sleep and what you want to see when you wake up. A double room suits a couple who would rather keep things simple, while the twin rooms are the sensible call when two divers want separate beds and a little more personal space. The Scenic and Panoramic categories are the ones to consider when the outlook matters to you; the names do the sorting without needing a lecture from the brochure.

The useful details are all the unglamorous ones. Air conditioning and heating cover the changeable Tokyo seasons, blackout blinds help when your body clock is still somewhere over the Pacific, and soundproofing gives you a better chance of sleeping through the city. Several room categories also include a desk, Wi-Fi, tea-making facilities, slippers, a private bathroom with shower, television, safe and fridge.

That fridge is handy for keeping water cool after a day out, while the hairdryer and towels remove a few more items from the packing list. Some rooms are more simply equipped than others, so check the facilities attached to the category you choose rather than assuming every room has the same specification. The hotel also offers room service, which is useful when dinner downstairs feels like one task too many.

Breakfast is served as a buffet, with service beginning at 06:30. That early start is useful when you have somewhere to be, and less useful if your main ambition is to stay horizontal until mid-morning. The main restaurant, サザンタワーダイニング, serves French food across breakfast, lunch and dinner in an air-conditioned dining room. Lunch runs from 11:30 to 16:00, while dinner is served from 17:30 to 22:00.

For something less formal, ラウンジ サウスコート sits beside the lobby and has large windows. It serves from 10:00 to 23:30, covering breakfast, lunch and dinner, and works as the place to pause with a drink or a lighter meal when you do not want a full restaurant sitting. The hotel also has a café and bar, giving you another option for a small hunger or a drink without leaving the building.

The third dining venue, 有楽町かきだ, covers lunch and dinner and brings together sushi using seafood sourced by the chef from Toyosu, plus teppanyaki with selected Japanese and domestic beef. It is the most distinctly Japanese option of the three. In short, you have a French all-day restaurant, a windowed lounge and a sushi-and-teppanyaki restaurant under one roof.

Tokyo itself is the main activity here. Shinjuku, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are close enough to turn an afternoon or evening into a manageable city outing rather than a military operation. The concierge can help with the practical side of exploring, while the lobby lounge gives you somewhere to regroup before heading back out.

When your legs have had enough, the hotel offers massage services. That is the useful sort of amenity after several active days: no timetable, no compulsory group activity, just the option of booking treatment and letting somebody else deal with the knots. An on-site medical service is also available.

The hotel has no resort-style programme to keep you occupied indoors. Its strengths after diving are simpler: air-conditioned rooms, places to sit and eat, massage, a concierge and a city outside that does not run short of things to look at.

Check-in runs from 14:00 to 23:30, with a 24-hour front desk. Check-out is by 11:00, and late check-out incurs an additional charge. Express check-in and check-out are available, which can save time when your arrival or departure is running on a diver's preferred schedule: efficiently and with as little fuss as possible.

Airport transfers are available, and the hotel also provides a general transfer service. On-site parking is available, with parking charges applying. If you arrive by car, that is simpler than searching for a space in central Tokyo, though it still needs to be factored into your arrangements.

The practical services continue with luggage storage, concierge assistance, laundry, dry cleaning, ironing, a safe and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, China UnionPay, Diners Club and cash are accepted. The hotel has accessible facilities, wheelchair access and an accessible restaurant. Smoking areas are available, while the accommodation itself is non-smoking.

Japanese electrical sockets are type A and B, with a 100-volt supply and both 50 Hz and 60 Hz frequencies. Bring the right adaptor for your equipment, especially if your charging kit has travelled through several countries before reaching Tokyo.