Tokyo · Higashi-Shinjuku | Basic stay with in-room heating
HOTEL LiVEMAX Shinjuku East
HOTEL LiVEMAX Shinjuku East
Transport and the microwave are practical — first check bed width, space, and your own stay requirements
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
First, check whether it suits your travel style
- About 2 minutes from Higashi-Shinjuku A2, address 6-27-49 Shinjuku.
- Single rooms: 11㎡, 120cm bed; twin rooms: 18㎡, up to 4 people — but up to 4 people does not mean 4 beds.
- In-room microwave and coin laundry in the building are convenient; breakfast format must be confirmed per plan.
If most of this Tokyo trip is spent out and about, and back at the hotel you only want to heat up a bento, shower and sleep, LiVEMAX Shinjuku EAST is a very direct combination: Higashi-Shinjuku subway is close, and the room has a microwave.
I would first warn couples and family travellers to separate the room’s maximum occupancy from its actual sleeping space. An 11㎡ room with a 120cm bed can be listed for up to two people, but whether you sleep comfortably and where two suitcases go is another question.
This hotel suits people trading basic stay conditions for transport and budget flexibility. If you have higher requirements for cleanliness, smells, noise, or in-room activity space, look at specific room types and recent reviews before deciding whether to shortlist it.
About 2 minutes from Higashi-Shinjuku A2 — tell it apart from other LiVEMAX branches
Its official name is HOTEL LiVEMAX Shinjuku EAST, address 6-27-49 Shinjuku. The official listing gives about a 2-minute walk from Higashi-Shinjuku Station exit A2, on the Fukutoshin and Oedo lines; some guests also walk from A3 in about three to five minutes. Do not mix up times for different exits — first check your train direction and the ground-level route.
With large luggage, I would first confirm the lift exit rather than just looking for the nearest stair exit. There can still be a stretch from the platform to the exit, and time inside the station, waiting for the lift, and crossing the road all counts; the official exit time is not the total door-to-platform time.
JR Shinjuku and Shinjuku-sanchome are separate destinations. Walking between them for shopping and meals works, but for an early train you need to re-estimate the time. The convenience here comes mainly from the Higashi-Shinjuku subway, not from stepping out of JR Shinjuku Station.
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
An 11㎡ single room can sleep two — that does not mean it suits every two-person trip
Official single rooms are 11㎡ with a 120×195cm bed, maximum two people; twin rooms are 18㎡ with 120×195cm beds, maximum four people. Maximum occupancy is a stay limit — it does not mean everyone gets their own bed, nor that four suitcases still leave the room spacious.
| Room direction | Official specs | How I would choose |
|---|---|---|
| Single room | 11㎡; 120×195cm bed; max 2 people | More direct for one person; two people should first accept the bed width and luggage limits |
| Twin room | 18㎡; 120×195cm beds; max 4 people | First check bed count, adult and child numbers, then look at unpacking space |
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Travelling alone and out all day, a small room can be a reasonable trade-off. Two people sharing a 120cm bed should think first about sleeping distance; with three or four people in a twin room, confirm how you will actually sleep. Do not see ‘maximum four people’ and treat 18㎡ as a four-bed family room.
The in-room microwave is a practical highlight, and with the fridge and electric kettle you can heat a bento you bought back in your own room. That is very convenient for late returns, but desk and rubbish-storage space is still limited; I would buy a reasonable amount at a time rather than filling a small room with meal boxes and bags.
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
The bathroom is a compact combined layout, and photos show the bathtub, washbasin and toilet. Non-smoking room types are available, but you must choose one explicitly rather than just leaving a note hoping for no smoke smell. Guests differ on smells and cleanliness, so anyone sensitive to these should read the room type carefully and contact the front desk immediately on arrival if there is a problem.
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Photo source: Trip.com guest photos
Keep breakfast flexible — do not book it as a buffet hotel
I would first plan breakfast here as a pure stay base. Some platform plans may show boxed or bagged breakfast options, but the hotel’s own official introduction has no full breakfast restaurant or buffet information; if you get a breakfast-included plan, confirm the meal format, pick-up time and serving location before booking.
With a microwave and fridge in the room, buying simple food the night before can cut the time spent finding a shop the next morning; for freshly made coffee or a hot breakfast, check the opening hours of shops around Higashi-Shinjuku separately. Both approaches can be arranged — the point is not to pay extra for a breakfast whose serving format is uncertain.
I would not treat a meal bag as a Japanese/Western buffet, nor apply restaurant photos from other LiVEMAX branches to this one. If breakfast is an important pleasure of this trip, confirm it clearly first, then decide whether to switch to a hotel with clearer breakfast information.
Use Higashi-Shinjuku as your base and plan shopping and meals by direction
Nearby restaurants and convenience stores are a function many guests praise. Buying drinks and simple meals before returning in the evening and heating them straight in the room is the more practical way to stay here; for the Shinjuku core, allow separate walking time instead of treating every trip back to drop things off as zero cost.
One day can follow the Fukutoshin line toward Ikebukuro or Shibuya, and another day can focus on Shinjuku-sanchome and the department-store area. That uses the location advantage better than walking to JR Station and transferring every day just because the stay is labelled Shinjuku.
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Road and mechanical noise is a sleep trade-off some guests mention, though others are not much bothered by noise. I would raise a quieter-room request early, but not assume one room’s experience applies to the whole hotel. Light sleepers can put sound insulation and room direction ahead of price.
Short stays are straightforward; for longer stays, check cleaning and laundry
For just one or two nights, how to use this hotel is clear: out in the daytime, back to heat food, shower and sleep. If the budget is mainly for shopping and transport and a simple small room is acceptable, there is a reason to compare it; if you want a resort stay in the hotel or large shared facilities, that is not its main direction.
For three to five nights, the official coin laundry and dryer facilities help you bring fewer clothes. These are shared facilities, so detergent, fees and machine waiting times follow on-site arrangements — this is not an in-room washing machine. Washing on a day you return earlier beats leaving all the clothes until the night before check-out.
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Photo source: Trip.com hotel photos
Standard check-in is 15:00, check-out 10:00, with a 24-hour front desk. Late arrivals should still confirm the arrival deadline under their plan; early luggage storage, post-check-out storage and multi-night cleaning are also best confirmed in advance, since a platform summary or a guest’s experience may describe only one of these situations.
Original guests’ feelings about cleanliness, bedding and facility upkeep vary. I would treat these as reasons to compare recent room-type reviews before booking and to check bedding and equipment on arrival; if a problem is found, raising it on the spot is easier to resolve than waiting until check-out. That does not mean every room has the same problems, nor should a single good or bad review settle the decision.
Pros and cons: the in-room microwave is practical, but space and upkeep need weighing
| Aspect | Advantage | Trade-off to accept |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | Close to Higashi-Shinjuku A2, two subway lines usable | JR Shinjuku still requires a separate walk or transfer |
| Room type | 11㎡ and 18㎡ twin options offer different choices | Maximum occupancy does not equal independent bed count, and luggage space is limited |
| In-room facilities | Microwave, fridge and electric kettle make heating simple meals convenient | Desk and rubbish space is still small |
| Longer stays | Coin laundry can reduce clothing | Shared machines; cleaning and storage rules need checking |
| Stay expectations | Suits a basic stay mainly spent out | Cleanliness, smell and noise reviews differ; weigh your own sensitivity |
I would recommend it to people who are mostly out and can accept a basic small room
The case for LiVEMAX Shinjuku EAST is Higashi-Shinjuku transport and practical in-room equipment such as the microwave. For a solo traveller packing light and out early and back late, it can serve as a direct rest base.
For two people or a family travelling together, first check the 120cm bed width, actual bed count and luggage space, then look at the price difference. If you are particularly sensitive to bedding, smells or noise, compare recent specific reviews and alternative hotels together rather than deciding on the lowest room rate alone.
Fact-check date: 2026-10-25