I just played "Hotel Roulette" on
Hotwire.com. There was one "Japantown area" hotel available for $139/night plus taxes, so I took the chance. It ends up that it's
Cathedral Hill Hotel, 1101 Van Ness Ave. at Geary Blvd. Although the Web site doesn't reflect it (yet), I think this hotel belongs to the same "Joie de Vivre Hospitality" company as Hotel Kabuki and Hotel Tomo. I really like that chain of boutique hotels!
Cathedral Hill Hotel is
about five blocks away from Hotel Kabuki and
about 1.6 miles from the venue. If you'd like to be within 1/2 mile of the Kabuki and would like to save at least $75 per night, I recommend you try to get it on Hotwire.com -- but understand that there is no guarantee the hotel is the one that I booked or that it will be available at all -- that's part of the gamble you take when using Hotwire.