Ueno, Tokyo: A Great Place to Stay With Kids

Our recent trip to Tokyo, Japan (and Singapore + Philippines) was quite unlike any we’d taken before — travelling with a one year old changed everything! Travelling with kids, especially one so young has its own set of challenges, and one of the big decisions you’ll have to make is where to stay. We had a week in Tokyo and chose Ueno as our base. I’m about to tell you why it was the perfect choice.

 

Green spaces are limited in Tokyo, so having the calm oasis of Ueno Park on our doorstep was helpful. Our little one loves looking at (and touching) trees so we knew he’d be happy there. He also loves birds and there were heaps of them there (mostly just pigeons, but he hasn’t learnt to be fussy yet).

 

 

There are lots of shrines, temples and museums in Ueno Park as well as a zoo (a very cheap one at only 600 yen per person). It’s a good place for a wander and to get some photos in less crowded conditions to those you’ll find at the popular shrines and temples around Tokyo. Some nice torii gates too.

 

 

 

Ueno Park is right next to the train station and is easy to navigate. When you’ve had enough of nature you could head for Ameyoko, a bustling market / eating area.

 

 

Ueno is on the Yamanote Line which connects some of the more popular tourist areas of Tokyo. There are heaps of other lines passing through Ueno too, it’s a major station on the Tokyo transport network. Shibuya/ Shinjuku / Ginza are all easy to access from Ueno Station. It’s also on the Keisei Line, making Narita Airport connections easy (we took the Skyliner and it took around 40 minutes to reach Ueno). 

 

 

You’re also a short walk from a couple of other stations. Inaricho Station was just around the corner from our hotel and from there Asakusa and Akihabara are only a couple of stops away. Train travel in Tokyo can be confusing so staying somewhere easy to navigate from such as Ueno makes sense, especially with a kid!

 

This probably applies to pretty much anywhere you’d choose to stay in Tokyo — I’d say the overriding theme of this megacity is food. Food establishments tend to orbit the train stations in Tokyo but there are places to eat pretty much everywhere you look.

 

 

Ameyoko is an interesting spot to eat. At night it becomes a drinking area with people eating, downing beers and smoking in small outdoor restaurants. Not a place to linger with a one year old (we walked around there a bit but didn’t stop to eat) but a good place to escape to if you can palm the kids off to a grandparent or someone else in your travelling party.

 

 

We were glued to our one year old and mostly chose to eat in the quieter restaurants near our hotel. Sukiya, a cheap restaurant chain was a favourite. It was never crowded, specialised in Japanese Curry which we love, and had a couple of good kids meal options (chicken / pork + rice) which our son enjoyed. 

 

Once you get away from the bustle of Ueno Station / Ameyoko the streets of Ueno are quiet by Tokyo standards. We stayed around 7 mins walk from the station and it was always a relaxing walk. There are some shrines around, a supermarket and convenience stores — it feels more like a quiet tourist area than hectic big city suburb.

 

 

Again, shopping is good (and quite similar) wherever you go in Tokyo. Lots of malls, chain stores (Uniqlo, Don Quijote) with some areas specialising in certain things. Ueno has all the typical Tokyo shopping as well as Ameyoko where you’ll find souvenirs, clothes (some in questionable taste) and other market-style goods.

 

 

Hopefully this little snapshot of Ueno will convince you to stay in Ueno on your next trip to Tokyo. It has everything you need to keep both you and the kids happy and the ease of travel from Ueno Station should make your trip run smoothly. Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions!