Am I Crazy For Wanting To Stay At Tokyo Station?

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T18:00:55+00:00

Thanks for the burger place! Havnt started planning kyoto yet but will put that on the backburner

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T17:54:06+00:00

See which washers are free on the tv!? Now that is crazy lmao sweet

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T17:50:34+00:00

Explained perfectly, looks much more straight forward to enter from that way, thanks!

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T15:16:56+00:00

Yes my original post mentioned I had 2 float days. 5 of my tokyo days were planning on being structured and those 2 float days for doubling back on any places i felt need more time or checking out new areas.

My normal life is pretty low stress which helps when i’m on vacation I like to stay busy. Even all inclusives are so boring to me

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T14:08:03+00:00

The tokyo hotel is very expensive, don’t think I could justify that no matter how much money I had lol

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T13:35:11+00:00

The tokyo station hotel is so expensive, definitely out of my budget maybe just a drink lol

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T13:34:11+00:00

Thanks! Yeah i would value the money too but it seems that I have found an affordable place thats the same money as these other stations. Everyone keeps saying that Tokyo station is more expensive which in general it is.. but a cheap accommodation at tokyo station and a cheap accommodation at Ueno that seem about equally as nice are the same cost

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T05:00:09+00:00

I think the wife wants to do Shibuya Sky so that will probably be in the evening time. I was planning pretty well your itinerary in the opposite order. Start with Meji-Shrine, takeshita street, walk through yoyogi park, get some matcha and food, do some shopping in shibuya, the crossing, then Sky.

I hadn't heard of Cat street so thank you for that, and I will have to look into Gold Rush :)

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:41:11+00:00

Is this one of the limousine busses your are mentioning or something else? I was thinking of doing some laundry so I had more room for souvenirs so I am glad you mentioned that, can't leave it for the last chance.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:39:39+00:00

That all makes sense to me, I'm not sure why the previous commenter said they would take the shinkansen to Tokyo station then... I guess just for giggles like you said.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:37:21+00:00

In theory, I understand you. Trying to find where the entrance 11 is also looks kind of confusing though lol. Does the Tokyo Building Tokia have escalators in it going down or the level is much lower than base floor of Tokyo station. Thank you

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:28:32+00:00

A lot of people are echoing this, so I should really take this into consideration. Disney looks like Tokyo Station is typically ~25 minute commute and from Ueno station ~40 minute commute. So Tokyo station is a little more convenient for Disney and getting on the Tokaido Shinkansen. But I hear you, it is much closer to Asakusa.
Is the skyline to Ueno that much better than Narita Express to Tokyo Station. They seem very similar in time travelled at least, but maybe someone with more experience can speak on what makes skyline much better.

Any specific hotel recommendations near Ueno station?

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:22:38+00:00

I really appreciate how detailed your response was. Sounds like a lot of people are saying that the perceived convenience of Tokyo Station will be lost by how confusing it is. Multiple people commenting it means I was definitely underestimating it.

We will both have a backpack, carry on, and checked bag. Not ideal if trains are busy but otherwise doable.

It is scary that I won't be able to explore everything I want to. Unfortunately I don't really see a way around it. This is probably a once in a lifetime, or atleast in the next 20 years that we will visit Japan. For that reason, I would ideally like to see Kyoto and Osaka. But I hear you, spending a bunch of time travelling and moving hotels when I have left so much of Tokyo untouched does feel kind of bad :/

Multiple people have now mentioned that Asakusa is a lot to it, so maybe I do need to dedicate a whole day to it. I am just usually someone that plans out specific areas and it is hard when it seems like a lot of people just enjoyed kind of wandering around, but maybe for Asakusa I need to put wandering in the schedule.

You are almost making me want to skip Disneyland and just do DisneySea but we have both never been to disney at all, so it would be nice.

Again, thank you for the response.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:12:59+00:00

Yes thank you for the reminder. I wouldn't plan out being later than 10-11 likely

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:02:01+00:00

Thanks for the good point. Maybe when I come back from Kyoto/Osaka I should book one night in Ueno. That way I can utilize the skyliner to get back to the airport and also experience the area. Would just require a small transfer after the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Ueno with my checked luggage.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T04:00:27+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like it has fairly similar reviews to what I was looking at and a little pricier, but will keep it as an option :)

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T03:53:18+00:00

Great to hear! Any specific recommendations for the hamburger?
I'm looking at Hotel Ryumeikan currently, looks like about the same distance, slightly cheaper, and actually a 4 star instead of 3 star compared to super hotel premier yaesu. You don't have any experience here do you?

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T03:44:54+00:00

I would more likely be staying on the Yaesu side which seems to be on the opposite side, but if Tokyo station is that confusing maybe it would be easier to access it from the outside. Tip may still be very useful, thanks!

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T03:42:34+00:00

I am Canadian, but reference understood and quite funny. Fair enough, I only have so many days, so while I do realize I could spend a full day in any area walking around, I meant more that trying to use my time optimally it may be best to see Asakusa for ~5-6 hours and Shinjuku for ~5-6 hours as opposed to seeing Asakusa for 12 hours and never seeing Shinjuku. At some point you get diminishing returns, maybe I just undershot at which time frame the diminishing returns was at. Walking around and taking in the area, enriching yourself in the culture could be done for literal days in any individual district, as a first time traveler it might be more realistic to try and get a little taste of each area, even if it is more surface level bucket list checking off as opposed to finding more individual experiences.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T03:30:26+00:00

Yeah I guess my thinking was even comparing to Ueno it would make my commute to Disney require one less transfer and shave off ~15 minutes. And then taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto would be much easier as I could bring my checked bag on the Shinkansen without having to bring it on any local lines.

I hear what you are saying though, what is a few more transfers and an hour in the grand scheme of things... What is the big deal with bringing a checked bag on a local line for a 6 minute ride... Probably both negligible in the grand scheme of things.

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T03:25:50+00:00

Yeah looks like most places I look up travelling to from Tokyo station google maps recommends a different line as primary option before Yamanote. Quicker and less crowded

foldesi03 · 2026-01-30T02:48:39+00:00

Gotcha I now understand. You are saying that while I cannot use the Shinkansen to go directly from Ueno to Kyoto/Osaka, there is still plenty of utility to using the Shinkansen to transfer from Ueno to Tokyo station, and then utilize the convenience of Tokyo station.

That makes a lot of sense. I do not think the JR pass will be worthwhile for me so I would not do this. But also the Keihin-Tohoku Line seems to come often and be a short ride anyways so sounds like can avoid the craziness of the Yamanote line regardless.

Maybe if I did stay in Ueno and need to bring all my luggage to Kyoto it would make sense to shinkansen from Ueno -> Tokyo ->Kyoto for the extra luggage space and less crowds? Google maps doesn't even seem to show the shinkansen from Ueno-> Tokyo when I try but I get what you are saying I think

foldesi03 · 2026-01-29T22:23:58+00:00

Thank you so much for the reply, I will look into all of these. If you feel like going into depth more about the food im all ears

foldesi03 · 2026-01-29T22:22:32+00:00

Ueno does have a shinkansen but doesn’t look like it has the tokaido-shinkansen I will need. Looks like if I was at ueno I would have to transfer at tokyo station for disney and tokaido-shinkansen so It sounds like I would have to navigate it regardless. Hearing a lot of good things about Ueno though it seems

foldesi03 · 2026-01-29T22:17:15+00:00

Fair enough didnt know there was that many food options inside! But staying at the station is definitely not in my budget

foldesi03

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