Stay in Uneo or Ginza?

20 comments

1. For train it does not make much of a difference, well, you do not say what airport Ueno is Skyliner to Narita, Ginza depend where but the Asakusa line at Higashi-Gina can connect direct to both airport.

   From Hakone not much difference, the Shinkansen will be the fastest to either. If it was shinjuku then you would have the option to use the Romancecar.

2. Why would you decide that based on where you are going? I pick hotels based on what I can do in the area. Especially in Tokyo where transit is arguably best in the world.

3. Ginza.

4. I’ve stayed a few times in Ueno. It’s close to Akibahara but away from the heavier traffic. There’s the Ameyoko and a bunch of conbini nearby for quick cheap food. I’m super close to the station so I can take the loop around the city. It’s walking distance to Sensoji. (I surprised myself cuz I’m not a walker and previously I’d taken the metro.)

   But, honestly, the basic rule of thumb would be to pick a hotel that’s easy walking distance from transit.

   Edit: Also, seeing your dates, you may luck out and hit cherry blossoms. In which case you’d be close to the park.

5. I’d stay in Ueno over Ginza, despite the marginally longer transit trip home to the airport. Especially in March if the blossoms come out while you’re there it would be great to be close to Ueno park it’s spectacular!

6. Another consideration is to avoid having to transfer/board/exit at Tokyo station unless you are very familiar with it. I personally like the Ueno area. There is a lot to do and see there.

7. Ginza has the plus side of being near some awesome restaurants and sashimi bars being walkable to the old tsukiji area.

   We stayed in a really nice hotel there but the name is evading me atm. Close to the train line, 7/11 downstairs.

   I think it was called super hotel Ginza or something like that

8. With the efficient subway system, everything is close. Doesnt really matter where you stay because you can get anywhere in a matter of minutes. Only thing I recommend is being near a subway station.

9. Ginza is nicer upscale area. Shimbashi is the salaryman’s sanctuary. Nothing there caters to tourists and in fact they don’t want you there. Ueno is comfortable and very local.

10. Ginza has upscale restaurants/shopping. Ueno has park/zoo/ameyoko. Take your pick

11. As they’re so close by subway/train, it doesn’t really matter which to stay for transportation reasons. I would look at hotels/stays in both areas, and see if you find any interesting or nice hotels in either. That’s what I’ve done when deciding between Tokyo neighborhoods before.

12. I stayed at Ginza/Shimbashi last time. I enjoyed it. I can’t compared it to Ueno because I never stayed there, but I really liked the energy of the izakaya and sights just outside of the Shimbashi station. It’s been called the salariman’s heaven, attracting all the office workers from the nearby areas after work for them to unwind and get ready for another day. It’s not exactly touristy, but you’ll see plenty of that elsewhere, another time. You also won’t see *as many* cat-eared maids as other places I could mention, or the toyoko kids hanging around, but again, there are other places for those.

    Also, many hotels around there are connected through the underground and also skypass to the Shimbashi and Shiodome stations, making the stations an easy reach in any type of weather.

13. I love Ueno!

14. Ginza is a bit sterile for me, I do prefer Ueno and Asakusa much better.

15. In August, we stayed 4 nights at the MUJI Hotel in Ginza. It was actually more affordable than our first hotel in Shibuya. Ginza felt like high-end, 5th Avenue NY. Streets were easy to navigate in more a grid style. High-end shopping malls, but also Itoya, Flagship Uniqlo, Flagship MUJI, Donki, etc. Wider streets, very clean, dressier. And a super fast trip to Haneda, which we also flew in/out of.

    We started our 17-day trip – our first time ever to Japan – in Shibuya, which has more a Times Square, fast-paced vibe. Still safe, hipper, with a lot of casinos, graffiti, some feeling of sketchiness with drunk behavior, though never any danger. Very busy train station which took us everywhere. After a few days, we completely loved Shibuya, the Yoyogi Park, as we branched out away from our hotel at the train station, etc.

    However, Ginza was a totally different vibe and is more accessible, less chaotic, less casino atmosphere. In hindsight, I may have swapped Ginza first, and Shibuya last, rather than jump into such a fast-paced area first as it would have been easier to adjust.

    Back to Ginza, it worked out very well for us as a base to go to the fish market, Ueno, Ghibli, Haneda, etc. In-between, we went to Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nara, if you have any questions there.

    I deeply miss Japan. It was a really wonderful experience.

16. We r going to base here for the first leg of our trip
    Compared to Shinjuku last time which was more touristy
    I feel like ginza is shops but also safe to just walk at night etc and still close. More chill vibes and easy to get to imperial palace otemachi etc

17. If you decide to stay in Ueno, the Minn Ueno has some big capacity rooms (up to 2-bedroom apartments) for relatively low prices, and is quite close to Ameyoko and the Okachimachi station.

18. Asakusa is great to stay in. Plenty of shops, skytree nearby, Ginza line accessible, senso-ji, ROX center

19. Stayed at Blossom Hibiya recently and loved the location for getting around Tokyo

20. I’m not really sure what you plan to do and explore in Ginza. I walked through it last weekend. Unless you’re rich and plan to shop, you’ll basically just be walking around a Japanese version of Rodeo Drive. The streets, subway stations, and storefronts are just a little nicer than everywhere else though, so if that’s your thing, go for it