Short report - poorly planned YOLO 2 day first time trip

[Selket]

My son & I (and his childhood friend) found a great airfare and decided to go to Tokyo for a week (late Feb. 2025) from the east coast. We arrived Tuesday evening at the Hilton Tokyo Bay after a million hour flight. The hotel = loved it - get the ocean view so you can see Mt. Fuji. Got up the next morning and went to DL, arriving just before opening. We used the paid "fast passes" and the 40th anniversary one to do a few things, and waited in line for a few others. The park was lovely and we just didn't try to see everything. Beauty and the beast ride is amazing...and Pooh. The curry at the restaurant near Country Bears was great btw. I think we all were exhausted around 5pm and headed out.

Next morning was Disney Sea - also arriving around 30 mins before park opening. We used the paid passes to ride the things we most wanted to see. Got Rapunzel without too much problem. Journey to the Center of the Earth was our favorite ride. We tried all the popcorn we passed (both parks) and that was fun! Again - tired out by 6pm and headed out. I did get all my Duffy and Friends shopping done.

If you're going at a less busy time, our strategy of very little pre-planning can work. Disney Sea was still very busy regardless. I would have loved more time (and being less tired) to see the shops and restaurants. I also had both knees replaced last year so my walking ability is not fantastic. We moved hotels to Ueno and stayed another 5 nights checking out Tokyo proper. My son and I are hoping to go back in the Fall and spend more time. I'd personally spend longer at Disney and spend the first day at Ikspiari, relaxing at the hotel, etc. then maybe 3 days for the parks (two for Disney Sea - it's large). My other son is a CM at WDW so I go there often - Sea is a bit more like Epcot and then some - haha - especially in terms of walking it. We also (especially me) used taxis (& uber) more than most people - which worked well for me. We thought we'd do this quick trip (which was cheap) and not worry too much about what we missed or messed up, we were happy with everything!

 

[nono]

Sounds like a perfectly executed trip! What is your favorite Disney memory from this trip and what was your favorite memory of Tokyo?

 

[Selket]

Sounds like a perfectly executed trip! What is your favorite Disney memory from this trip and what was your favorite memory of Tokyo?

Well we could hardly go wrong with our expectations for what we'd accomplish being so low - haha! I think my favorite Disney memory was riding Beauty and the Beast - I had seen people say it was a must do but I didn't know what to expect. Probably because I have the one at WDW as my comparison - this one just seemed wow. Also hearing all the characters (Mickey on the monorail!) speak Japanese and the songs in Japanese was fun.

Tokyo...hmmm....I'm a big Traveler's Notebook (Japanese stationary company) fan and my son and took an uber from Ueno to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery because they have an exclusive collab with Travelers and sell notebooks, etc. you can't buy anywhere else. My son and I really loved that Starbucks - boy that whiskey barrel aged coffee was unbelievable. I know it's a Starbucks and they're on every corner - but this one was pretty cool and we were just surprised by it - and had a lazy Saturday morning trying coffee drinks and food and buying way too much stationary. Also a textile/sewing store in Ueno I visited was a lot of fun and I could have bought half the store - haha! I also could have tried everything in that stupid 7/11 near the hotel - and the drink machines!!! wow! My son loved all the vintage camera stores. We also ate at a local mom & pop breakfast place near our hotel a couple of times that was only locals - was just interesting. I liked that Ueno is a neighborhood where people live and go to school - had a relaxed vibe. The shopping street there was wild.

If I had young kids who would have been sad about missing out on certain rides (BTDT when my kids were little - just not at Tokyo) - this kind of trip wouldn't work. I can understand why people plan and buy VPs - also because they think they likely won't go back. I'd love to stay in MiraCosta and walk right into DisneySea.

 

[Keladry84]

Well we could hardly go wrong with our expectations for what we'd accomplish being so low - haha! I think my favorite Disney memory was riding Beauty and the Beast - I had seen people say it was a must do but I didn't know what to expect. Probably because I have the one at WDW as my comparison - this one just seemed wow. Also hearing all the characters (Mickey on the monorail!) speak Japanese and the songs in Japanese was fun.

Tokyo...hmmm....I'm a big Traveler's Notebook (Japanese stationary company) fan and my son and took an uber from Ueno to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery because they have an exclusive collab with Travelers and sell notebooks, etc. you can't buy anywhere else. My son and I really loved that Starbucks - boy that whiskey barrel aged coffee was unbelievable. I know it's a Starbucks and they're on every corner - but this one was pretty cool and we were just surprised by it - and had a lazy Saturday morning trying coffee drinks and food and buying way too much stationary. Also a textile/sewing store in Ueno I visited was a lot of fun and I could have bought half the store - haha! I also could have tried everything in that stupid 7/11 near the hotel - and the drink machines!!! wow! My son loved all the vintage camera stores. We also ate at a local mom & pop breakfast place near our hotel a couple of times that was only locals - was just interesting. I liked that Ueno is a neighborhood where people live and go to school - had a relaxed vibe. The shopping street there was wild.

If I had young kids who would have been sad about missing out on certain rides (BTDT when my kids were little - just not at Tokyo) - this kind of trip wouldn't work. I can understand why people plan and buy VPs - also because they think they likely won't go back. I'd love to stay in MiraCosta and walk right into DisneySea.

I’m currently planning a first time trip to Japan/Tokyo and thinking of making Ueno my base in Tokyo except for my Disney days. I need/prefer a quieter place than some of the other more popular tourist neighborhoods and think it will fit the bill. It also looks like it will be easy to get to from Narita which is where I am flying into and leaving from, and also has good connections to get to other areas of Tokyo or some day trips I am considering.

What was your experience with Ueno? Would you recommend it as a base?was there anything that you did in Tokyo that seemed difficult to get to from there? What was your favorite part of Ueno or anything in the area you would recommend doing? And would you be willing to share what hotel you stayed in or any recommendations for which part of Ueno to stay in? Sorry for all the questions but I will be a solo female for the first time in Japan, so want to make sure I get as much info as possible before solidifying plans.

 

[Selket]

I’m currently planning a first time trip to Japan/Tokyo and thinking of making Ueno my base in Tokyo except for my Disney days. I need/prefer a quieter place than some of the other more popular tourist neighborhoods and think it will fit the bill. It also looks like it will be easy to get to from Narita which is where I am flying into and leaving from, and also has good connections to get to other areas of Tokyo or some day trips I am considering.

What was your experience with Ueno? Would you recommend it as a base?was there anything that you did in Tokyo that seemed difficult to get to from there? What was your favorite part of Ueno or anything in the area you would recommend doing? And would you be willing to share what hotel you stayed in or any recommendations for which part of Ueno to stay in? Sorry for all the questions but I will be a solo female for the first time in Japan, so want to make sure I get as much info as possible before solidifying plans.

I'm happy to tell you what I know from being there. We stayed at Mimaru Ueno EAST - which I'd say is about regular person's 10 min walk to the station? I had both knees replaced last year and my walking ability is not what a younger or fitter person would be (I'm grandmother age at this point lol). I walked back at night by myself from Ameyoko shopping street area (9 or 10pm) and it was fine. There's a good amount of people on the sidewalks - and there generally seemed to be people who lived in the neighborhood out walking to a restaurant or home from the train, etc. Because of my difficulty walking (I won't go into all that - but my son who is in his 20's had no issue) I ended up taking taxis (Uber app or the Go Taxi app) more than most people would. Ueno has the Yamanote line going through and some other good lines and my son and his friend took them everywhere. They also walked to Akihabara but also took the train there. Ueno has a beautiful park (with museums - and a zoo with the pandas). The Ueno train station is fairly busy but not on the level of Shinjuku/Shibuya, etc. The Ameyoko shopping street is a bit more of a free for all area - like a market or bazaar and lots of places to eat. There is a smaller Loft store there (I like stationary) and a nice sewing/fabric shop. There are 3 Mimaru hotels and one was sold out so we didn't consider it. That chain is more of an "apartment or family style" hotel - we had 4 twin beds, a table and chairs, a kitchenette, and bathroom - and a big closet. As a solo traveler you might find a smaller place fine. I would stay there again although my son thinks he wants to stay in Shibuya because of the shopping there (but I wonder about the busyness and navigating that big train station every time). Keep in mind I'm also older so for me the Hilton Tokyo Bay was my kind of comfortable (Western style) hotel. I saw many hotels in Ueno but we didn't look at other hotel brands because we wanted at least 3 twin beds. I think my son and his friend would have been happy staying in Akihabara as well because they spent a lot of time there.

I think being on the Yamanote line it's hard to go wrong for transportation options. There's quite a few YouTube videos of people walking around Ueno and the Ueno station which seemed very accurate even if they were a couple of years old - at least to get a feel of the place.

Sadly our airports were backwards - we arrived at Narita but had to go to the Hilton (Disney) and we flew out of Haneda. We didn't get to take the "sky train" to Ueno but it seems like a great way to get there from Narita.

 

[Keladry84]

I'm happy to tell you what I know from being there. We stayed at Mimaru Ueno EAST - which I'd say is about regular person's 10 min walk to the station? I had both knees replaced last year and my walking ability is not what a younger or fitter person would be (I'm grandmother age at this point lol). I walked back at night by myself from Ameyoko shopping street area (9 or 10pm) and it was fine. There's a good amount of people on the sidewalks - and there generally seemed to be people who lived in the neighborhood out walking to a restaurant or home from the train, etc. Because of my difficulty walking (I won't go into all that - but my son who is in his 20's had no issue) I ended up taking taxis (Uber app or the Go Taxi app) more than most people would. Ueno has the Yamanote line going through and some other good lines and my son and his friend took them everywhere. They also walked to Akihabara but also took the train there. Ueno has a beautiful park (with museums - and a zoo with the pandas). The Ueno train station is fairly busy but not on the level of Shinjuku/Shibuya, etc. The Ameyoko shopping street is a bit more of a free for all area - like a market or bazaar and lots of places to eat. There is a smaller Loft store there (I like stationary) and a nice sewing/fabric shop. There are 3 Mimaru hotels and one was sold out so we didn't consider it. That chain is more of an "apartment or family style" hotel - we had 4 twin beds, a table and chairs, a kitchenette, and bathroom - and a big closet. As a solo traveler you might find a smaller place fine. I would stay there again although my son thinks he wants to stay in Shibuya because of the shopping there (but I wonder about the busyness and navigating that big train station every time). Keep in mind I'm also older so for me the Hilton Tokyo Bay was my kind of comfortable (Western style) hotel. I saw many hotels in Ueno but we didn't look at other hotel brands because we wanted at least 3 twin beds. I think my son and his friend would have been happy staying in Akihabara as well because they spent a lot of time there.

I think being on the Yamanote line it's hard to go wrong for transportation options. There's quite a few YouTube videos of people walking around Ueno and the Ueno station which seemed very accurate even if they were a couple of years old - at least to get a feel of the place.

Sadly our airports were backwards - we arrived at Narita but had to go to the Hilton (Disney) and we flew out of Haneda. We didn't get to take the "sky train" to Ueno but it seems like a great way to get there from Narita.

Thank you! This helps a lot

 

[DL1WDW2]

Thanks for info … It’s pretty easy to post pictures by using Attach files /photo
library …and use pictures on your cell phone .
I’m “screen shotting” your trip report to save .

Did you find the castmember discount available or helpful once you arrived?
Is your son Castmember in Florida or California ?
Sorry, not being nosy ,I am aware many just consider adding on Universal Orlando or UHollywood a lot to figure out !
Your report appeals to me because Senior Citizen but still walking the Main Streets and Castmember relative and daughter/teens that would probably be perfect info for that overwhelming “ Where to start” trip planning
Thanks
I would love it if your next Castmember trip report was to stay at Davy Crockett Ranch in DL Paris !
On my bucket list too!