MIMARU TOKYO UENO NORTH — Hotel in Tokyo

Our stay at this hotel was very positive. At check-in, the front desk workers spoke good English and guided us through everything we needed to know. They also had helpful information posted about the area like current events, including a Tanabata Festival happening a street over that we would have missed.

We booked a Family Apartment for 4 adults, which had a twin bunk and 2 twin beds together in the middle of the room. The size of the room exceeded my expectations compared to other hotels I have stayed at in Japan. Even with the plentiful bed space, there was a large table and sitting area where we could relax before showering and climbing into bed. Each of us had a carry-on, which we could keep open and not worry about tripping over. We also had 2 checked bags that we left closed for most of the trip.

Power outlets were also plentiful. Each bed had its own outlet, and there were more than enough for each area of the room. One nitpick is that the outlets for the twin beds is in the middle, rather than the outside where there is a small shelf, so it was harder to leave our phones charging overnight without rolling into the cables in our sleep. One night, my phone fell into the gap between the beds and disconnected from the cable so I had to fish it out.

I had issues with the WiFi. When it was connected, it was relatively fast - 100mbps, but it would frequently disconnect on all of our devices. The staff recommended that we connect to the 2.4G network instead, but it was about the same in terms of reliability.

The A/C was good, and went down to 22C. The fridge and freezer had plenty of room, and plates, cups, and utensils were provided. The shower had good pressure and heated up quickly, though a heated mirror would have been nice.

The laundry room was decent. They had 3 washers and 3 dryers, which cost 400 yen for a wash and 100 yen for 30 minutes of drying. They only take coins, but they have a coin exchange next to the machines. I used the washer, which automatically dispensed detergent and took about an hour. However, the dryers were busy the entire night I used them, so I had to hang my clothes up to dry in the room. The hangers all had clips which helped a lot.

The location was decent, about a 10 minute walk to JR lines, 15min to Tokyo Metro, and 20min to the Keisei Skyliner to Narita Airport. The station has a good amount of food, more than around the hotel itself. There's a Lawson across the street that's 24hr. While Ueno Park is on the other side of the station, it requires walking up a tall ramp/stairs, or to wrap around the whole station. Ameyoko Shopping Street is also around 15 minutes away, as well as a mall, and very accessible. Do note that most of the path from the station to the hotel is brick, which made rolling our luggage along quite bumpy. It could be closer to the station, but it was good enough for us.

The room was cleaned every day, towels changed, and trash taken out. Every other day, they would clean the bathroom and make the beds. The trash was especially helpful with all of our convenience store waste, as they had 3 trash cans in the room.

After checking out, we were able to leave our luggage with them for free until we left for our flight. While they are out in the open in the lobby, they tie them together for you, and there are usually 1-3 staff watching over them.

We spent ¥242,449 for our 7 night stay, or about ¥35,000/night, which we felt was good value for what was provided. With the amount of space, service, amenities, it was a great fit for keeping our group together, compared to the alternatives of Airbnbs or two rooms at another hotel that generally cost more. We would definitely consider another MIMARU hotel on another...

Had a great stay in this hotel. Upon arrival we had a minor issue with the wrong size cot being given for our daughter but the staff were very apologetic over it and went out of their way to ensure this issue was fixed as quickly as possible.

The staff: All people working here were brilliant and helpful, whether it just be a question or asking for advice on certain things they were always there to help, one member of staff helped us book a taxi to the airport for departure (we booked it 2 days before checkout) and I highly recommend this service, we had an early flight and mimaru works with this taxi company and it is nowhere near as expensive as taxis normally cost in tokyo, we worked out it was actually cheaper than getting our luggage delivered to the airport!

Rooms: Our room was on the second floor, it was very nicely laid out and had great amenities in the kitchen, bathroom and living room. The beds were comfortable.

Hotel: The reception area, laundry area, elevators and hallways were always, just like the test of tokyo - spotless!

The size, layout and cleanliness were perfect.

Location: We did not want to stay in a hyper-busy area because of our toddler, this location was fairly quiet but always had people about, close to the train station (ueno) and close to the park and zoo - which I would highly recommend going to both.

Ueno station is on the yamanote line which makes it very easy to get to almost anywhere within tokyo, this was an important part of choosing ueno as a location.

Other notes: As mentioned we stayed with our toddler (16 months old) and the hotel, staff and the city and people in general made us feel very welcome, the japanese people are extremely lovely and having the multitude of experiences we have had in tokyo made me fall in love even more with the place.

We will be back when our daughter is a little older, maybe 4 or 5 years, and we will definitely do everything we can to stay at a mimaru again - because this, although a chain hotel, had a more personal touch than ANY chain hotel I have ever stayed at.

It seems they really care about the customer, and we are extremely grateful for staying here...

Great little hotel that is clean, conveniently located, comfortable and staffed with lovely people. My sons and I shared a room with four twin beds, a little kitchenette and a modern shower/bathroom arrangement that made it easy to get up in the morning and get out the door quickly each morning. The beds were comfortable, the room clean and spacious enough for our luggage. The kitchenette made it easy for us to pick up coffee drinks, tea and breakfast items from the Lawson’s right down the street as we came home each night.||The location is great - it’s a short walk to a few notable shrines, maybe 15 minutes to the Tokyo Skytree, which is worth experiencing at night if only to see the vast city of 37 million aglow from what feels like the top of the world. The Ueno area is near history and art museums and a large, beautiful park. The Ueno station features shops and restaurants that make finding a gift or a delicious meal super easy, and it’s a good spot on the line to zip in most any direction. In fact, there’s an urgent care in the station that treated me quickly and affordable when the streak of hot weather induced a terrible rash on my leg. ||But the standout for us was the staff - Rina, Marc and Edwina were so lovely to chat with and so helpful in providing recommendations for restaurants, cafes, sights-seeing activities and even the urgent care. Knowing that I was heading on to walk the Kumano Kodo, they gave me a lovely Goshuincho to collect the goshuins (sacred stamps and calligraphy) from the temples and shrines we visited. These mementos are so special to me, and a wonderful reminder of the beauty and reverent culture and history of Japan. Thank you so much, Rina,...