APA Hotel Ueno Ekimae

The location wasn’t as convenient as people say. Apart from the zoo, most major sights meant a metro ride of around 40 minutes, and for what the hotel offers, it felt overpriced. I’d probably avoid the APA chain next time. You don’t get good value for the money. The staff were polite and helpful, and the hotel was clean enough. They replaced towels each day, usually leaving them in a bag outside the door with basic amenities. The bathroom is like a tiny capsule built into the room. It does the job, but it’s very cramped and could be uncomfortable if you’re over 180 cm. The room itself was small, which is fairly typical in Japan, but the big desk takes up too much of the limited space and the oversized wall TV feels overwhelming. In the lobby, mirrors give it a luxurious look, though it’s small and often crowded with suitcases, more like a busy marketplace. I arrived at noon but couldn’t check in until 3 PM. Then the machine had a problem and I had to wait another 30 minutes. APA Hotel Ueno Ekimae is a pretty strange place.

I spent one night at APA Hotel Toyama-Ekimae on November 14, 2025, then two nights at APA Hotel Ueno Ekimae (Tokyo) on November 17-18, 2025, with my wife. They’re in different cities, but we ran into the same serious problem at both. The buildings look modern, and the rooms seem recently renovated, with a clean, simple design. But the air inside was very dusty. There was dust in lots of places, including corners and edges, and even walking around or moving our luggage stirred it up. The rooms were uncomfortable to stay in. I’m not allergic to dust, but my nose still got irritated. My wife is allergic and kept sneezing. Her eyes watered constantly and eventually became swollen, making the stay unpleasant and making it hard for us to rest properly. I think the carpets may be holding a lot of dust and might not be cleaned thoroughly enough. Despite the modern appearance, cleanliness, especially the air quality, needs serious improvement.

I’ve stayed at their hotels before, and APA is still my go-to when I travel alone. The rooms are compact but have all the facilities, and the staff are always really helpful. The location works great too. Ueno train station is within walking distance, so getting around or going to the airport is easy. There’s a Family Mart and 7-Eleven close by as well, handy for a quick snack.

After three days of international travel with two exhausted little kids and several suitcases, we got to the hotel expecting to check into the room we’d already paid for. Instead, the staff said we couldn’t stay because the hotel supposedly only allows one child to share the parents’ bed. That restriction hadn’t been clearly shown during booking, and the hotel had accepted and confirmed the reservation with all our details. We’d booked through Check24 months earlier for two adults and two children, ages 2 and 4. We entered both children and their ages correctly, and the confirmation said children under 6 could stay with their parents without an extra bed. Staff wouldn’t offer a reasonable solution or proper management help, leaving us outside with two small children and nowhere to stay. While we were visibly upset, some staff whispered and laughed. They then used our phone to help book another hotel, but later we found the booking had been made for just one person. That left us with around €800 in extra non-refundable costs. We had to urgently book an Airbnb far outside the city center for around €1,000, plus more for transportation. Altogether the incident cost us about €1,800, caused enormous stress, and completely disrupted our family trip. We were extremely disappointed by the lack of professionalism, empathy, and responsibility at APA Hotel Asakusa Shin-Okachimachi Ekimae in Tokyo.