APA Hotel Ueno Inaricho Ekikita

It’s close to Inaricho station and quiet at night. The room was small, like other Tokyo hotels, but had good facilities. We could leave our luggage before check-in and after check-out and collect it the same day.

The hotel was cozy and well located, with nearly everything I needed. I could see the Skytree from my room, and it’s close to Ueno eki, the Yamanote line, and the Ginza line. There’s no breakfast, but cafes and konbini are nearby. The A/c is controlled centrally. I found a comfortable workaround by letting it heat for 1-2 h before bedtime. I was happy with my visit.

The room was hot and dusty, something to keep in mind, though that alone wouldn’t have been a deal breaker. The single elevator was the real problem. We’ve stayed at lots of APA and small hotels during our five yearly trips to Japan, and this was the worst for lifts. We waited 5-10 minutes several times just to go down or get back to our room. Now we’ve been waiting 50 minutes and are still waiting, even though checkout was at 10 and it’s already 10:35. The stairs are only for emergency evacuation. This APA is going on our blacklist. I’m not budgeting an hour each day for elevator delays.

The area is pretty quiet, which was nice for resting after a day of exploring. The room was small, but it had all the equipment and supplies, which was great. It’s near Ueno Station, so getting to other places is easy.