5 Day Tokyo Stopover with My Little Princess
I visit Tokyo solo a few times a year. And even then, I can’t get used to navigating Japan’s massive capital city. This time, my six year old daughter joined me for a five day stopover in Tokyo. As you can probably imagine, she brought plenty of energy along for the trip.
She’ll be jet-lagged and hyped up on Japanese Kit Kats.
What could go wrong?
As if traveling with a rambunctious six year old wasn’t enough, I’m also hauling around 75 pounds of luggage—30 pounds in one bag and 45 in the other. And because apparently I enjoy making things difficult, we’re getting around Tokyo exclusively by train to save time and money!
My Main Concern (Probably Yours Too)
My greatest anxiety was making sure we got to the airport on time for our onward flight. It is scheduled to leave Haneda International Airport at 11 am, which means we’ve got to check out of the hotel by 7 am.
The problem is 7 am on a weekday is when Tokyo’s infamous train rush hour commences. You’ve probably seen passengers unceremoniously shoved into train cars like sardines. With my kid and two pieces of luggage, that ain’t happening.
But I know exactly what to do.
I’ll get to my strategy later. If you’ve never traveled in Tokyo before and you’re in a similar situation to mine, I think you’ll find it really helpful.
I’ll list the Tokyo hotels I stayed in on this trip and recommend hotel options for your consideration.
Landing at Narita International Airport
Our six-hour flight departed from Bangkok, Thailand, at 7 am. We touched down at Narita International Airport at 4 pm.
Immigration and customs were surprisingly fast. We were out and looking for signs for the trains within an hour.
Why the train, and not the airport bus or taxi?
I decided to stay around the Ueno neighbhorhood in Tokyo. It’s a fairly strategic, child friendly location. There’s Ueno Park with a zoo. Complete with museums and plenty of open space for my little one to walk around and terrorize pigeons.
The Airport Limo Bus would’ve been the easiest and cheapest option. But they don’t stop in Ueno. A taxi from Narita to Ueno would set me back at least $100 USD, plus the potential of getting stuck in traffic means no bueno.
The train option is a no brainer for my situation. Fast and fairly affordable, most importantly convenient for my daughter and me.
Keisei Skyliner Narita Airport Express Ticket
The Keisei Skyliner Express is the best way to get to my hotel near Ueno. There’s space to store luggage. There’s a toilet in the train carriage with a baby changing station.
Most importantly, seats are reserved.
You can purchase tickets ahead of time on the official Keisei Electric Railway website.
But I purchased my tickets on Klook.com. You get a small discount when purchasing from either website.
However, depending on whether you’re a new or frequent Klook user, you can get extra Klook discounts, especially with promo codes.
It takes 41 minutes to get from Narita Airport Terminal 2 & 3 to Ueno Station. However, we got off one stop earlier at Nippori Station, which takes about 36 minutes, because it was closer to our hotel.
As I mentioned, I purchased my ticket through Klook. All I had to do was head to the Keisei ticketing center—there are plenty of signs pointing you in the right direction. I simply scanned the QR code Klook emailed me and picked up my ticket at the counter.
Through Klook.com, I got a reserved seat ticket for myself (Adult fare $13.99 USD) and my daughter (Child 6-11 fare $7.45 USD) for a total of $21.44 USD.
If the fares are purchased directly through Keisei Electric Railway, it’s ¥2,580 ($16.82) for adults and ¥1,290 ($8.41) for children (ages 6–11)
So if you’re staying around the Ueno neighbhorhood, and land around 4 pm as we did, the Keisei Skyliner Airport Express from Narita is the way to go.
Here’s Where We Stayed in Ueno
We stayed at the Candeo Hotels Ueno Koen for 4 nights. I paid $60 USD per night, including taxes, no breakfast. Bear in mind I entered 1 adult and 1 child, so the rates could be higher for 2 adults.
In any case, it’s Japan; hotel rates will double, especially in peak season.
I chose this hotel because it’s near Ueno Park, just a 400-meter walk from the northeast entrance. That said, the hotel isn’t near Ueno Station.
Candeo Hotels Ueno-Koen is closer to Nippori Station. It’s one stop before Ueno Station on the Keisei Skyliner Airport Express.
To get to Candeo Hotels Ueno-Koen from Nippori Station, I had two options:
- Hop on the JR Yamanote Line at Nippori to Uguisudani Station, only 1 stop
- Slog 1km from Nippori Station to Candeo Hotel Ueno-Koen
Believe it or not, we did option 2 because we don’t mind walking. Google Maps led the way, and the streets were flat.
We stayed in room 714. For my daughter and me, the 16 sqm. room was the right amount of space. It’s a clean room, and my daughter loved the bathtub. The soaps and shampoo smelled really nice. There was a toothbrush and toothpaste, plus pajamas. Since we were there for 3 nights, the mini-fridge came in handy.
They should get someone to clean the light fixture by the bed. It was really dusty.
Overall, we really enjoyed our three nights stay at the Candeo Hotel Ueno Koen.
Read reviews and check discounts on Agoda.com for Candeo Hotel Ueno Koen.
From our hotel, we walked to Asakusa and the Sumida River. But we spent most of our time around Ueno Park. We also took a day trip to Sanrio Puroland. That’s mostly for my daughter. But I ain’t gonna lie, I had fun too.
How to Get to Haneda Airport with a 6-Year-Old
The day before our flight out of Haneda International Airport, I decided it would be best to move to another hotel. Particularly one that is near Hamamatsuchō Station to catch the Tokyo Monorail / Haneda Express.
From Hamamatsuchō Station, the Haneda Express zips us non-stop to Haneda Airport Terminal 3 in thirteen minutes. And these trains run roughly around 13 minutes in frequency.
Be sure to look at the electronic signboards and on the train; it’ll say “Haneda Express” or “Express” in red text.
For me, the decision to stay at a hotel near the Haneda Airport train line was super important. My daughter was jet-lagged, so I was concerned she wouldn’t wake up on time. Luckily, she did.
Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo-Hamamatsucho
I’m a bit embarrassed; I don’t have any photos of the room we stayed in for one night. I completely forgot because I was so tired.
The room we stayed in was also 16 sqm. It’s really clean as well. One highlight about this hotel is the mattress and blankets. Pure heaven! The beds are so comfortable; I was really sad this was our only night.
Read reviews and find discounts on Agoda.com for Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo-Hamamatsucho.
I think the area around Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo-Hamamatsucho is not bad. It’s very quiet, with mostly commercial buildings and businesses. My daughter and I even walked all the way up to Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace.
Not that you have to, though, as JR Hamamatsucho Station isn’t far away. From there, you can reach many of Tokyo’s most popular neighborhoods via the circular JR Yamanote Line.
We check out of Hotel Villa Fontaine Tokyo-Hamamatsucho by 7 am. The walk to Hamamatsuchō Station to catch the Haneda Express took about 10 minutes.
There were lots of locals getting to work. The trains heading to Haneda Airport were still full of people. However, since Hamamatsuchō Station is a terminal station, the trains are empty, and there’s space for luggage.
Alice and I found seats, but the ride to Haneda Airport Terminal is just 13 minutes.
The best part is that the Haneda Airport Terminal 3 platform is directly connected to the Terminal 3 departure area! I mean, how convenient is that!
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to catch our flight. Staying at a hotel near Hamamatsuchō Station to get to Haneda International Airport was definitely a smart decision!
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