One day in Tokyo, onsen, mochi and taxi advice needed please!

March 6, 2016 5:23 AM

I will have one day in Tokyo during the week next week and what I'd most like to do is go to a nice onsen to refresh myself after the long plan ride. Then I want to eat some delicious mochi and wander around someplace interesting. I will arrive at Ueno station from Narita in the morning and need to be back to Ueno in the late afternoon.

I could use some advice on any or all of the following:

1. Which onsen should I go to that's nice and won't be too difficult to get to from Ueno?

2. Should I take a taxi to save time and avoid he confusion of having to navigate the streets/trains by myself? If so how do I tell the taxi driver where I'll be going?

3. What mochi do you recommend and where should I go to get it?

4. Where should I wander? I've already been to the emperors palace and the fish market on a previous trip. Anything else I really shouldn't miss?

Complicating factor: I won't have a smartphone with me and I'll be on my own. Thank you.

posted by hazyjane to Travel & Transportation (8 answers total)

For an onsen, I'd recommend LaQua spa in Tokyo Dome City.

From the link, "The baths feature sodium-chloride-infused natural spring water drawn from 1700 meters underground. In addition to the various baths, visitors can indulge in Thai- and Hawaiian-style massages, several different low-temperature saunas, and aromatherapy sessions."

From Ueno Station, it's about ten minutes by taxi or twenty minutes by subway (you have to change lines or walk a bit if you take the subway). The address in Japanese is 東京都文京区春日1-1-1 - you can show that to the cab driver, or ask your hotel to help.

As for #3 I believe all mochi tastes the same, so perhaps someone else will have advice.

For #4, I always enjoy playing with the parrots and parakeets at the Tori no Iru bird cafe in Asakusa - it's just three stops on the subway, or you could even walk from Ueno. If you'd prefer cats, I can recommend the Neko Maru cat cafe right by Ueno Station, although the cats can be shy while the parakeets tend to be more outgoing.
posted by Umami Dearest at 6:22 AM on March 6, 2016

Get some mochi at one of the depachikas (food basements) of the big department stores. They can be found everywhere, but I particularly like Matsuya (brand: Ginza Akebono) in the Ginza area. They are really fresh so you'll need to eat them the same day. (These are really high-end. If you want to sample normal everyday ones, just drop into Family Mart/7-11 etc, they usually have at least two different types, along with the usual mini baumkuchens. The last time I was there they were even selling them at Don Quiote!). As well as really nice daifuku mochi, there is really good taiyaki (hot waffles in the shape of a fish stuffed with red bean/custard/chocolate) in Matsuya.

For walking around, I like the sweet boutiques in the lanes of Kichijoji (nr Studio Ghibli) and the secondhand/handmade stalls and shops of Shimokitazawa. The backstreets of Aoyama are also interesting. It depends - what kind of stuff do you enjoy?
posted by everydayanewday at 7:36 AM on March 6, 2016

Thank you both - I've printed out your answers to take with me. In terms of stuff I enjoy, I'm interested in everything from shinto shrines to 100 yen shops, and I love playing neko atsume. I've been curious about cat cafes so that's a great suggestion. I also love karaoke and sukiyaki and Natsuo Kirino in absolutely no particular order!
posted by hazyjane at 10:46 AM on March 6, 2016

Yes, the walk from Yanaka Ginza to Ueno is a nice one, highly recommended.

You could drop by the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno park on the way from Yanaka to JR Ueno station, where there is a major Botticelli exhibit being held right now. There's also a major Caravaggio exhibition at The National Museum of Western Art right by the station. A bunch of Leonardo Da Vinci's drawings is on exhibit at the Edo-Tokyo Museum right in front of Ryogoku station, which isn't in Ueno but not too far (take JR Yamanote line from Ueno to Akihabara, change to the JR Sobu line and it's the next station). It's a commemorative year for Japan-Italy relations apparently. Actually, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is a fun place to visit if you've never been, even without the Da Vinci special exhibit.
posted by misozaki at 8:09 PM on March 6, 2016

Amazing ideas, thank you so much. Putting together some stuff I've researched plus some great suggestions from this thread, I've come up with:

1. Head to the Jakotsuyu Onsen in Asakusa. This one, while not as amazing-looking as L'Aqua, seems cheap and cheerful and Westerner-friendly while still using mineral water. L'Aqua looks brilliant if I were going to spend several hours but I'm thinking of a quick-ish wash and then:

2. Sensoji Buddhist temple

3. The 100 yen shop in the Asakusa Rox building

4. Take a taxi to Yanaka Ginza and wander, looking for mochi and other goodies

5. Walk back to Ueno, go to the Neko Maru cat cafe, and then back on the train at Ueno.

Sound ok?
posted by hazyjane at 11:10 PM on March 6, 2016

I had an amazing time at this Onsen that I don't know if it actually has a name. It's down an alley about 7 minutes by train from Ueno, about 3 blocks from the Tawarimachi station.

It's at about 1 Chome-11-10 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tōkyō-to 111-0032, Japan.

If you can't find it, inquire at Taito Ryokan a few blocks away. IIRC, there was a laundromat next door.

It's very traditional, and really neat inside. Here's an interactive tour of the inside!

Old Japanese guys sang songs and the atmosphere was quite magical.
posted by MonsieurBon at 7:59 AM on March 7, 2016

You're going to miss the cherry blossoms by only a few weeks, but it's the season for sakuramochi, and you should definitely try it if you see it. Oishii desu!
posted by mammoth at 8:23 AM on March 7, 2016

If you're going to Sensoji, drop by MeFite woodblock100's shop Mokuhankan! He's super nice!
posted by misozaki at 11:24 PM on March 7, 2016