Ameyoko’s taverns and standing bars — honest prices, no surprises.
Ueno is old downtown Tokyo: the market streets of Ameyoko, the museums and the zoo up the hill — and beneath the railway tracks, a dense belt of taverns where standing bars open in the morning and motsuyaki smoke drifts from noon. This guide introduces 14 izakaya (Japanese taverns) in Ueno and neighbouring Okachimachi, starting — openly — with the two places run by the company behind this guide, BEEF KITCHEN STAND APA Hotel Ueno and the shabu-shabu tavern Katsuji, plus twelve local places whose names, addresses and hours we verified one by one.
No rankings, no scores, no sponsored placements. Only facts we could confirm. Every price in this guide includes tax, and where a cover charge applies, we say so before you walk in.
Tap a name to jump to its introduction. First, our own two places — we run this guide, and we say so. Then twelve local places we recommend as neighbours.
On the ground floor of APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami, a casual steak tavern built on small plates and Kuroge Wagyu; a few minutes away in Sotokanda, the shabu-shabu tavern Katsuji and its original ankake sukiyaki, created by the owner. Two very different home bases for a Ueno night.
Steak tavern · Izakaya
BEEF KITCHEN STAND APA Hotel Ueno
A casual steak tavern for small plates and Kuroge Wagyu, on the ground floor of APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami — open from noon, every day. This is also one of only six locations serving the Wagyu Sukiyaki Tonkotsu Ramen (see below).
6-7-21 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo (APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami, 1F)
Signature bifteki steak ¥319 / Kuroge Wagyu small plates ¥658 / Small plates from ¥109 (tax incl.)
Cover charge ¥438 — includes all-you-can-eat edamame
A shabu-shabu tavern where you can drink as well as dine. Its signature is the original ankake sukiyaki, a dish created by the owner himself, and the kitchen takes pride in passing on Japanese food traditions.
6-16-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (Okachimachi Urban Hotel, 1F)
Signature: Original ankake sukiyaki
Lunch: Kuroge Wagyu sukiyaki set ¥1,500 (tax incl.)
* These two places are run by Yakko Dining Co., Ltd., the operator of this guide.
Only at 6 locations in Japan
Wagyu Sukiyaki Tonkotsu Ramen — served here in Ueno
Wagyu, sukiyaki and ramen — the three dishes visitors to Japan most want to try — in a single clay pot. 150g of Kuroge Wagyu sirloin covers the noodles and is seared with a torch right in front of you. The broth is a rich, creamy tonkotsu (pork bone), seasoned a little gentler so the beef stays the star. BEEF KITCHEN STAND created this bowl for international guests; it is not on the regular menu, and in Ueno you can order it at the APA Hotel Ueno tavern above.
¥3,630 (tax incl.) — at BEEF KITCHEN STAND APA Hotel Ueno. The other five locations are two in Akihabara and three in Shinjuku. The same locations also serve a Special Tonkotsu Ramen (¥2,420) and a Tonkotsu Ramen (¥1,738), tax included.
Photo: the actual dish — Kuroge Wagyu sirloin being seared in its clay pot.
Local favourites
Twelve local taverns we are happy to send you to
Listed by style, not by rank. Standing bars that open at sunrise, motsuyaki institutions by Ameyoko, yakitori under the tracks — this is the range of a Ueno day and night.
Motsuyaki · Horumon
Daitoryo
3 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Shinobazu Exit (6-10-14 Ueno, Taito-ku)
A classic tavern near Ameyoko for motsuyaki and horumon, pouring from 10 AM straight through the night.
Hours: from 10:00 AM, open straight through
Restaurant · Standing bar
Niku no Oyama
2 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Hirokoji Exit (6-13-2 Ueno, Taito-ku)
Run by a butcher: a meat restaurant with a standing-drink space out front.
Standing bar · Motsuyaki
Tachinomi Takioka
5 min walk from Ueno Station (6-9-14 Ueno, Taito-ku)
A standing bar open from 7 AM — a quick glass with motsuyaki, Ueno style.
Hours: from 7:00 AM
Standing bar · Seafood
Uogusa
Inside Ameyoko Plaza (6-10-7 Ueno, Taito-ku)
A seafood standing bar inside Ameyoko Plaza, open from daytime into the early evening.
Motsuyaki · Horumon
Motsuyaki Otonba Ueno
3 min walk from Ueno Station (6-7-13 Ueno, Taito-ku)
Motsuyaki and horumon from 12 PM straight through — good for daytime drinking too.
Hours: from 12:00 PM, open straight through
Standing bar · Kushiage
Hoteichan Ueno
5 min walk from Ueno / Okachimachi Station (6-10-13 Ueno, Taito-ku)
Standing drinks and kushiage skewers at a cheerful casual tavern, open from 10:30 AM.
Hours: from 10:30 AM
Standing bar
Tachinomi Kadokura
1 min walk from JR Ueno Station (Forum Aji Bldg, 1F)
A standing bar one minute from the station — an easy stop on the way home.
6-13-1 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Yakitori
Yakitori Ueno Bunraku
2 min walk from JR Ueno Station, under the JR tracks (6-12-1 Ueno, Taito-ku)
Yakitori grilled under the JR railway tracks — as downtown-Tokyo as it gets.
Casual tavern
Bankiya Okachimachi
About 2 min walk from JR Okachimachi Station (6-4-14 Ueno, Taito-ku)
A big, cheap and cheerful tavern open from 9 AM.
Hours: from 9:00 AM
Tempura · Pork shabu
Taishu Sakaba Tempura Miya
3 min walk from Okachimachi Station (Miura Bldg, B1F)
Tempura, pork shabu and soba at a basement tavern.
4-3-8 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Seafood · Tempura
Jizakana Yatai Hamachan Ueno
2 min walk from Ueno Station (6-9-13 Ueno, Taito-ku)
Local fish and tempura at a seafood izakaya.
Yakitori
Taishu Sakaba Riki-Riki
1 min walk from JR Okachimachi Station (5-27-5 Ueno, Taito-ku)
A yakitori izakaya right by Okachimachi Station.
Hours, closing days and budgets above were verified against official sites and major Japanese restaurant guides (Tabelog, Hot Pepper). Where sources disagreed, we left that item out rather than guess. Please double-check on the day — small taverns occasionally change hours. We use no photos of the local shops; the only photos on this page are of our own taverns.
Out and about
A Ueno day out — the sightseeing map
Ueno is known for its taverns, but by day it is a hill of museums and galleries. The park, the market street and the quieter corners all sit within walking distance of each other — use this page to plan the hours before (and after) the taverns.
Park
Ueno Park (Ueno Onshi Park)
Right outside JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
The green hill and pond at the heart of the neighbourhood, with museums, galleries and the zoo gathered in and around it. The park has been famous for cherry blossoms since the Edo period, and most of the sights below start here.
10 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
Japan's oldest museum, holding art and antiquities from Japan and across Asia in several halls — the Honkan, Toyokan and Heiseikan among them. Displays rotate, so no two visits are quite the same.
In front of JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (7-7 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
A museum of Western art built around the Matsukata Collection and opened in 1959. Its main building was designed by Le Corbusier and is inscribed as part of the World Heritage listing of his works; the sculptures in the forecourt are part of the visit.
5 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (7-20 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
Japan's only national general science museum, founded in 1877, covering natural history and the history of science and technology — dinosaur skeletons and the preserved Hachiko among the exhibits that hold visitors of every age.
10 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (8-36 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
Opened in 1926 as Japan's first public art museum. Alongside special exhibitions it hosts many open-call shows, and makes a natural starting point for an exhibition day on the hill.
5 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (9-83 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
Japan's oldest zoo, opened in 1882, in two halves — the East Garden and the West Garden by Shinobazu Pond. A wander through the grounds is part of the pleasure.
10 min walk from JR Ueno Station, Park Exit (9-88 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
A shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, founded in 1627. The gilded main hall, known as the Konjiki-den, survives from the early Edo period and is designated an Important Cultural Property — a quiet corner a little apart from the park's bustle.
Along the tracks between JR Ueno and JR Okachimachi stations (Ueno, Taito-ku)
A market street of some 400 shops — food, clothing and everyday goods — running about 500 metres along the railway. Its year-end crowds are a Tokyo institution, and most of the taverns in this guide sit in its streets.
3 min walk from Keisei Ueno Station (2-1 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
A pond at the foot of the hill, covered with lotus flowers in summer. On its island stands the Benten-do, modelled on Hogon-ji Temple on Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa, enshrining Benzaiten, long worshipped as a guardian of music and the performing arts.
5 min walk from Keisei Ueno Station or JR Ueno Station, Shinobazu Exit (2-1 Ueno Park, Taito-ku)
Long known as the Shitamachi Museum of Customs, the museum reopened under its new name in March 2025. It recreates the streets, merchants' houses and tenements of Tokyo's downtown districts in the 1950s, with the tools of daily life on display, at the edge of Shinobazu Pond.
3 min walk from Yushima Station, Chiyoda Line (1-3-45 Ikenohata, Taito-ku)
The former main residence of the Iwasaki family, founders of Mitsubishi, built in 1896. The Western-style house designed by Josiah Conder, the Japanese-style wing and the billiard house survive, designated Important Cultural Properties, in a quiet corner west of Shinobazu Pond.
After the museums and the park, head back into the noise of Ameyoko. Lunch, dinner and a first drink are all in this guide's list of places — and Katsuji Ueno Okachimachi and BEEF KITCHEN STAND APA Hotel Ueno are both an easy walk from the park when the day winds down.
Opening hours, closing days and admission fees change; please check each facility's official website before you go.
FAQ
Before you go
Is there a cover charge?
Many izakaya charge a small per-person cover called otoshi, which normally arrives as a small appetizer. At BEEF KITCHEN STAND it is ¥438 including tax, and instead of a token appetizer you get all-you-can-eat edamame. We print it here — and on the menu — so the bill never surprises you.
Do I need to tip?
No. Japan has no tipping culture, and prices are displayed with tax included. What you see is what you pay.
Can I come alone?
Absolutely. Drinking solo at a counter is a Tokyo tradition, and small-plates taverns like BEEF KITCHEN STAND are built for it — order a little of everything without committing to a big dish.
Can I really drink in the morning in Ueno?
Yes — it is an old Ameyoko tradition. In this guide, Tachinomi Takioka opens at 7:00 AM, Bankiya at 9:00 AM, Daitoryo at 10:00 AM and Hoteichan at 10:30 AM. A morning glass at a standing bar, then the market streets, is a very Ueno way to start the day.
What is the Wagyu Sukiyaki Tonkotsu Ramen?
A clay-pot ramen created by BEEF KITCHEN STAND for international guests: 150g of Kuroge Wagyu sirloin seared with a torch over noodles in a rich, creamy tonkotsu (pork bone) broth, ¥3,630 including tax. It is not on the regular menu and is served at only six locations in Japan — in Ueno, at BEEF KITCHEN STAND APA Hotel Ueno. See the feature above.
