On our first trip to Japan, we wanted to stay in a hotel that would be suitable for a family of four. One of our friends recommended the mimaru hotels and we booked directly at the mimaru Ueno East. It was a pleasant surprise to find a Pokemon themed room with four beds at not a big price difference. The hotel staff were exceptionally welcoming and check-in was very smooth and pleasant. The hotel has a separate smoking area so even though we were on the second floor, we avoided the stairs. The beds are extremely comfortable and quite pleasant for Tokyo hotel rooms that are notoriously small in size. There's a nice stove of refrigerator and the utensils that you may need should you decide to have a quick bite or make coffee. The hotel will give you the amenities on request on check-in and coffee. Sachets and tea with creamer is available in the lobby. The hotel has a laundry right on the first floor which was a good thing for us except the dryer takes a long time and you may have to put your clothes in multiple times. If there is one thing that I would recommend to the hotel is to have more powerful dryer.
The location of the hotel is fantastic. You can walk in 5 to 6 minutes to the nearest Tokyo Subway or 10 minutes to the UENO station, which has excellent connections all over Tokyo.
The hotel is also very conveniently located to a lot of historical museums and sites of Tokyo. The neighborhood is very very nice. Just a few yards away is a 7-Eleven and u and the family Mart also close by. There are several restaurants on the way to the Ueno station.
If we are ever coming back this week we will definitely stay at the Mimaru UENO East.

They also have a good luggage delivery arrangement to both your next destination or to the airport. The employees are extremely pleasant to talk to and speak good English and always very helpful.

3-star hotels in Japan, at least in my limited experiences, usually equal to 5-star hotels in the U.S in terms of cleanliness and staff. Mimaru Ueno East, sadly, did not meet that expectation. I don't see the sub-categories of review option that I'd seen before on Tripadvisor, but I'd give 2 out of 5 for facilities , comfort and cleanliness, while I believe they deserve 4 for staff and location.

1) Comfort/facility

Unlike any other Japanese hotels I've stayed at, I felt I couldn't be barefoot on the very thin, flimsy-carpeted scratchy floor, so I had to ask for indoor slippers at the front desk, which were also too thin and flimsy to provide any comfort. We NEVER wear shoes indoor, never thought that this would be an issue at a Japanese hotel.

The window has no curtain, we didn't know there is a sliding blind between inner screen and outermost window panel , so I woke up at 4:20 am the first morning of our stay. Very poor blockage of sunlight- even with the middle screen closed, it still provided little protection.

2) Cleanliness

My daughter used the upper deck of the bunk bed, the next morning she came down with a couple of dust bunnies on her hair! The rail of the bed was covered with dust. I understand they don't offer daily cleaning, however it must have been cleaned between stays, so it's a headscratcher why it was left so dirty.

3) Location

Just about two minutes' walk to Ueno station and convenient stores, 8 minutes to Keisei Ueno station if you use Keisei Skyliner to Narita airport, and my personal favorite of Tokyo - the national museum of western art. They have several other big museums and zoo at the Ueno park.

Tips: Instead of following Google map, which will lead you to long spiral walkway to Ueno park/museums, go through Ueno station! You need a ticket ( or Pasmo or Suica) to pass through, but it will not be charged you enter and exit the same station!

Overall, it was rather disappointing. Next time I may choose Mimaru Suites for more space and comfort.