EDITOR'S PICKS
Why Ueno works so well for day drinking.
Seafood, tempura, horumon, yakitori and motsuyaki — Ueno gives you real choice before evening. Here are my nine picks, ranked from the places I would start with first.
Jizakana Yatai Hamachan Ueno
地魚屋台 浜ちゃん 上野店
My first choice for a daytime start in Ueno
If I’m drinking in Ueno before dinner, Hamachan is one of the first places I think of.
Hamachan is one of the first places that comes to mind when I want a daytime drink in Ueno. It is easy to walk into before dinner, but the food still feels substantial: seafood, sashimi, tempura and hamayaki-style grilled seafood all fit naturally with a beer or sour.
The lively Ueno atmosphere suits it. Order some sashimi, add tempura, then decide whether the table needs another round. It works just as well for a visitor exploring Ameyoko as it does for a casual local lunch that turns into drinks.
I put it first because the balance is so easy: early opening, a broad seafood menu, and enough food quality that “day drinking” does not have to mean settling for snacks.
- Address
- 1F, FIT'S Building, 6-9-13 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. (last order 10 p.m.)
- Food focus
- Seafood, sashimi, tempura, grilled seafood
Source: Tabelog restaurant information & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Sakagura Kandakko
酒蔵 神田っ子
For a proper old-school tavern mood before dinner
It may be daytime outside, but Kandakko already feels like drinking time.
The exterior alone makes Kandakko appealing if you like traditional neighborhood taverns. It has the kind of atmosphere where long-time Ueno regulars can drop in without ceremony, and that mood works just as well at lunch as it does at night.
Order a few small dishes, settle in, and think about the next drink after the first one arrives. It is not a flashy place, and that is part of the point. The old-school atmosphere fits Ueno day drinking especially well when you are in no hurry.
If you came to Ueno because you want a real izakaya feeling rather than a polished restaurant lunch, this is one of my picks.
- Address
- 6-9-20 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
- Food focus
- Yakitori, seafood, classic izakaya dishes
Source: Tabelog restaurant information & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Horumon Sakaba Ueno
ホルモン酒場 上野
When you want meat, offal and a proper daytime session
Ueno day drinking is not only about seafood.
Ueno is famous for seafood and motsuyaki, but there are plenty of ways to build a meat-heavy daytime meal too. Horumon Sakaba Ueno is useful when you want offal, yakiton and skewers with something stronger than a quick lunchtime beer.
This is better suited to eating and drinking properly than simply stopping for one glass. Go with a few people, share several dishes, or use it to break up a seafood-heavy crawl around Ameyoko.
If you are visiting several Ueno izakaya in one day, adding a meat-focused stop like this gives the route much more variety.
- Address
- 1F, Ono Building, 6-13-5 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 10 a.m.–5 a.m. the next day
- Food focus
- Horumon, yakiton, yakitori, sashimi
Source: Restaurant listing; hours confirmed by the author
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Taishu Sakaba Go-no-Go Ueno 6-chome
大衆酒場 五の五 上野6丁目店
Casual, approachable and easy to add to a crawl
The kind of place you can enter the moment you think, “maybe one drink.”
Go-no-Go lowers the barrier to day drinking in Ueno. It has the familiar, casual feel of a taishu sakaba — a Japanese pub built for everyday drinking — and it works whether you are alone or with a group.
Stew and other drinking snacks make it easy to order without overthinking the meal. This is less about planning a destination lunch and more about arriving in Ueno and deciding that the day could use a drink.
That flexibility is useful on a daytime crawl. It can be the first stop, or the place you add between two more specific food destinations.
- Address
- 1F–3F, Gunsetsu Building, 6-13-1 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- Mon–Thu noon–3 a.m.; Fri noon–5 a.m.; Sat & public holidays 11 a.m.–5 a.m.; Sun 11 a.m.–3 a.m.
- Food focus
- Salted offal stew, yakitori, seafood, casual izakaya dishes
Source: Tabelog restaurant information & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Yakitori Taisho Ueno
やきとり大将 上野店
A straightforward pick for yakitori and skewers
Skewers at 10 in the morning? In Ueno, that plan makes sense.
Yakitori Taisho Ueno is an easy choice when you want grilled chicken and skewers with a daytime drink. Because so many Ueno taverns open early, ordering a few skewers before lunch hours are even over does not feel unusual here.
Start with several skewers, have a drink, then add more as you go. You do not need a complicated order for the meal to work, which suits the relaxed pace of day drinking.
If seafood and stews are starting to dominate your Ueno plans, Taisho gives the day a simple grilled-skewer change of direction.
- Address
- 1F, Takefumi Building, 6-13-6 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 10 a.m.–midnight
- Food focus
- Yakitori, skewers, grilled tongue, izakaya dishes
Source: Restaurant listing; hours confirmed by the author
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Motsuyaki Daitoryo Main Branch
もつ焼き 大統領 本店
One of the places that defines daytime drinking in Ueno
For the full Ueno experience, the setting matters as much as the skewers.
Daitoryo feels unmistakably Ueno: the railway tracks, the counter, and people drinking long before evening. If someone asked me what “day drinking in Ueno” looks like, this is one of the places I would point to.
Order motsuyaki and stew, then drink without worrying too much about the clock. Even in the middle of the day, the room already runs on izakaya time.
This is a different experience from having an early drink in a polished restaurant. Come here when you want the neighborhood atmosphere as much as the food.
- Address
- 6-10-14 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 10 a.m.–11:30 p.m.
- Food focus
- Motsuyaki, offal stew, horumon
Source: Tabelog restaurant information & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Ueno Gyoko
上野漁港
For a daytime drink built around seafood
Day drinking does not have to mean compromising on the meal.
Ueno Gyoko — literally “Ueno fishing port” — is an easy pick when seafood is the main reason you are going out. If you want more than a few light snacks, the menu gives you enough fish and cooked dishes to build a proper meal.
Ueno has enough seafood izakaya that you can choose according to mood. A daytime table of sashimi and drinks has a different pace from a late dinner, and that is part of the appeal.
Put this on the list when you want to eat properly, take your time, and still start well before evening.
- Address
- 6-9-16 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 10 a.m.–5 a.m. the next day
- Food focus
- Seafood, sashimi, meat sushi, skewers
Source: Hot Pepper restaurant information & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Numazuko Kaisho Zero Ueno
沼津港 海将 zero 上野店
Fish and drinks without making the meal too formal
When you want seafood, but not a serious sit-down lunch.
Numazuko Kaisho Zero Ueno is another useful seafood option for daytime drinking. It fits naturally into the Ueno routine of ordering fish, having a drink, and deciding what comes next once you are already at the table.
There is enough seafood to make it a destination, but the atmosphere stays casual enough for a second or third stop. That flexibility matters when you are moving around Ameyoko rather than planning one long meal.
I keep it in mind for days when I want fish and an easygoing tavern feel in equal measure.
- Address
- 1F, Kanai Building, 6-9-13 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- 10 a.m.–10:30 p.m. (food last order 9:30 p.m.; drinks 10 p.m.)
- Food focus
- Sashimi, local fish, small plates, meat dishes
Source: Tabelog official restaurant page & hours
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
Uokichi Sakaba Ueno
魚吉酒場 上野店
When “day drinking” can start even earlier
In Ueno, noon can feel late when the izakaya is open 24 hours.
Uokichi Sakaba is a good example of how seriously Ueno takes drinking outside normal evening hours. Because it is open around the clock, you can use it for lunch, an afternoon session, or a very early start that barely qualifies as “day drinking.”
Order seafood and classic izakaya dishes, then take your time. In Ueno, drinking at an unusual hour does not feel like a special event; it is simply part of the neighborhood rhythm. I have been coming to this area for years, and that normality is part of what I like about it.
Ninth place does not mean I recommend it less. Every place in this list is somewhere I have visited and would send people depending on the starting time, food mood and route for the day.
- Address
- 1F, 6-13-7 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo
- Hours
- Open 24 hours
- Food focus
- Bluefin tuna, sashimi, sushi, oysters and scallops
Source: Restaurant listing; hours confirmed by the author
Restaurant details checked September 23, 2026. Hours may change.
AFTERWORD
If you want to drink in Ueno during the day, start with these nine.
Ueno has so many bars and izakaya open early that choosing can be the hardest part. These are nine places I have personally visited and would recommend from years of eating and drinking out around Tokyo. Pick according to your starting time, food mood and how many stops you plan to make.
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