Tokyo - what station should we stay near?

Thanks for your advice in advance. It's our 1st time to Tokyo and we are staying 16 days and want to do a DEEP DIVE and daily try and see as much as possible. Therefore, we wanted to rent an apartment ( from Agoda.com or VRBO.com or etc etc ) very very close to the easiest and BEST Metro stop, in your opinion. That makes sense, right? We will do a few day trips too, but will keep the apartment as our base so we don't have to lug all our luggage with us. It is overwhelming all the info and all the stops! Where do you recommend? We are age 65 and this is our 22nd anniversary so we want this to be a memorable visit. Arigato friends! Brad & Annie

Anywhere on the Yamanote Line with a nearby subway station. Ueno, Hamamatsucho, Shinjuku, etc.

As the above poster says anywhere on the Yamanote line will do, Tokyo is extremely well served by train lines. The destination planning part of this site is very good so I would suggest that you look at which side of Tokyo you expect to spend most time in and look at accommodation there.
16 days is a long time to spend in one city and although there are plenty of good day trips from Tokyo. I would suggest that you take at least a few days somewhere else.

If you're staying for sixteen days and want to visit many places, the most convenient stations will be the biggest ones, that serve many lines branching out in many directions. However, this is at odds with "easiest". Major stations like Ueno and Tokyo will get you to lots of places with a minimum of transfers, but it's hard to convey just how big and maze-like these stations are, not to mention crowded. You can literally spend an entire day just sightseeing the stations themselves, with the shopping and food.

I would echo the recommendations for the Yamanote loop's convenience, but it might be worth considering a minor station on the loop. For instance, Nippori Station is just two stops from Ueno but it's a very simple station where all you have thing about is "clockwise or counter-clockwise?"

I opt with the previous repliers.

The Yamanote line is the artery train line in Tokyo, passing major commuter stations like Shinjuku, Akihabara, Tokyo, Ueno, Shinagawa etc.

Along the east side of Tokyo the Yamanote line is accompanied by the Keihin-Tohoku line as well which means more trains to choose from if only going along between Tabata and Shinagawa.

Both Tokyo, Ueno and Shinagawa are stops for the shinkansen (Ueno for north going trains, Shinagawa for west-going trains).

If you stay near Akihabara/Kanda stations you can also access the Chuo line which crosses Tokyo westward passing to the north of Imperial Palace gardens and stopping at Shinjuku as well as continuing on to Mitaka (where the Ghibli musuem is located).

Nippori and Ueno stations respectively are also close to the Keisei line which quickly takes you to and from Narita airport (using the Keisei Skyliner)

Also, the Keihin-Tohoku line goes all the way to Yokohama in case you want to make a daytrip there (30 minutes from Tokyo station).



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keihin-T%C5%8Dhoku_Line
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamanote_Line

Certainly any Yamanote Line station (among others) "will do", but as it is with any big city around the world, the best places to stay depends on your definition of "deep dive". For example, the northern part of the Yamanote Line is closer to the old towns while the southern part is closer to the fashion districts.

What do you usually like to do when you visit big foreign cities? What season are you visiting in? Do you drink? Do you go listen to live music? What kind? What do you want to buy for souvenirs? Are you interested in seeing anything specific? What outskirts do you intend to go to? If you could just walk right out of your apartment to kill time, what would you like to do? Your answers to these questions will help define the neighborhood.

People will kill me for saying this... but that is the purpose of great discussion right?

The Yamanote Line is great but apartments along the line might be rather expensive, if you can even find any at all. Plus, my experience is if you are staying on one side of the Yamanote Line, it becomes long and tedious to go to the other side of the loop. My suggestion is to try to find an AirBnB in the middle of the loop and close to the top subway lines. My previous experience finds Marunouchi Line, Ginza Line, Yurakucho Line of Tokyo Metro is best. That way you can take the subway to Tokyo Station, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Shimbashi, and still hop onto the Yamanote Line. Plus, accommodations are likely cheaper as you are not near where everyone wants to be, and is generally quieter. Plus, the Yamanote Line trains are very crowded especially in the morning and evening. For a first timer you might be overwhelmed.

Try to use Google Maps and you will see the Yamanote Line sometimes is not the best way to get to certain places. The subway can actually be faster. Think of spokes of the wheel. If you are at the centre of the spoke its faster to travel in all directions. And the subway criss-crosses the city and through the Yamanote Line and that is the best. And with many of the subway stations as transfer stations, you can get to Shibuya hundreds of ways.

That is my opinion. I've traveled on both Yamanote Line and Subway. Both have advantages as others have posted.

For 16 days, I'd probably split it up and stay 2-3 places so you can get a better feel for the whole city.

I would probably say maybe stay 1-2 metro stops from Ueno and/or Shinjuku. Both have a lot going for them in terms of nearby attractions and as launching points for exploring their sides of the metro area. But they both also make great launching points for daytrips in different directions.