Ueno - 上野
Ueno (上野) is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park.
Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Nature and Science, as well as a major public concert hall. Many Buddhist temples are in the area, including the Bentendo temple dedicated to goddess Benzaiten, on an island in Shinobazu Pond. The Kan'ei-ji, a major temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, stood in this area, and its pagoda is now within the grounds of the Ueno Zoo. Nearby is the Ueno Tōshōgū, a Shinto shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Near the Tokyo National Museum there is The International Library of Children's Literature.
Ueno is part of the historical Shitamachi (literally "low city") district of Japan, a working class area rather than where the aristocrats and rich merchants lived. Today the immediate area, due to its close proximity to a major transportation hub, retains high land value but just a short walk away to the east or north reveals some of the less glitzy architecture of Tokyo.
Ueno Park and the Ameyoko shopping street are located next to the Ueno station. Several suburban train lines commence at Ueno Station.
Ueno Park - 上野恩賜公園
Ueno Park (上野公園, Ueno Kōen) is a large public park next to Ueno Station in central Tokyo. The park grounds were originally part of Kaneiji Temple, which used to be one of the city's largest and wealthiest temples and a family temple of the ruling Tokugawa clan during the Edo Period. Kaneiji stood in the northeast of the capital to protect the city from evil, much like Enryakuji Temple in Kyoto.
During the Boshin Civil War, which followed the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Kaneiji suffered nearly complete destruction in a battle between the victorious forces of the new Meiji government and loyalists of the overthrown shogunate. After the battle, the temple grounds were converted into one of Japan's first Western style parks and opened to the public in 1873. A statue of Saigo Takamori, one of the generals in the Battle of Ueno, stands near the park's southern entrance.
At the southwestern end of the park lies Shinobazu Pond, one of many reminders of Kaneiji Temple's former grandeur. The pond represents Lake Biwako (in a reference to Kaneiji's model, the Enryakuji Temple of Kyoto, which overlooks Lake Biwako). On an island in the middle of the pond stands Bentendo, a temple hall dedicated to the goddess of Benten.
Ueno Park is famous for the many museums found on its grounds, especially the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum for Western Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the National Science Museum. It is also home to Ueno Zoo, Japan's first zoological garden.
Additionally, Ueno Park is one of Tokyo's most popular and lively cherry blossom spots with more than 1000 cherry trees lining its central pathway. The cherry blossoms are usually in bloom during late March and early April and attract large numbers of hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties.
Temples and Shrines - Ueno Park
Kiyomizu Kannon Temple
清水観音堂
Hours: 9:00 to 16:00
Closed: No closing days
Admission: Free
Kiyomizu Kannondo was originally built in 1631 as part of Kaneiji Temple. Its design, including a wooden balcony extending from the hillside, was inspired by Kiyomizudera in Kyoto. The temple is home to an image of Kosodate Kannon, the goddess of conception, and is particularly popular among women hoping to have children.
Toshogu Shrine
東照宮
Hours: 9:00 to 16:30
Closed: No closing days
Admission: Free (inner shrine area 500 yen)
Ueno Toshogu Shrine was built in 1616 and is one of numerous shrines across the country that are dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate. The Ueno Toshogu Shrine used to be incorporated into Kaneiji Temple until 1868. Special entrance to the shrine's Botan Garden from Jan to mid Feb and mid Apr to early May (600 yen).
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Bentendo
弁天堂
Hours: 7:00 to 17:00
Closed: No closing days
Admission: Free
Bentendo is an octagonal temple hall on an island in Shinobazu Pond at the southern end of the park. The temple is dedicated to Benten, the goddess of good fortune, wealth, music and knowledge. Bentendo's grounds are especially lively during the cherry blossom season when they are crowded with festival food stalls.
Museums - Ueno park
Tokyo National Museum
東京国立博物館
Hours: 9:30 to 17:00 (extended hours on some Fridays and weekends)
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Monday is a holiday), Dec 24 to Jan 1
Admission: 620 yen
The oldest and largest museum in Japan, the Tokyo National Museum is made up of multiple buildings, each like a separate museum in itself. They house the largest collection of national treasures and important cultural items in the country.
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National Science Museum
国立科学博物館
Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays)
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Mon is a holiday), Dec 28 to Jan 1
Admission: 620 yen
This museum covers both science and natural history with hands-on physics and robotics experiments, an impressive collection of mounted animals and a 360 degree virtual theater relocated from the Aichi Expo.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
東京都美術館
Hours: 9:30 to 17:30 (until 20:00 on Fridays)
Closed: First and third Monday of each month, New Year holidays
Admission: Varies by exhibition
Reopened in April 2012, this museum displays all types of art in its six galleries. There is no permanent collection, but multiple concurrently held temporary exhibitions by various art groups. Some exhibitions are paid, others are free.
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National Museum of Western Art
国立西洋美術館
Hours: 9:30 to 17:30 (until 20:00 on Fridays)
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Mon is a holiday), Dec 28 to Jan 1
Admission: 430 yen
This museum displays Western art, primarily by European artists. There are rotating exhibitions from the museum's collection as well as temporary special exhibitions.
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Shitamachi Museum
下町風俗資料館
Hours: 9:30 to 16:30
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Mon is a holiday), Dec 29 to Jan 1
Admission: 300 yen
Shitamachi is the name of the artisan and merchant part of old Tokyo. This nostalgic museum has exhibits and reconstructions that show what life was like in Tokyo from the late Meiji to early Showa Periods.
More info：
Ueno Park - Official Map
Ueno Zoo - 上野動物園
Hour: 9:30 to 17:00
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Mon is a holiday), Dec 29 to Jan 1
Admission: 600 yen
Opened in 1882, Ueno Zoo is Japan's oldest zoo. Its most popular residents are giant panda bears, which first moved here in 1972 on the occasion of the normalization of relations between Japan and China. The zoo temporarily had no pandas after the death of Ling Ling in 2008, but received two new baby pandas in February 2011.
More info：
Ueno Zoo - Official Map
Shopping street
Ameyoko Street
アメ横通り
Ameyoko (アメ横) is a busy market street along the Yamanote Line tracks between Okachimachi and Ueno Stations. The name "Ameyoko" is a short form for "Ameya Yokocho" (candy store alley), as candies were traditionally sold there. Alternatively, "Ame" also stands for "America", because a lot of American products used to be available there when the street was the site of a black market in the years following World War Two.
Today, various products such as clothes, bags, cosmetics, fresh fish, dried food and spices are sold along Ameyoko. Opening hours and closing days depend on individual stores, but stores typically open around 10:00 and close around 20:00. Many stores remain closed on selected Wednesdays.
Ueno - Map
The information on this page is updated in April 2016.
The possibility want that information has been changed, please check the official website of each facility.