Ueno Park & Environs

National Museum of Western Art Ueno Royal Museum Saigo Takamori Statue
Shitamachi Museum Yushima Tenjin Ueno Zoo Toshogu Shrine
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum Natl Science Museum Tokyo Natl Museum
Intl Library of Children's Literature Kaneiji Temple Jomyoji Temple
Ameyayokocho Shopping St Ueno Park Access

English-language tour of Ueno

Ueno Park 上野公園

Walking the Dalmation, Ueno Park.

• In spring, Tokyo's most famous cherry blossoms
• The most museums of anywhere in Japan
• In an area rich in historical, cultural and religious significance, with the most temples in Tokyo
• Located in Tokyo's shitamachi (working & merchant class) Ueno district, in Taito Ward.
• Conveniently located across the road from JR Ueno station (the shinkansen, i.e. bullet train, terminal).
• Just east of elegant Bunkyo ward.

Ueno Park is home to Tokyo's most famous cherry trees, art galleries, museums, temples, a zoo - and hundreds of thousands of crows.

The park has something memorable for everyone: casual tourist, culture vulture, nature lover, fitness fanatic, or shutter bug. And in spring it is full of blossom.

It is impossible to get through the whole Park in a day. Choose what you're into, and explore at a leisurely pace. The park is very crowded by mid-afternoon, so try to get there early. Many facilities are closed on Monday.

The surrounding Ueno area has a lot of homelessness. The Park, too, has a sizable but inconspicuous homeless population, generally limited to the area facing the Science Museum. As elsewhere in Japan, homeless people here keep to themselves and do not bother others.

JR Ueno Station

From Ueno Station

Take the Ueno Park Exit of JR Ueno Station, and cross the road.

While the Ueno Exit is the most direct route, going out the Central Exit is recommended if you want to pick up English-language information about the Park beforehand.

(There is an information booth with English info at the entrance to the Park. Limited English spoken.)

Ueno Park info in English

Go out the Central Exit, turn left just past the ticket machines and you'll see a cafe called Break. Go in and there is an information desk in the foyer.

Shinobazu Lotus Pond Watch movie

To get to the Park from there, go out the station's Main Entrance right next to Break (from the inside, the entrance has the word 'Galleria' posted over it).

Turn left out on to the street and you'll see stairs about 10 meters (30 feet) ahead, and escalators about 20 meters (65 feet) ahead.

Take either to the top (3rd) level and cross the Panda Bridge walkbridge to the Park.

Near the top of where you come out onto the walkbridge is Stasiun Irish Pub - open from 11am - if you're in the mood for a Guinness. There are also a number of other shops in this area.

The following is a guide to the various features of Ueno Park, starting from in front of Ueno Station.

Once in the Park, straight ahead of you is Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (i.e. Tokyo Culture Hall), a cultural event space notable mainly for classical music performances.

National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The Thinker, front of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

Across from the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan is the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Check out the great drama in black steel of the Museum's 58-piece Rodin collection, three pieces of it located in front of the museum, including the Thinker, and the Gates of Hell.

The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo was established in 1959. Its Main Building is the work of the French architect Le Corbusier (who also worked on the design of the UN Headquarters building).

The Museum's collection covers Western paintings and drawings from the 15th to 20th centuries with the emphasis on France.
Includes a research library.
Open 9.30am - 5pm, Friday 9.30am - 8pm (Last admission 30 minutes before closing time)
Closed: Mondays and December 28 - January 1
Free admission to Museum Collection on the second and the fourth Saturdays of each month, and November 3.

7-7, Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
Tel 03-3828-5131 Fax 03-3828-5135

The Ueno Royal Museum

On the other side of the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo is the Ueno Royal Museum. This is a relatively small rental gallery supported by the Japan Art Association. It has only a small collection of its own, and a varied schedule of short-term exhibitions, mainly of paintings and calligraphy, organized by art groups.
Open 10am - 5pm
No fixed closed days. Depends on the particular exhibition.

1-2, Ueno-koen,
Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
Tel 03-3833-4191 Fax 03-3836-0066

Statue of Saigo Takamori

Statue of Saigo Takamori

A little further on, between the Ueno Royal Museum and the Keisei Railway Line's Ueno Station entrance is a massive statue of Saigo Takamori.

Saigo is the focus of the film The Last Samurai.

It was here in Ueno park on May 15, 1868, that Saigo led the imperial troops against the last of the old feudal Bakufu forces and defeated them.

Incidentally, the size of the statue no doubt reflects the fact that, especially for Japanese of the day, Saigo was a physically huge character at 180cm (6 ft) tall, and very stockily built.

Shitamachi Museum

Shitamachi Museum entrance ticket

Shitamachi (literally 'undertown') refers to what is still in terms of atmosphere the refreshingly attitude-free Taito Ward area. This small two-floor museum preserves some of the flavor of the area's life in the Taisho Era (roughly the 1910s and 1920s) with actual shop interiors, furniture, tools, implements, amusements, posters etc from that time.

The suitably aged staff provide a warm welcome, making for a pleasant intimate half hour with the friendly ghosts of old Ueno. Autumn and winter features periodical special exhibitions.

Open 9.30am-4.30pm (last admission 4pm).
Closed Mondays (except when Monday is a public holiday, when it closes the next day) and December 29 - January 3.
Adults: 300 yen; elementary to high school students: 200 yen.

2-1, Ueno Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
Tel 03-3823-7451/7461 Fax 03-3823-3870

Yushima Tenjin (Tenmangu) Shrine

Ten minutes walk from the Shitamachi Museum is Tokyo's most famous shrine of scholars, Yushima Tenjin (or Yushima Tenmangu) Shrine.

From the Shitamachi Museum, go back out onto Shinobazu-dori Avenue and turn left at the 'Suijo-ongakujo' intersection. Then at the next intersection called 'Tenjinshita' turn right, then first left, then first right. You will come to Onna-zaka (Woman's Slope) leading up to the Shrine, so called because of its gentle rise. Walk a few more meters along the street to the left of where Onna-zaka ascends if you want the decidedly steeper challenge of Otoko-zaka (Man's Slope)!
Read more about Yushima Tenjin.

Back to the Park entrance - To the left is the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and to the right is the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Straight ahead is Ueno Zoo.

Ueno Zoo

Read about Ueno Zoo - Japan's premier zoological gardens.

Toshogu Shrine

Gate of Toshogu Shrine, Ueno

Clearly visible from inside the zoo and accessible from just outside the Zoo's exit is Toshogu Shrine. This is one of Tokyo's most tastefully preserved shrines.

The date of its founding varies according to the sources one reads, but can safely be said to have been built in the mid- to late-17th century by Todo Takatora, the daimyo of Iga and Ise, who was also a famous castle architect. It has been extensively rebuilt (albeit piecemeal) since then.

There are about 200 Toshogu Shrines throughout Japan, all dedicated to the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa. 'Tosho' means 'Light of the East', referring to the eastern location of the Shogun's seat of Kamakura. It is characterized by luxurious gilt walls. Having almost miraculously largely escaped the disasters of the past few centuries, the shrine is preserved as it was in the Edo era (16th-17th centuries).

Toshogu is approached up a long paved tree-lined path under arches and its centerpiece, the Golden Hall, or Konjikiden, is nestled inside a double layer of walls, adding greatly to its sense of mystery and serenity.

It retains its old simplicity without dilapidation, and is full of elegant old ornaments and artifacts that, while they may have seen better days, are nevertheless preserved in a way that loses nothing of their original beauty or mystique. A place to sit down in and contemplate as opposed to simply inspect. Famous for its peony garden.
Open 9am - 4.30pm.
200 yen.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Ueno

Just two minutes walk to the right of the Zoo's entrance is the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. This museum has been in existence since 1926 and hosts a wide variety of different art-related exhibitions. Features galleries and an art library. For what's on now see What's on in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Open 9a.m.- 5p.m. (Last admittance at 4.30p.m.)

8-36 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
Tel 03-3823-6921 Fax 03-3823-6920

National Science Museum

Directly south from the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and right next door to the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo is the National Science Museum. It is unforgettably framed by a steam locomotive on one side (the Museum of Western Art side) and a 30 meter (almost 100 foot) statue of a diving blue whale on the other.

The Science Museum at Ueno is actually only one of the five facilities that make up the National Science Museum, and is the 1930 reconstruction and relocation of the former Tokyo Museum that was completely destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.

Blue whale sculpture, National Science Museum, Ueno

The Science Museum's focus is primarily on the evolution of life on Earth, but its comprehensive permanent displays and exhibitions cater to nearly all aspects of scientific endeavor. For information on the current exhibition, go to What's on in Tokyo and Kyoto
Open 9a.m.- 5p.m. (Last admittance at 4.30p.m.)
Closed Mondays (Tuesday when a national holiday falls on Monday), December 28 - January 1.

7-20 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8718
Tel 03-3822-0111 (Mon-Fri), 03-3822-0114 (Sat. Sun. National Holidays)
Recorded announcement: 03-5777-8600

Tokyo National Museum

Tokyo National Museum (Honkan), Ueno

Across the road from the Science Museum is the sprawling, impossible to miss Tokyo National Museum. For only 420 yen you get admission to the Honkan (Main Gallery), the Toyokan (Eastern Antiquities Gallery), the first floor of the Heiseikan (Japanese archeological objects) and the Horyuji Hohmotsukan (Treasures from Horyuji Temple in Nara). This is Japan's oldest museum, as well as its biggest. Give yourself time.

The Honkan (Main Gallery) and the Toyokan (Eastern Antiquities Gallery) are the biggest buildings and house most of the Museum's exhibits. The Honkan is devoted to Japanese artifacts and the Toyokan to exhibits from the rest of Asia.

The Honkan, built in 1937, was designed by the prominent pre-World War II architect Jin Watanabe. It consists of two very spacious floors with 24 exhibition galleries that include the Dawn of Japanese Art, Attire of the Military Elite, Courtly Art, Buddhist Art, Ainu and Ryukyu Art, Daily Utensils, and Modern Art.

The Toyokan (built 1968) has a wide variety of artifacts reflecting the cultures of Asia, mainly China - to which the whole of the second floor is dedicated - but stretching as far as India and the Middle East. Covers sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, lacquerware, glassware, painting and calligraphy. The Egyptian exhibition includes a mummy and, like all the present exhibitions, is on display until March 12, 2006.

Tokyo National Museum's Hyokeikan, Ueno

The first floor of the Heiseikan, accessible from the Honkan, is - in spite of access to it being officially included in the price of the ticket - not always open to the public.

However, when it is, it is worth inspecting its archeological exhibits dating back thousands of years: in particular its pottery that dates further back than the pottery of anywhere else in the world.

Although not accessible to the public, the Hyokeikan, in front of the Heiseikan is a beautiful example of early Meiji Western-inspired architecture, built in 1908, and is by far the most elegant Museum building.

Horyuji Treasures Museum, Ueno

The Horyuji Hohmotsukan (Treasures from Horyuji Temple in Nara) rivals it, however, for stylishness. This flagship of clean, breath-easy space was designed by Yoshio Taniguchi (also famous for Museum of Modern Art's new home in New York) and built in 1999.

There are over 300 objects on display in the museum, primarily from the 7th and 8th centuries, having been donated to the Imperial Household by Horyuji Temple in 1878. The Museum preserves them in an environment that evokes the mystique of the temple atmosphere and sets them out with maximum accessibility and clarity. Walk amongst the rows of statues of the Buddha on the first floor.

Kagura mask in Horyuji Treasures Museum, Ueno

Inspect the sometimes eerie Kagura masks in the room behind. The Museum has a small library with computer access to online library resources. There is a restaurant downstairs. Finally, be sure to check out the little log-house storehouse (azekura) from Jurin'in Temple tucked away in the trees just to the right of the Museum.

Open 9.30am - 5pm (last admission at 4.30pm)

13-9 Ueno Park
Taito-ku, Tokyo,110-8712
Tel 03-3822-1111

The International Library of Children's Literature

International Library of Children's Literature, Ueno

From the Horyuji Hohmotsukan go out the National Museum's big wooden Kuromon (Black Gate) exit. Take the first right and the second building on your left will be the International Library of Children's Literature - part of the National Diet Library.

Most of the Library is for research and is made up of books, both Japanese and foreign, and a huge microfiche collection. Using a research room requires leaving one's bag (and camera) in a locker and filling out a form.

However, the 1st floor Children's Library is, as the name suggests, a reading room for children to use, and the 3rd floor Museum is of general interest, where special exhibitions of children's literature from around the world are held several times a year.

A stroll through this building is recommended even for those not so interested in children's literature. It is a unique blend of architectures from three different eras, the original 1906 Renaissance-style architecture - expanded on in 1929 - not only beautifully preserved, but expertly unified into a spacious, inspiring modern whole by Tadao Ando, the 1995 recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.
Open 9.30 - 5pm (4pm from November through February)
Closed Mondays and public holidays (except Children's Day on May 5), December 28 - January 24, and the third Wednesday in January, March, May, July, September and November.

12-49 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
Tel 03-3827-2053 Fax 03-3827-2043
Telephone guidance: 03-3827-2069

Kaneiji Temple

Kaneiji Temple, Ueno

The next turn left after the Children's Library will take you to the main gates of Kaneiji Temple: the base in the Kanto (i.e. Tokyo and environs) of the hugely influential Tendai school of Buddhism, introduced to Japan in the 8th century CE. Kaneiji Temple was established in 1625 to protect Edo Castle, the Shogun's seat, from evil and from fire, and was the family temple of the ruling Tokugawa clan.

The name Kanei (ji means 'temple') simply comes from the name of the era, in which era's second year it was built. Kaneiji Temple has definitely seen better days, for at that time the whole vast tract of what is now Ueno Park was part of the temple grounds. The whole Ueno area, in fact, began around Kaneiji. However, when the Tokugawa feudal lords were destroyed in 1868 at the battle of Ueno (see the entry on Saigo Takamori above) the temple grounds were appropriated by the victorious imperial government and the grand old Kaneiji Temple that presided over the area has been relegated to one of its corners. Most of the temple, where the Shogun's forces were based, was also destroyed in the fighting. The only part of it that survived was the five-storey pagoda that now adorns the grounds of the Zoo.

Jizo in Kaneiji Temple, Ueno

Of more interest than the main temple buildings is the 1709 mausoleum of Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi behind them. Access is from the back right-hand corner of the temple. Within the thick stone walls of the temple compound and framed by huge stone lanterns, the mausoleum gate is the grand finishing touch in what makes for an atmosphere of calm propriety and restrained power. Best viewed in autumn.

Jomyoin Temple

Jomyoji Temple, Ueno

Turn right out of the main gate of Kaneiji Temple and walk to the T-junction. Just across the road is Jomyoin Temple, once one of the 36 priests' residences of Kaneiji Temple, but now a temple in its own right.

This temple is far more worthy of your time than Kaneiji is. It boasts over 84,000 jizo, i.e. statues of the bodhisattva guardian of children - row upon row of them - all in a multitude of depictions and states of repair. More intimate and moving than Kaneiji. A good 20 to 30 minutes of delightful browsing guranteed.

2-6-4 Sakuragi, Taito-ku, Tokyo.

Yanaka Cemetery

Yanaka cemetery gravestone, Ueno

Left out of Jomyoin and the next street on the left (off the Uenosakuragi 2’ intersection) will take you to Yanaka Cemetery.

Wander down the tree-lined Sakura-dori avenue (renowned for its cherry blossoms in late March, early April) to the vast mazelike cemetery where the remains of many of Japan's most renowned are interred.

Pride of place goes to the grave of the 15th and final Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913). However, it is probably more worth going to just to wander round, take in the beauty, and get slightly lost.

Ameyayoko-cho Shopping Street

Ameyayoko-cho shopping street, Okachimachi

Finally, back where we started at Ueno Park's entrance - just across from the Park is the entrance to Ameyayoko-cho shopping street. This is part of the Okachimachi area that is neighbor to Ueno.

Ameyayokocho, or just Ameyoko, is a permanently festive riot of street stalls (some good T-shirts), clothing and shoe shops, snack and sweet sellers, and just about every other kind of vendor, all yelling Irasshai! ('Welcome!' or 'Roll up!') at the top of their lungs.

Before you leave, join the motley crowd as it dawdles along and enjoy the restless, often garish, kalaidoscope of downtown distractions.

Ueno Park Access

Ueno (上野) station on the Japan Rail Yamanote Line, Park Exit.
1 minute walk.

Ueno (上野) station on the Ginza subway line.
5 minute walk.

Keisei Ueno (京成上野) station on the Keisei Honsen line
1 minute walk.

Uguisudani (鶯谷) station on the JR Yamanote line, behind the Tokyo National Museum.
1 minute walk.

Tokyo Tourist Information Center
Ueno Station, Keisei Line
Tel: 03 3836 3471

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