UENO
Ueno Tokyo
- Guide to Ueno Tokyo including Ueno Park, museums transport, Ueno
hotels, gallery and Ueno Zoo.
If you want to get a feel for old
Tokyo, Ueno (上野) in the Taitoku district is a good place to start.
Getting to Ueno
Ueno Station was at one time the place from which
steam locomotives chugged off to the snowy northeast, but now the
Shinkansen just make a brief stop. The JR Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku
lines stop here, as well as the Hibiya and Ginza subway lines.
The Keisei Skyliner and most Keisei limited expresses from
Narita
Airport also terminate in Ueno.
Ueno being a major transport hub makes it an ideal location to stay in Tokyo.
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Ueno Highlights
Ueno Park (上野公園 Ueno-kōen), adjacent to the station,
is home to most of the attractions in the area, including the Ueno Zoo
and a concentration of Japan's best museums. In cherry blossom season,
Ueno Park is Tokyo's most popular spot for outdoor hanami parties.
 Ueno
Zoo was Japan's first and its most famous zoo. It is conveniently located in
Ueno Park right near Ueno Station.
The pagoda is presently in the Ueno Zoo, but formerly was part of the
Kan'eiji, the temple of the Tokugawa shoguns of Japan, in the Ueno
neighbourhood of Tokyo.
Pagoda Kan'eiji Temple Ueno Zoo Ueno Park
Shinobazu Pond
Shinobazu Pond (不忍池 Shinobazu-ike), adjacent to Ueno
Park, is full of water lilies and waterfowl and has the picturesque
little Bentendō Hall shrine, dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten, in
the middle.
The small Shitamachi Museum (下町風俗資料館) near the southeast corner of
Shinobazu Pond offers a glimpse into life in the area in the early
20th century, with re-created houses and stores, and cultural
artefacts.
Shinobazu Lake - Shinobazu Pond Ueno
Ueno Shopping
Ameyoko (アメ横) is a packed shopping bazaar full of
stalls selling almost anything you can imagine. It runs roughly south
of Ueno station along the inside of the JR Yamanote line tracks to
Okachimachi station. If you are looking for a more typically "Asian"
market street in Tokyo, with bargaining expected and friendly vendors
trying to out-shout each other, this is it. Definitely a good place
for souvenirs for friends back home. The district got its name in the
post-war years from the American blue jeans and other items that were
sold on the black market.
Ueno Food
There's plenty of cheap food to be found all around
Ueno station, including a large number of food stalls near the shrine
on Shinobazu Lake.
In cherry blossom season, the local favorite is grilled rice dumplings
known as dango, slathered with either a sweet and salty soy-based
sauce or chunky red bean paste. As the terse Japanese proverb says,
Hana yori dango, or "Dumplings rather than blossoms".
Splurge
Ueno Seiyōken (上野精養軒) [4] (http://www.seiyoken.co.jp/) on the Ueno
Park grounds. Opened in 1877, this was one of the first Western
restaurants in Japan, serving French cuisine befitting its stature.
Drink
"Without sake, what is the meaning of cherry blossoms?", proclaims a
famous haiku poem. The profound truths contained within are
experimentally tested every spring, when more or less all of Ueno Park
disappears under a sea of blue tarps, picnicking secretaries and
sozzled salarymen.
Tōrindō (桃林堂). Ueno-sakuragi 1-5-7, [5] (http://www.torindo.co.jp/ueno/ueno.htm)
(Japanese only). A little off the beaten track but just a short walk
from the Tokyo National Museum, this traditional shop serves tea
ceremony tea (¥450) without the ritualized fuss and delectable
Japanese desserts (¥150+) to go with them. Open daily 9 AM to 5 PM.
(Article
based on
Wikitravel article
by Wikitravel users Brian Kurkoski, Richard Petersen, Ted O'Neill and
Paul N. Richter and Wikitravel user(s) Jpatokal, Makiko,
Miki-monomaniac, Nzpcmad, Huttite and Luke. Article used under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.)
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