Ueno Park

Article By: Lily Crossley-Baxter

5 years ago

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Nature-Park

Not quite your everyday park, Ueno is home to some of Tokyo’s best museums, making it an ideal destination whatever the weather. In Spring, the park is one of the biggest cherry-blossom destinations in Tokyo, with over 1000 trees turning pink each year. A large festival is held with street food and performances to celebrate, the grounds covered in picnicking groups for as far as the eye can see. If you’re not here in Spring there is still plenty to enjoy, however, including the rowing boats on the lotus-filled Shinoazabu Pond. Divided into three, the large pond is thought to represent lake Biwako and has a temple hall called Bentendo perched on a central island. To the west of the park is a popular zoo, home to popular giant pandas among other creatures. Dotted throughout the park are impressive temples like Kiyomizu Kannondo (reminiscent of Kyoto’s Kiyomuzudera), the golden Ueno Toshogu and the towering Pagoda of Kanei-ji. For museum-lovers or those visiting on rainy days, you can choose from a variety of the city’s top collections. The National Museum of Nature and Science houses dinosaurs and robots side by side while the Shitamachi Museum offers a taste of old-school Tokyo. The Tokyo National Museum is the capital’s largest and oldest museum focusing on national treasures and historical artifacts that fill multiple buildings. For art lovers, there are two options - the National Museum of Western Art and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the former housed in Japan’s only example of Le Corbusier’s architecture. Entry fees While the park is free to enter, the inner-shrines, museums and zoos have separate entry costs ranging from 300 yen to 700 yen, with some dependent on exhibition prices. Opening hours The park is open from 5 am to 11 pm but opening hours for the shrines, temples, museums and zoo differ, operating generally between 9 am and 5 pm.