Neighbourhood in Taito
Ueno
上野
Tokyo's museum quarter around Ueno Park, with national museums, the zoo, temples, a lotus pond and the Ameyoko market street by the station.
- places to see
- 10
- walk past the highlights
- 2.4 km
- Tokyo
- Taito
Photo: Ukiyoe (opens in a new tab), public domain, from Wikimedia Commons
Ueno is where Tokyo keeps its national museums. Ueno Park holds the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the National Museum of Nature and Science, a zoo and several temples and shrines, all within walking distance of each other.
South of the station, Ameyoko runs under the train tracks. It started as a black market after the Second World War and is still the place for cheap snacks, fruit and dried seafood. Ueno Station has long been the gateway to northern Japan, and the Keisei Skyliner runs from here to Narita Airport. See our Taito guide for the rest of the ward.
Don't miss in Ueno
Start with these, then wander the side streets.
1. Ueno Park
上野恩賜公園The big green heart of the area, with most of the museums inside it. Shinobazu Pond is at its southern end.
2. Tokyo National Museum
東京国立博物館Japan's largest collection of Japanese art, from samurai armour to scroll paintings. Allow at least two hours.
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3. National Museum of Western Art
国立西洋美術館Western art in a building by Le Corbusier, part of a World Heritage listing.
Photo: 663highland (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab), from Wikimedia Commons
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4. National Museum of Nature and Science
国立科学博物館Dinosaurs, Japanese wildlife and science halls. A good pick on a rainy day or with children.
Photo: 663highland (opens in a new tab), CC BY 2.5 (opens in a new tab), from Wikimedia Commons
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)5. Ueno Zoo
恩賜上野動物園Japan's oldest zoo, best known for its giant pandas.
6. Ameyoko
アメヤ横丁Loud, cheap and fun market street under the tracks south of the station. Good for snacks and dried goods.
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7. Ueno Toshogu Shrine
上野東照宮Gold-leafed shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu, quieter than the museums around it.
Photo: Unkei6hokusai4 (opens in a new tab), CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), from Wikimedia Commons
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Walk Ueno in order
The highlights as one easy walk, about 2.4 km in all.
Stop 1
Ueno Park
Start here
Stop 2
Ameyoko
7 min walk
Stop 3
National Museum of Western Art
10 min walk
Stop 4
National Museum of Nature and Science
2 min walk
Stop 5
Tokyo National Museum
5 min walk
Stop 6
Ueno Zoo
8 min walk
More around Ueno
Other places within walking distance. Each shows its Japanese name for maps and taxis.
Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden
旧岩崎邸庭園Western-style mansion built in 1896 for the Iwasaki family, founders of Mitsubishi, with a Japanese wing and lawn garden.
Yayoi Museum
弥生美術館A museum in Tokyo, Japan.
Yushima Tenmangu
湯島天満宮Shrine to the god of learning, crowded with students before exams. Its plum blossoms are famous in February and March.
Ueno on the map
Every place on this page. Tap a pin for directions.
Questions
Which Ueno museum should I pick if I only have time for one?
The Tokyo National Museum, for the widest view of Japanese art and history. Pick the science museum instead if you are travelling with children.
How far is Ueno from Asakusa?
About 20 minutes on foot, or a few minutes on the Ginza subway line.
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.
More areas in Tokyo
- YanakaOne of the few corners of Tokyo where the old low-city atmosphere survives: temples, wooden houses, small shops and a large, leafy cemetery.
- AsakusaOld Tokyo around Senso-ji temple, with the Kaminarimon gate, the Nakamise shopping street and the Sumida River on its east side.
- AkihabaraTokyo's Electric Town: the centre of anime, manga and game shopping, with electronics stores, arcades, maid cafes and the old Kanda Myojin shrine nearby.
- RyogokuThe home of professional sumo, with the national sumo arena, training stables and chanko nabe restaurants on the east bank of the Sumida River.
- NihonbashiTokyo's old merchant quarter around the bridge where the Edo-period highways began, with Japan's first department store and long-running shops.
- Oshiage (Tokyo Skytree)The old downtown area at the foot of Tokyo Skytree, with its shopping complex, an aquarium and a riverside walk to Asakusa.
- KagurazakaA sloping street from Iidabashi with stone-paved back lanes from its geisha days, old shrines and Tokyo's biggest cluster of French bakeries and bistros.
- MarunouchiThe business district between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace, with the red-brick station, palace gardens and a tree-lined street of shops.
