Ueno Station (上野駅)
Station Type: Transit station
Ueno Station is a station on the East Japan Railway (JR East) and Tokyo Metro (Tokyo Metro) lines, located at Ueno 7-chome and Higashi Ueno 3-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo. It is served by many conventional lines, the Shinkansen bullet train, and subway lines.
There is a shopping street called “Ameya Yokocho” (commonly called “Ameya Yokocho”) along the elevated JR line in the direction of Okachimachi Station on the south side of the station, and a busy shopping area spreads around the station. The area still retains a downtown atmosphere even among the downtown areas of the Yamanote Line. On the west side of the station is the vast Ueno Onshi Koen (Ueno Park), which is home to several famous museums, including the Tokyo National Museum, as well as the Ueno Zoo and Shinobazu Pond. The park is also home to the Ueno Zoo and Shinobazu Pond.
Restaurants, Foods
Some restaurants and food shops around the station.
ESOLA Ueno Station (ESOLA 上野駅前店)
Restaurant Type: Restaurant
Taimeiken (洋食や 三代目 たいめいけん 上野店)
Restaurant Type: Western restaurant
Tsubame Grill Atore Ueno shop (つばめグリル アトレ上野店)
Restaurant Type: Western restaurant
Tourist area
Some tourist area – the best views, museums and parks – around the station.
Shinobazunoike Pond (不忍池)
Tourist Area Type: Tourist attraction
Shinobazunoike Pond is a natural pond located in Ueno Onshi Park (Taito-ku, Tokyo). Located at the southern end of Ueno Onshi Park, Shinobazu Pond has a circumference of approximately 2 km and a total area of approximately 110,000 m2.
The current Shinobazunoike Pond has Bentenjima (Nakanoshima Island), which enshrines Bensaiten (Sarasvati), in its center. The pond is divided into three parts by an embankment for promenade: the Lotus Pond, which is covered with lotuses, the Boat Pond, where boats can be rowed, and the Cormorant Pond, which is located in the Ueno Zoo and is home to breeding cormorants.
Dozens of species of birds, both migratory and resident, can be seen here, sometimes numbering more than 10,000. The pond used to be famous for its ducks, including long-tailed ducks, white-fronted teals, black-winged teals, green-winged teals, and white-winged teals. The pond is remarkably rich in lotus, and every summer the southern part of the pond is almost completely covered with lotus. In the fall, white reeds cover the entire pond.
Saigō Takamori Statue (西郷隆盛像)
Tourist Area Type: Statue
The statue of Takamori Saigo (1828 – 1877), a Japanese samurai, soldier, and politician, was erected to honor him.
The statue of Saigo, which stands in Ueno Park in Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo, was designed by Takamura Koun (the dog “Tsun” by Goto Sadayuki), cast by Okazaki Sessho, and the pedestal by Tsukamoto Yasushi. The construction project was initiated by Tomomi Yoshii and others from the Satsuma clan. The statue, called “Saigo-san of Ueno,” has been familiar to the public for more than 100 years, and while the meaning of the statue has gradually changed, it has become a symbolic sight in Tokyo, along with Tokyo Tower and the skyscrapers of Nishi-Shinjuku.
Ueno Tosho-gu (上野東照宮)
Tourist Area Type: Shinto shrine
Ueno Toshogu Shrine is located in Ueno Onshi Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo. It is often ranked as one of the three (or four) major Toshogu shrines because of its splendor and origin, and because the nearby Shiba Toshogu considers itself one of the four major Toshogu shrines along with Nikko Toshogu, Kunozan Toshogu, and Ueno Toshogu. Although the official name of the shrine is Toshogu, it is called Ueno Toshogu with the name of the place where it is located to distinguish it from other Toshogu shrines, and is also known as Sanjo-gongen. The shrine enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu (Toshodai Gongen), Tokugawa Yoshimune, and Tokugawa Yoshinobu.
The shrine was founded in 1627 by Takatora Todo on the grounds of Takatora’s estate in Ueno. According to the shrine legend, in 1616, Ieyasu, who was in critical condition, left a will to Takatora and Tenkai, asking them to build a place where his soul would rest for a long time. The shrine is worshipped as a god of luck and as a god of success, victory, health, and longevity, since Ieyasu is its patron god.
The Eikogongen Shrine, whose deity is a wooden statue of a raccoon dog, is also located on the shrine grounds and is very popular among those wishing for success in entrance examinations, employment, and success in winning elections. The Botan Garden in the shrine grounds is open to the public three times a year: from early April to early May for the “Spring Botan Festival” featuring peonies planted in the ground, and from New Year’s Day to late February for the “Ueno Toshogu Winter Botan” displaying winter peonies specially grown to bloom in winter. From late September to late October, a dahlia exhibition, “Dahlia Aya Nasu Autumn Garden,” will be held.
Ueno Zoo (上野動物園)
Tourist Area Type: Zoo
The Tokyo Metropolitan Ueno Zoological Gardens is located in the Ueno Onshi Park in Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo. It is also known as the Ueno Zoo. The zoo is home to over 500 species of animals, including rare animals such as Sumatran tigers and western lowland gorillas. The zoo keeps giant pandas, okapi, pygmy hippopotamuses, and the world’s three most rare animals. The zoo has the highest number of visitors in Japan.
The zoo opened on March 20, 1882, making it the oldest zoo in Japan. It is located in Ueno Onshi Park, and the front gate is a 5-minute walk from Ueno Station (Park Exit). The total area is 14 hectares. The zoo grounds are divided into the West Garden and the East Garden, and both gardens can be accessed via the Isobupu Bridge. The Ueno Zoo Monorail (Ueno Suspension Line), which connects the two gardens, is the first permanent monorail line in Japan.
Ameyoko Shopping Street (アメヤ横丁 商店街)
Tourist Area Type: Tourist attraction, shopping street
Ameya Yokocho is the name of a place and shopping street in Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan. It is a shopping street with approximately 400 stores centered on the west side of the elevated bridge between Okachimachi Station and Ueno Station on the Tohoku Main Line of East Japan Railway (JR East) and approximately 500 to 600 meters[1] under the elevated bridge. Its official name is Ameyoko Shotengai Rengokai (アメヨ横商店街連合会), but it is often referred to as Ameyoko (アメヨ横), Ueno Ameyoko (上野アメヨ横), or Ameyoko Shotengai (アメヨ横商店街), in addition to Ameyayokocho.
Currently, there is a concentration of stores selling foodstuffs (mainly seafood and dry goods), clothing, sundries, and jewelry. Especially at the end of the year, the area is crowded with people shopping for fresh food for the New Year, and what would normally be a short walk from one end of the shopping street to the other takes several dozen minutes during this time of year.
Ameya Yokocho is located near Keisei Ueno Station, where the Skyliner, which connects to Narita International Airport, arrives and departs, making it one of the most popular spots for foreign tourists. At times, more than half of the visitors are foreigners.
Hotels
There are various hotels around the station.
MIMARU TOKYO UENO EAST (MIMARU東京 上野EAST)
Live Max – Ueno Station Front (ホテルリブマックス上野駅前)
Live Max – Ueno Station Front (ホテルリブマックス上野駅前)
Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores
Stores for foods, drinks and others.
Tourist Information Center
Tourist information centers inside/around the station.
Have a nice visit !
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