Park · Ueno

Ueno Park 上野恩賜公園

Tokyo's great cultural park: national museums, a zoo, temples and shrines, Shinobazu Pond's lotus fields and 800 cherry trees that make it the city's rowdiest hanami spot.

About

Japan's first public park (1873) occupies the hill where the shogunate's Kan'ei-ji temple once stood and where the Battle of Ueno raged in 1868. It now packs in the Tokyo National Museum, National Museum of Western Art (a Le Corbusier World Heritage building), National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and Ueno Zoo. Between them stand Toshogu Shrine with its gold-leafed hall, the Kiyomizu Kannon-do overlooking the pond through its 'moon pine', and the Bentendo on an island in Shinobazu Pond, ringed by giant lotuses in July–August and swan boats year-round. In spring the main avenue becomes a tunnel of cherry blossoms with lanterns and blue-tarp picnics.

Highlights

• Main cherry-blossom avenue with ~800 trees and lanterns
• Shinobazu Pond's summer lotus field and swan boats
• Ueno Toshogu Shrine with a gold-leafed hall
• Kiyomizu Kannon-do and its circular 'moon pine'
• Tokyo National Museum and Le Corbusier's Museum of Western Art

Tips

• Hanami spots are claimed with tarps from early morning on peak weekends, come on a weekday or at dawn.
• Rent a swan boat on Shinobazu Pond for ~30 min, it's a classic local date.
• Ameyoko market beside the park is the best place for cheap street food afterwards.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Ueno Toshogu Peony GardenGarden · 80 m away
• Kiyomizu Kannon-dō TempleTemple · 160 m away
• Ueno Station · Baggage Counter (3F Concourse, inside Park Gate)Luggage Storage · 200 m away
• National Museum of Western ArtMuseum · 220 m away
• Gojo-ten ShrineShrine · 230 m away
• Ueno ZooZoo & Aquarium · 240 m away
• Tokyo Bunka KaikanLive Music & Karaoke · 250 m away
• The Ueno Royal MuseumArt & Exhibits · 250 m away