10-February-2017 Tokyo, Japan: Woman tourist is walking and sightseeing inside the Vermilion Torii Gates In Hanazono Inari Shrine, Ueno Park in Tokyo, Japan.; Shutterstock ID 692641990; your: Ben N Buckner; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: Tokyo Walking

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Ueno & Yanesen

Ueno is the cultural heart of Tokyo. Its central park, Ueno-kōen, has the city's highest concentration of museums, including the Tokyo National Museum. The neighboring areas of Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi are collectively known as Yanesen. It's a charming part of Tokyo that feels like time stopped several decades ago. Nearby is the campus of the prestigious Tokyo University. Transporting you even further back in time is the beguilingly beautiful Edo-era garden Rikugi-en, the highlight of Komagome.

Attractions

Must-see attractions for your itinerary

  • Tokyo, Ueno, Taito-ku: Tokyo National Museum, Honkan

    Tokyo National Museum

    Ueno & Yanesen

    If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…

  • Rikugi-en

    Rikugi-en

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Considered by many to be Tokyo's most elegant garden, Rikugi-en was originally completed in 1702, at the behest of a feudal lord. It is definitely the…

  • Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Taitō

    Asakura Museum of Sculpture, Taitō

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Sculptor Asakura Fumio (artist name Chōso; 1883–1964) built his home studio in the early 20th century and it's very much representative of architecture of…

  • Pink Cherry Blossoms

    Ueno-kōen

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Best known for its profusion of cherry trees that burst into blossom in spring (making this one of Tokyo's top hanami – blossom-viewing – spots),…

  • A giant female panda Shin Shin eats bamboo at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo on April 1, 2011. A pair of pandas, leased from China, arrived at Ueno Zoo on February 21, and are now displayed to the public after the zoo closed following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO/TOPSHOTS (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

    Ueno Zoo

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Japan’s oldest zoo, established in 1882, is home to animals from around the globe, but the biggest attractions are the giant pandas from China, Rī Rī and…

  • TOKYO - DECEMBER 31: A fishmonger sells seafood at a fish stall in the Ameya Yokocho street market on December 31, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. People shop around in preparation to celebrate the New Year holidays at the market featuring over 500 stalls, which sell various products such as fresh fish, dried food, vegetables, fruits, spices, clothes, bags and cosmetics on the narrow street. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

    Ameya-yokochō

    Ueno & Yanesen

    One of Tokyo's few remaining open-air markets, Ameya-yokochō got its start as a black market, post-WWII, when American goods (which included ameya – candy…

  • View of Yanaka Ginza, Ueno, Yanesen & Komagome.

    Yanaka Ginza

    Ueno & Yanesen

    Yanaka Ginza is pure, vintage mid-20th-century Tokyo, a pedestrian street lined with butcher shops, vegetable vendors and the like. Most Tokyo…

  • Kyū Iwasaki-teien

    Kyū Iwasaki-teien

    Ueno & Yanesen

    This grand residence offers a Western-style mansion designed by Josiah Conder in 1896, connected to a Japanese house built by Ōkawa Kijuro at the same…

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Guidebooks

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