Ueno Park guide: history, hidden spots and how to visit

Art museums, national museums, a zoo and Shinobazu Pond, all in one park. Entry to the park is free and you can walk it from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. We think it is the richest park in Tokyo.

🎧 Audio guide (9 tracks, in Japanese) →

Kyochika's tips

• It is a shame to walk straight past everything on the way to a museum or the zoo. See one exhibition, then add just one of the little-known spots below.
• Walk up from Bentendo on Shinobazu Pond to Kiyomizu Kannon-do, and you can look at the pond through the ring of the “Moon Pine” that Hiroshige painted. A five-minute detour on the way back from a museum.

Visiting info

Checked on 2026-10-27 against the official pages. Hours and fees can change; please check before you go.

Sources: GO TOKYO (official Tokyo travel guide): Ueno Park (Japanese)

How did Ueno become a park?

Until the end of the Edo period, this was the grounds of Kan'ei-ji, the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns. Construction of Kan'ei-ji began in 1624 under the priest Tenkai.

In 1868 most of Kan'ei-ji burned in the Battle of Ueno between the Shogitai and the new government's army. The government planned to build a hospital on the burned land, but the Dutch army doctor Anthonius Bauduin, who was in Japan at the time, is said to have urged that the nature here be kept and the land made into a park.

In 1873 it became one of the first five places in Japan designated as public parks. In 1924 the Imperial Household Ministry granted it to the City of Tokyo, which is why its official name includes “Onshi” (imperial gift).

Sources: National Diet Library: Ueno Park in woodblock prints and photos (Japanese) / Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation: a walk in Ueno Park (Japanese) / GO TOKYO: Ueno Park (Japanese)

A small story about the Saigo statue

The statue of Saigo Takamori at the south entrance of the park was unveiled in 1898. The statue is by Takamura Koun; the dog at his side is by his pupil Goto Sadayuki.

At the unveiling, Saigo's widow Ito is said to have muttered in the Satsuma dialect something like “My husband was not like this,” to the alarm of Saigo's younger brother Tsugumichi standing beside her.

Saigo's real favorite dog is said to have been a Western breed, but it was changed to a Satsuma dog during the making of the statue because it did not suit the figure.

Sources: Serai.jp: Saigo Takamori's real dog (Japanese)

Why there is a five-story pagoda inside the zoo

The current pagoda was built in 1639. It belonged to Toshogu, and when Kan'ei-ji's grounds shrank with the Meiji separation of Shinto and Buddhism, it was left on its own.

After the war the temple could no longer maintain it, and in 1958 it was donated to Tokyo. Today it stands inside Ueno Zoo — a national Important Cultural Property you can see with a zoo ticket.

Sources: 国土交通省 多言語解説「旧寛永寺五重塔」 (Japanese)

Saigo's dog Tsun was really a female

The dog with Saigo is named Tsun. The real Tsun is said to have been female, but the statue is male.

The model was a Satsuma dog from Sakurajima that was good at hunting rabbits. In front of the statue, you can't help checking the dog.

Sources: デイリースポーツ (Japanese) / サライ.jp (Japanese)

The National Museum of Western Art was built for paintings returned from France

The Western art collected by businessman Matsukata Kojiro was seized by the French government during the war. After the war it was returned to Japan on condition that a building be made to keep and show it.

That building is Le Corbusier's National Museum of Western Art, opened in 1959 and listed as World Heritage in July 2016.

Sources: GO TOKYO「国立西洋美術館」 (Japanese)

Japan's oldest museum

The Tokyo National Museum began with Japan's first “exhibition,” held at Yushima Seido in March 1872, making it the oldest museum in Japan.

The oldest building on the grounds is the Hyokeikan of 1909. The current main building was completed in 1937; the first, designed by Josiah Conder, was destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Sources: ニッポン旅マガジン「東京国立博物館」 (Japanese)

Ueno without pandas, for the first time in 54 years

Japan's first pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, arrived on October 28, 1972. For half a century Ueno was the panda town.

On January 27, 2026, the twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei returned to China, leaving Japan without pandas for the first time in 54 years.

Sources: AFPBB News (Japanese)

Our suggested route

1. JR Ueno Station, Park exit Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and the National Museum of Western Art are right in front.
2. Past the fountain to the Tokyo National Museum The museum faces you at the end of the park.
3. Ueno Toshogu and the pagoda Toshogu was founded in 1627. The pagoda is seen up close from inside the zoo.
4. Kiyomizu Kannon-do Look at Shinobazu Pond through the ring of the Moon Pine.
5. Shinobazu Pond and Bentendo 13 min from the park in GO TOKYO's model course. Lotus flowers on summer mornings.
6. Ameyoko 5 min from the pond. Finish at the market street that began as a postwar black market.

GO TOKYO's model course (Ueno Station → Ueno Park → Shinobazu Pond and Bentendo → Ameyoko) is only 23 minutes of walking. If you go into a museum, allow about 2 hours for each (our estimate).

Sources: GO TOKYO「上野モデルコース」 (Japanese) / GO TOKYO「上野東照宮」 (Japanese)

What to see by season

Sources: GO TOKYO「うえの桜まつり」 (Japanese) / MATCHA「不忍池」 (Japanese)

Nearby: combine with

• Ameyoko 5 min from Shinobazu Pond. For street food after a museum.
• Yanaka and Nezu Old streets northwest of the park, walkable past Kan'ei-ji (our tip: a detour on the way back from an exhibition).

Sources: GO TOKYO「上野モデルコース」 (Japanese)

Little-known spots

The “Moon Pine” at Kiyomizu Kannon-do

A pine whose branch is trained into a round ring, in front of the hall Tenkai built in 1631 after Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto. Hiroshige painted it in One Hundred Famous Views of Edo. Lost to a typhoon in the Meiji era, it was restored in 2012. You can see Shinobazu Pond through the ring.

Masaoka Shiki Memorial Ballpark

The poet Masaoka Shiki loved baseball and played pickup games with friends in this park. He even used “Noboru” (a pun on “no-ball”, from his childhood name) as a pen name, and the Japanese words for “batter” and “runner” are his translations. A stone with his haiku stands by the field.

The Bell of Time

The bell of Basho's haiku “A cloud of blossoms — is that bell from Ueno, or Asakusa?” The current bell was recast in 1787 and is still rung at 6 a.m., noon and 6 p.m.

Graves of the Shogitai

Graves of the Shogitai warriors who died in the Battle of Ueno. Built in 1881, the stone bears only the words “Graves of the war dead.”

Shinobazu Pond was a racecourse

On November 1, 1884, the first horse races were held around Shinobazu Pond, attended by Emperor Meiji. Hard to imagine from the quiet pond today.

What happened to the Ueno Daibutsu

The Great Buddha of Ueno, built in 1631, fell in the Great Kanto Earthquake, and its body was later lost to the wartime metal collection.

Sources: Tabi-kofure: Kan'ei-ji Kiyomizu Kannon-do and the Moon Pine (Japanese) / Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation: a walk in Ueno Park (Japanese) / National Diet Library: Ueno Park in woodblock prints and photos (Japanese)

FAQ

What are the opening hours of Ueno Park?

5:00–23:00 (most museums open around 9:00 or 9:30 and close between 16:00 and 17:30; many close on Mondays)

How much does Ueno Park cost?

Free (museums, the zoo and other facilities charge separately)

How do I get to Ueno Park?

About 5 min walk from the Park exit of JR Ueno Station. Also walkable from Tokyo Metro Ueno, JR Uguisudani and Keisei Ueno stations

How did Ueno become a park?

Until the end of the Edo period, this was the grounds of Kan'ei-ji, the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns. Construction of Kan'ei-ji began in 1624 under the priest Tenkai.

What are some little-known spots in Ueno Park?

The “Moon Pine” at Kiyomizu Kannon-do, Masaoka Shiki Memorial Ballpark, The Bell of Time, Graves of the Shogitai, Shinobazu Pond was a racecourse, What happened to the Ueno Daibutsu.

More Tokyo sights & gardens → · 日本語のガイド