Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [80]
Ueno
Ueno is one of the last areas in Tokyo where the old Shitamachi feel still permeates. Ueno’s aging but spry shopping arcade, Ameyoko Arcade (Map), remains a bustling market that feels worlds away from the monumental marketplace of Roppongi Hills. But Ueno has no need for fancy shopping malls, for its real draw is Ueno-kōen, which boasts the highest concentration of museums and galleries anywhere in Japan.
UENO-KŌEN
Ueno Hill was the site of a last-ditch defence of the Tokugawa shōgunate by about 2000 Tokugawa loyalists in 1868. They were duly dispatched by the imperial army, and the new Meiji government decreed that Ueno Hill would be transformed into Tokyo’s first public park. Today, Ueno-kōen (Map; JR Yamanote line to Ueno, Park exit) may not be the sexiest of Tokyo’s parks, but it certainly packs a bigger cultural punch than any others. Across the street from the Park exit is a large map showing the layout of the park and museum complex.
The park is famous as Tokyo’s most popular site for hanami (blossom-viewing) in early to mid-April – which isn’t to say it’s the best place (see Shinjuku-gyoen, Click here for an altogether quieter hanami spot). At the southern end of the park, in all seasons, enormous round lotus leaves blanket Shinobazu-ike (Shinobazu Pond).
Saigō Takamori Statue
Near the southern entrance to the park is this unconventional statue (Map; JR Yamanote line to Ueno, Shinobazu exit) of a samurai walking his dog. Saigō Takamori started out supporting the Meiji Restoration but ended up ritually disembowelling himself in defeated opposition to it. The turnabout in his loyalties occurred when the Meiji government withdrew the powers of the military class to which he belonged (see the boxed text).
Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan; Map; 3822-1111; www.tnm.jp; 13-9 Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku; adult/student ¥600/400; 9.30am-5pm Tue-Sun Oct-Mar, to 8pm Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Sep; JR Yamanote line to Ueno, Park exit) is the one museum in Tokyo worth a spot on your itinerary. Not only is it Japan’s largest, housing some 87,000 items, it also has the world’s largest collection of Japanese art. Only a portion of the museum’s works is displayed at any one time.
The museum has four galleries, the most important of which is the Main Hall (Honkan). It’s straight ahead as you enter, and it houses a very impressive array of Japanese art, from sculpture and swords to lacquerware and calligraphy. The Gallery of Eastern Antiquities (Tōyō-kan), to the right of the ticket booth, displays a collection of art and archaeological finds from all over Asia. The Hyōkei-kan, to the left of the ticket booth, houses Japanese archaeological finds and includes a room devoted to artefacts once used by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaidō.
Perhaps best of all is the Gallery of Hōryūji Treasures (Hōryūji Hōmotsu-kan), which houses some of Japan’s most important Buddhist artworks, all from Hōryū-ji in Nara.
Take some air after your museum visit with a stroll around the Tokugawa Shōgun Rei-en (Tokugawa Shōgun Cemetery), behind the museum.
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art
This museum of art (Map; 3823-6921; www.tobikan.jp; 8-36 Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku; admission varies; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun; JR Yamanote line to Ueno, Park exit) has several galleries that run temporary displays of contemporary Japanese art. Galleries feature both Western-style art and Japanese-style art, such as sumi-e (ink brush painting) and ikebana (flower arrangement). Apart from the main gallery, the rental galleries are not curated by the museum, so exhibition standards tend to fluctuate.
National Science Museum
Though there’s limited interpretive signage in English, this museum (Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan; Map; 3822-0111 Mon-Fri, 3822-0114 Sat & Sun; www.kahaku.go.jp/english; 7-20 Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku; adult/child ¥600/free; 9am-5pm Tue-Sun, 9am-8pm Fri; JR Yamanote line to