Ueno Park (Tokyo)

 park  Add category

Ueno Park is a large public park just next to Ueno Station. It was opened to the public in 1873, and offers its visitors a large variety of attractions.

At the park's south entrance stands a statue of Saigo Takamori, an important personality of the late Edo and early Meiji Period. He played a central role in realizing the Meiji Restoration of 1868.

Ueno Park is famous for its many museums, especially art museums, namely the Tokyo National Museum, the Orient Museum, the National Science Museum, the Shitamachi Museum, the National Museum for Western Art and the Tokyo Metropolitan Fine Art Gallery.
Since 1882, Ueno Park is home to Japan's first zoological garden. Its main attraction are giant panda bears. The first panda bears where a gift from China on the occasion of normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972.

Shinobazu Pond is a large pond in Ueno Park. A temple for the goddess of Benten stands on the island in the middle of the pond.

Toshogu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogunate, which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867. It is well worth paying the 200 Yen admission fee in order to enter the inner shrine area and main building.

Last but not least, Ueno Park is famous for its more than 1000 cherry trees. During the cherry blossom season, Ueno Park becomes one of the country's most popular and crowded spots for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties.