Japan Travel Tokyo - Ueno Park 上野公园

Japan Travel Tokyo - Ueno Park 上野公园 (2016 0417)

Address: 〒110-0007 Tokyo, Taito City, Uenokōen, 8, 池之端三丁目 Ueno Park

Coordinates 35°42′44″N 139°46′16″E

Getting There:

Short walk from JR Ueno Station Park Exit

Tokyo's most famous cherry trees, art galleries, museums, temples, a zoo, street entertainers, the odd proselytizer, and more than the odd crow.

Ueno Park 上野公园

Statue of Saigo Takamori

It was here in Ueno Park on May 15, 1868, that Saigo led the imperial troops against the last of the old feudal Bakufu (i.e. Shogunate) forces and defeated them - a crucial landmark in the ushering in of Japan's modernizing Meiji Restoration.

Toshogu Shrine 東照宮

Dedicated to the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa. Toshogu can safely be said to have been built in the mid- to late-17th century by Todo Takatora, the daimyo of Iga and Ise (roughly corresponding to part of today's Mie prefecture), who was also a famous castle architect. It has been extensively rebuilt (albeit piecemeal) since then.

Vermilion Torii Gates In Hanazono Inari Shrine 稻荷坂

Japanese call the path that leads you from the main entrance to the main shine building Sando. The Sando at Hanazonoinari Shrine It can be traced back to the early 17th century, the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868).

Kiyomizu Kannon Temple (Kiyomizu Kannon-do) 清水观音堂

A beautiful old building first established in the early 1630s. The temple balcony offers views of Benten-do Temple and Shinobazu Pond. The famous Moon Pine, with branches describing a circle, is right in front of the balcony. Kiyomizu Kannon-do enshrines Kosodate Kannon, a manifestation of the Buddha that is said to promote fertility in women.