Areas at a glance
- Ueno Park: museums, zoo, shrines and the pond.
- Ameyoko and Okachimachi: market stalls, discount shops and standing bars.
- Yanaka: temples, the cemetery, craft shops and Yanaka Ginza.
- Nezu and Sendagi: the shrine, old houses, cafés and small restaurants.
Choosing a museum
If you see only one, make it the Tokyo National Museum. The National Museum of Western Art is housed in a Le Corbusier building on the UNESCO World Heritage list; the National Museum of Nature and Science is the best choice with children; the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum hosts the big touring exhibitions. Trying to do more than two in a day is tiring.
Eating and drinking
Ameyoko and the lanes beside it are among the cheapest places to eat and drink in central Tokyo: kebabs, seafood rice bowls, grilled skewers and open-fronted izakaya that start serving at lunchtime. Yanaka is for snacks on the move — minced-meat cutlets, rice crackers, shaved ice in summer — and small coffee shops.
Etiquette and money-saving
Yanaka is a residential neighbourhood: keep your voice down, do not photograph people’s homes or graves, and take rubbish with you. The park, the shrines and the walk itself are free, and the museums’ regular galleries cost far less than special exhibitions. A Tokyo Subway Ticket covers the Ginza, Hibiya and Chiyoda lines here.
Sample plans
Half a day
The Tokyo National Museum’s main building, a walk through the park to Shinobazu Pond and lunch on Ameyoko.
One full day
Museum in the morning, Ameyoko for lunch, then on foot to Nezu Shrine and Yanaka, finishing on the sunset steps above Yanaka Ginza.
With children
The zoo or the National Museum of Nature and Science, a swan boat on Shinobazu Pond and street food on Ameyoko.
