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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 19 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Rob Goss

If a day of museum hopping is your idea of heaven, look no further than Ueno Park in northeastern Tokyo.

Home to the Tokyo National Museum and its unparalleled collection of Japanese art and artefacts, plus five other museums, there isn’t a better concentration of cultural sites anywhere in the city.

With a boating pond, temple and other attractions, the park itself is a pleasant spot to linger. In late March and early April, when it’s all decorated pink by the annual wave of cherry blossoms, Ueno Park becomes one of Tokyo’s most popular sites for hanami (cherry blossom) parties and picnics.

Fossil in National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno park taken May 22, 2016 in Tokyo.
Experience

National Museum of Science and Nature

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

With 25,000 exhibits covering everything from dinosaurs to outer space, this is one of Japan’s biggest science museums.

Best for ages: 6+ | £4 | 2-3 hours

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Shitamachi Museum
Experience

Shitamachi Museum

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

This small msueums focuses on the lives of ordinary Tokyoites in pre-modern Tokyo, with exhibits including full-scale replicas of Edo-era (1603-1868) stores.

Best for ages: 15+ | £3 | 2-3 hours

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Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, situated in Ueno Park, displays all arts in its six galleries with no permanent collection.
Experience

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

Japan’s first public art museum when opened in 1926, its numerous special exhibitions cover masterpieces as well as up-and-coming local talent.

Best for ages: 18+ | £8 | 2-3 hours

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Price from: £Varies
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 6+
Frequency: annually
When: March, May and Sept
Duration: 2-3 hours

Getting there & doing it

The museums are 10 minutes’ walk from Ueno or Uguisudani Station (JR Line), 15 minutes’ walk from Ueno Station (Ginza or Hibiya Tokyo Metro Line) or 15 minutes’ walk from Nezu Station (Chiyoda Tokyo Metro Line). There is no parking on site.

There’s no need to book tickets in advance – you can just turn up and buy tickets at the door. However, if you plan on visiting multiple museums, buy a Grutto Pass. It gives one-time entry or discounted entry to 99 museums and other facilities in Tokyo, including the six in Ueno Park.

When to do it

The museums are open all year round, from Tuesday to Sunday. Closed on Monday.

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Ryokan Sawanoya

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[0.9 miles]

Family-run ryokan (traditional inn), providing tradition on a budget in Tokyo’s old Yanaka neighbourhood.

Official star rating:

BnA Studio Tokyo

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[1.4 miles]

A recently-opened boutique hotel with just 6 rooms, each a unique art installation, in a convenient location in Akihabara.

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Nine Hours Otemachi

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[2.9 miles]

The capsule hotel gets a slick reboot at this chain, offering smart sleeping pods in Shinjuku and elsewhere. Decent accommodation at very affordable prices.

Official star rating:

Mandarin Oriental Tokyo

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[3.2 miles]

Uber lux, five star hotel with a prime location in central Tokyo for all travellers who can afford it. One of Tokyo’s swankiest addresses.

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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Tokyo

Kanto, Japan

A dizzying mixture of old ways and modern style, crowds and calm, and arguably the best food scene on the planet.

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Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Sensoji Temple

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[2.1 miles]

With towering gateways and a five-storied pagoda, this busy temple in Asakusa is a standout. If you have time for just one temple in Tokyo – make it this one.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 2-3 hours

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Sumo wrestling

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[2.7 miles]

Drama and tradition combine in this 1,000-year-old sport. It’s a mesmerising and atmospheric spectacle – and Tokyo’s Ryogoku neighbourhood is the centre of it all.

Best for ages: 8+ | £15 | 2-3 hours

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Meiji Jingu Shinto Shrine

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[8 miles]

Surrounded by 170 acres of lush forest, this calming, functioning shrine in otherwise heaving Harajuku is one of central Tokyo’s most tranquil spots.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 2-3 hours

Kaiseki-ryori dinners in Tokyo

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan

The pinnacle of Japanese cuisine, this traditional dinner features a succession of up to 12 dishes, artfully presented and culinarily sublime. Tastes range from the familiar to the wonderfully indecipherable.

Best for ages: 18+ | £100 | 3-4 hours

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Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

Old Tokyo at Yanaka

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[1 miles]

Having avoided damage from the great quake of 1923, the bombs of World War Two and the attention of developers, this mellow, retro and rickety neighbourhood is reminiscent of ‘old Tokyo’.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 2-3 hours

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Nezu Shrine
Experience

Nezu Shrine

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[1.2 miles]

A gorgeous Shinto shrine, dating back to 1705, of elegant, colourful structures, tunnels af shrine arches, forested pathways, and ponds of koi carp. Every April, this shrine holds a month-long festival to celebrate the blooming of thousands of azaleas.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free | 2-3 hours

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Exterior of the Japanese Sword Museum in Ryogoku
Experience

Japanese Sword Museum

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[2.6 miles]

This museum in Ryogoku exhibits a collection of around 190 supremely crafted historic katana (samurai swords) – some designated national treasures – and documents how they are made.

Best for ages: 8+ | £7 | 2-3 hours

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Tokyo Sky Tree and cherry blossom during spring. Tokyo Sky Tree is one of the famous landmark in Tokyo. It is the tallest structure in world when built.
Experience

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo, Kanto, Japan[3.5 miles]

Across the river from Asakusa, the observation decks on this 634-metre tower deliver incredible views over Tokyo’s seemingly unending sprawl. The high-speed elevator gets you to the observation deck in 50 seconds.

Best for ages: 6+ | £10 | 2-3 hours

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