Ueno Park

This article is based on a visit made on Friday, 4 April 2014.

By the end of my Japan holiday in the Spring of 2014, the cherry-blossom season had come into full bloom.  Nowhere was this more apparent than in Ueno Park (上野公園, Ueno Kōen), one of the most popular sakura spots in Tokyo.

The central avenue of the park is lined with over 1,000 cherry trees across a 450-metre (1,500-foot) stretch.  Obviously it attracts a lot of hanami picnics, but the congestion of both those and the pedestrians is such that the hanami plots are roped off for separation, and should even be reserved as early in the morning as possible.

Garbage disposal is serious business in Japan.  Not only are recyclables sorted by glass, plastic, paper, etc., but non-recyclable rubbish is also sorted according to burnable (もえる, moeru) and non-burnable (もえない, moenai) trash.

Near the entrance stands this statue of the samurai Saigo Takamori (西郷 隆盛, Saigō Takamori, 1828-1877).  He served in the Imperial army during the Boshin War (1868-1869).  One of the decisive battles of the war took place in Ueno, hence the presence of this statue of him.  A few years afterwards, however, he led the Satsuma Rebellion (1877) against the Imperial army in Kyushu, only to get himself killed in inconsistently-reported circumstances.  Evidently, the people of Tokyo didn't hold that against him.

There are numerous shrines and temples waiting for you to find if you're willing to go not that far off the beaten path.  This short row of torii gates led to one... and another... and another!

Shinobazu Pond (不忍池) fills in the southern corner of Ueno Park.  Situated in the middle of the pond is a small island, atop which stands Benten-do (弁天堂, Bentendō), a temple hall honouring the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten (弁才天), or Benten for short, hence the name.  Benten, another of the Seven Lucky Gods, serves as a goddess of wisdom, and evolved from the Hindu goddess Saraswati.

Festival food stalls like to set up here during the sakura season, too.  The Japanese sure like to eat things on sticks, from rice dumplings to Turkish kebabs to whole fish, seen here.

Sakura season notwithstanding, Ueno Park is perhaps best known for its many museums, the centrepiece being the Tokyo National Museum.  Its collection of 110,000 pieces, of which 4,000 are on display at a time, consists of art and artifacts from Japan and other Asian cultures.

The park is also home to Ueno Zoo, the oldest zoo in Japan (opened 1882).  Today, the park houses 2,600 animals across 460 species.  In 1972, when Japan and the People's Republic of China re-established diplomatic relations, China gave the zoo its first panda bears as a present.  Thus, pandas have become not only the most famous animals housed at the zoo, but a symbol of the entire Ueno Park.

I wasn't kidding about the whole Panda theme.  Back in Ueno Station, I came across this adorable display of a panda underneath a cherry tree, holding a stick of dango (one of which I tried the day before).

Until next time, I'm signing off with a sakura selfie!

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Ueno Park

Hours: The park itself is open 24 hours a day.  Operating hours for museums and other on-site attractions may vary.

Costs: The park itself is free to enter.  Entry costs for museums and other on-site attractions may vary.

Address: Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒110-0007

Access: Directly adjacent to Ueno (JR Yamanote (JY), Keihin-Tohoku (JK), Takasaki/Utsunomiya (JU), Joban (JJ), Tokyo Metro Ginza (G) and Hibiya (H) lines) and Keisei-Ueno (Keisei Main (KS) and Airport (KS) lines) stations.

From Tokyo Station, take the Joban, Takasaki, or Utsunomiya lines from Tokyo to Ueno (JU02/JJ01, 5 minutes, ¥160, JR Pass OK).  Trains on the Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines are more frequent and only take a couple of minutes longer.

Directions: From JR Ueno station, the closest exit is the Park Exit on the 4th floor.  The park entrance is across the pedestrian overpass.  From all other exits, turn right and continue along Chuo-dori.  The park entrance will be up the stairs straight ahead.

From Keisei-Ueno station, exit to street level and head left.  The park entrance will be up the stairs immediately to the left.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Tokyo National Museum

Hours: Open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  Entry ends 30 minutes before closing time.  Closed Mondays (except holidays), and from 24 December to 1 January (except Mondays).

Costs: ¥620 for permanent exhibitions, ¥1,000-1,500 for special exhibitions.

Address: 13-9 Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒110-8712

Directions: From the southern park entrance, walk north along the main path for about 10 minutes.  The museum will be straight ahead, at the far end of the path.

From the Park Exit of JR Ueno station, cross along the overpass, turn right, take the next left, and turn right again at the fountain crossing.  The museum will be straight ahead, at the far end of the path.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Ueno Zoo

Hours: Open from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM.  Entry ends 1 hour before closing time.  Closed Mondays (except holidays), and from 29 December to 1 January.

Costs: ¥600

Address: 8-93 Ueno-kōen, Taitō-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒110-0007

Directions: From the southern park entrance, walk north along the main path for about 5 minutes, then turn left at the crossing before the fountain.  The zoo entrance will be straight ahead.

From the Park Exit of JR Ueno station, cross along the overpass, turn right, then take the next left.  The zoo entrance will be straight ahead.

The western Ikenohata gate can also be accessed in 4 minutes from Nezu station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda (C) line).

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Edo Wonderland

This article is based on a visit made on Thursday, 3 April 2014.


Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

Edo Wonderland, a.k.a. Nikko Edo-mura (日光江戸村, Nikkō Edo Mura, lit. 'Nikko Edo Village'), is a theme park built to re-create an Edo-period (AD 1600s to mid-1800s) townscape.  It is located in the town of Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉), near Nikko, both of which are 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Tokyo.

The nearest train station, Kinugawa Onsen station, is served by Tobu Railway.  The fastest method of access from Tokyo is to take their "Spacia" limited express train from Asakusa station.  The ride takes about two hours and makes only five stops.  For penny-pinchers, the next-slowest service, Rapid (not to be confused with the slower-still Section Rapid), makes a couple more stops and only takes 20 minutes longer, and costs almost half as much.  But the Spacia also has the regular trains beat in terms of comfort, so I'd say the upgrade was a wise investment.  English timetables are available on Tobu’s website: (English).  But be careful of which train you take!  On the above timetables, only the trains named “Kinu” go to Kinugawa Onsen; the “Kegon” trains branch off instead to Nikko!

Kinugawa Onsen is home to many hot-spring resorts, hence the name "onsen".  The gazebo structure in the centre-right is a free foot-bath.  I meant to try it on the way back, but I was wet enough already. >.<

Kinu-chan (キヌちゃん) and Kawa-chan (カワちゃん), the town mascots of Kinugawa Onsen.  One of the kanji in the town's name, "鬼", means "oni", an ogre-demon.  Thus, Kinu-chan and Kawa-chan are red- and blue-coloured oni, albeit rather cute oni.  Which is good; otherwise you'd scare off tourists!

The central area of Edo Wonderland.  The houses contain, in addition to the dining, shopping, and amusement facilities usual of theme parks, re-creations of old merchants' and artisans' homes.

This was a rather rainy day, as you can see by the reflection of the boards in this picture, and the multitude of umbrellas seen in other pictures.  That obviously didn't bother all these fish, though!

The crew members working about were dressed in historical, yet sensible, costume uniforms, and in some cases broke out old-style umbrellas like this.

This bell tower is similar to the one in Kawagoe.  If you've never been, Kawagoe is a town, 35km (22 mi.) northwest of Tokyo, known for its preserved warehouse disctrict.  The stage in front is used for various performances, but on a rainy day like this, that's obviously not happening.

Fortunately, that rained-out show is just one of several performances held regularly in Edo Wonderland, most of them in indoor theatres.  I got to see a ninja martial-arts stunt show and a water magic show.

There are other types of indoor activities, too.  Pictured here is an exhibit on neighbourhood firefighting brigades in Edo, including the samurai-led buke-bikeshi (武家火消) and volunteer-led machi-bikeshi (町火消).  They were formed in the 18th century due to the city's propensity to catch fire, with one, the Great Meireki Fire of 1657 (明暦の大火, Meireki no taika), claiming over 100,000 lives!

Another exhibit on ninja tools and techniques.  Nearly everything a ninja would use could be concealed, either from sight or as ordinary objects, and/or had multiple uses for combat, stealth, surveillance, and survival.

Continuing on the ninja theme, there is also a fun-house with all manner of sloping halls.  I don't get what was so "ninja" about this place, but it was fun to (try to) walk through.

Is this hallway crooked, or am I practising the 45-degree lean from Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" video?  You make the call!

Beyond the funhouse is a Ninja Trick Maze.  I think the idea is that you're supposed to use these to navigate with...

...but I couldn't work it out myself.  Regretfully I had to employ the use of one of these exits. OTL

Dining options at Edo Wonderland run the gamut of everyday Japanese cuisine, with options including various noodle, rice bowl, and skewered meat dishes.

I also tried some dango, sticky rice dumplings on a stick.  It was tasteless and stuck to the inside of my mouth.

Now for something special.  You can rent period costumes and wear them around a bit!

The menu of available costumes is displayed on these panels outside.  There are multiple options for men, women, and children, with prices ranging from ¥4,000 for a basic townsperson to ¥10,000 for a nobleman/lady.  A full list of costumes and prices is available here: (Japanese)

Here I am posing in the samurai (侍) costume I rented.  That blue colour was an excellent fit for me!  The props it came with include a sword (which you're not supposed to unsheath, for obvious reasons), a coin bag (useful for modern accessories, too!), sandals (which were taxing for my toes to hold on to), and for the rainy weather, an umbrella.  If you're interested, this particular costume cost ¥5,500 to rent, and is available for men, women (as "swordswoman" / "女剣士"), and children.

Closing out this article with a shot of Nyanmage (ニャンまげ), the mascot of Edo Wonderland!  He is named after the chonmage (丁髷), the topknot hairstyle popularised by samurai in the Edo period and, to an extent, by sumo wrestlers to this day.  Of course, Nyanmage sports the hairstyle he was named after.

If you're in the area, you may want to check out the Grand Maze Palladium (in case the Ninja Trick Maze wasn't enough for you), or Tobu World Square, a park with miniatures of world landmarks.  Don't forget about Nikko, which is half an hour away by trains, and is home to some of Japan's most famous shrines, temples, and natural sights.  If all that seems too much to accomplish in a day trip (and it is), why not stay overnight in one of Kinugawa Onsen's hot spring hotels?  Tobu's train passes covering the area are good for two days or more!

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Hours: Open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM from March to November, and from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM from December to March.  Closed Wednesdays (except holidays), and from 8 to 21 December.

Price: ¥4,700, or ¥4,200 after 2:00 PM (1:00 PM in the winter).  If you have a Nikko Area Pass, described below, admission is discounted to ¥4,230.

Address: 470-2 Karakura, Nikkō-shi, Tochigi-ken 〒321-2524

Access: From Tobu Asakusa station, take the Tobu Kinugawa line to Kinugawa Onsen station.  Section Rapid trains take 2 hours and 50 minutes to get there; Rapid trains take 2 hours and 20 minutes (both cost ¥1,580).  The "Spacia" limited express makes the journey in only 2 hours, but requires a fee on top of the regular fare (total ¥2,940 on weekdays).

Tobu sells two passes which cover a round-trip train ride from Tokyo to the Nikko and Kinugawa Onsen area, Tobu-affiliated trains and buses within the area, and other discounts.  The Nikko World Heritage Area Pass (English) costs ¥2,040, lasts for two consecutive days, and covers trains and buses around downtown Nikko, but not the buses to Edo Wonderland.  The Nikko All Area Pass (English) costs ¥4,600 (¥4,230 between 1 December and 19 April), lasts for four consecutive days, and covers many more buses on top of the World Heritage Pass, including those to Edo Wonderland.  Both passes cover only the base train fare, but offer a 20% discount on limited-express fares, and discounted admission to Edo Wonderland as described above.  These passes are available only to non-Japanese citizens.

Alternately, from Shinjuku station, take the "Kinugawa" limited express to Kinugawa Onsen.  This takes 2 hours and 10 minutes, and costs ¥4,080 one-way.  All seats are reserved.  As the train is jointly run by JR East and Tobu, the Japan Rail Pass will cover part, roughly half, of the fare.  Pass holders only need to pay for the section using the Tobu lines.  Other JR East area passes, however, cover the entire trip.  More info on these area passes from JR East's website: (English)  However, the Tobu passes described above are not valid for trains to/from Shinjuku.

Directions: From Kinugawa Onsen station, take a bus from platform #3 to Nikko Edo-mura (20 min, ¥410, 3 per hour) to Edo Wonderland.  Schedule: (Japanese)

From JR Nikko station, take a free shuttle bus (30 min, 3-4 per day) to Edo Wonderland.  Schedule: (English)

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Tokyo Solamachi

This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.

Previously on Sekai Ichi, I talked about Tokyo Skytree, the newest and tallest observation tower in Tokyo.  Among the tips I laid out in that post, I showed off the timed tickets they sometimes use, so visitors can wait outside a while and come back to get in line for entry tickets.  What is one to do in the intervening time?  Well, the Skytree itself is only the centrepiece of the Tokyo Skytree Town complex, which also includes office space, an aquarium, a planetarium, and a shopping mall called Tokyo Solamachi (東京ソラマチ, Tōkyō Soramachi).  Its name is also written as "sora-machi" in Japanese, which translates to "sky town".

Before going inside, I first stumbled upon the store "Donguri Kyōwakoku" (どんぐり共和国), or "Acorn Republic" (personally, I split the difference and call it "Donguri Republic"), a shop for official Studio Ghibli merchandise.  I discovered later on that this is actually a chain of stores with dozens of branches across Japan!

Posters for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Ghibli’s then-latest release in Japan.

Even if you're not looking to buy anything, it's worth popping into one of these stores just to see the displays based on Ghibli's movies, such as this one from My Neighbor Totoro.

A giant Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service sitting in the window.  ♫ How much is that kitty in the window? ♫  It's probably not for sale.

Finally going inside.  The Solamachi Shotengai Shopping District (ソラマチ商店街, Soramachi Shotengai), on the eastern 1st floor,  is one of the main halls of Solamachi.  The wooden accents along the storefronts evoke an old-town Edo feel in a refined, modernist way, if that makes any sense.

A window display of a toy store.  The big poster on the left advertised figures from the TV anime Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人, Shingeki no Kyojin), which was really blowing up at the time of my visit.

Sets of Pokémon pins! The samples depict, from left to right, Oshawott cooking monjayaki, Meowth with Tokyo Tower, Pikachu with the Kaminari-mon lantern from Senso-ji, Eevee in a crepe from Harajuku, and another Pikachu with Skytree.   I would've picked these up instantly, if I actually collected pins...

Jump Shop is another anime character-goods store, this one focused on the manga comics seralised in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine, including the "big 3" of Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece.  At the Jump Shop in Solamachi, there's a wall with the heights of different manga characters which you can measure yourself against. I'm almost as tall as Monkey D. Luffy, the main character of One Piece...

...However there are so many more characters taller than that!  See, that's the beauty of the manga art form: the licence to expand upon reality.

Solamachi boasts an eclectic sense of interior design all around, such as these painted plates adorning the wall of one of the food courts.  I kinda dig it.

Tokyo Skytree Town boasts other facilities of interest apart from shopping and the Skytree itself.  There's the Sumida Aquarium (open 9AM-9PM, entry ¥2,050) on the western 5th floor, and the Konica Minolta Planetarium (open 10AM-9PM, entry ¥1,500-3,800) on the eastern 7th floor.  So, even if your fear of heights were to inhibit you from visiting the actual Skytree, there's something for every interest in Tokyo Skytree Town!

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Tokyo Solamachi

Hours: Open hours for individual stores may vary, but Solamachi itself is open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  Some restaurant floors are open from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.  No regular closing days.

Costs: Free entry.  Stores accept credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, Diner's Club, JCB, and China UnionPay.  Tax-free shopping is available at many stores for foreigners spending ¥5,000 or more at any one store.  A currency exchange machine (foreign-to-Yen only) is available in the middle of the 1st floor.

Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida, Tokyo 〒130-0045

Access: Right next to Oshiage Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon (Z) and Toei Asakusa (A) lines, and Tokyo Skytree Station on the Tobu Skytree (TS) line.  From Tokyo Station, walk to nearby Otemachi Station and take the Hanzomon subway line to Oshiage (Z14, 15 minutes, ¥200).

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Donguri Republic: Tokyo Skytree Town Shop

Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  No regular closing days.

Address: Tokyo Solamachi 2F, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida, Tokyo-to 〒131-0045

Directions: From Oshiage Station, climb up the outdoor stairs to the 2nd floor.  The store will be on the right.

From Tokyo Skytree Station, enter the mall on the 2nd floor, cross through the mall, and go through the far left-hand exit (next to the Plaza store).  The store will be on the left.

Website: (Japanese)

Jump Shop: Tokyo Skytree Town Shop

Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  No regular closing days.

Address: Tokyo Solamachi 3F, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida, Tokyo-to 〒131-0045

Directions: From Oshiage Station, enter the mall on the 3rd floor, and cross through the mall until you reach the "Solamachi Tabe-Terrace" food court.  The store will be on the left.

From Tokyo Skytree Station, enter the mall on the 3rd floor; this will put you into "Solamachi Tabe-Terrace".  The store will be on the right.

Website: (English) (Japanese)

Tokyo Skytree Nighttime

This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.

Edit 2 October 2019: Updated prices to reflect the increase in Japan's national sales tax.

In the beginning, by which I mean 1958, there was Tokyo Tower.  Its antennas broadcasted radio and TV signals throughout the Kanto region, and its observation decks drew in millions of tourists every year.  Even today, this is still true.  But with more and taller buildings having grown up around it, over the years Tokyo Tower's effectiveness as a broadcast tower has become less so.  A newer, taller tower was needed to complement these functions, including Japan's transition to digital broadcast TV in 2011.  The following year, a new solution went online.

Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリー, Tōkyō Sukaitsurī) is a broadcast and observation tower in northeastern Tokyo. Completed in 2012, the Skytree measures 634 metres (2,080 feet) at its peak, making it the tallest tower and second-tallest building in the world (behind the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE). I trust this panorama shot I took gets the point across.  The skyscraper to its left is known as the Tokyo Skytree East Tower.  It's nowhere near as tall, but at 30 storeys, it's a sizable multi-purpose office space.

On days where the queue for buying tickets grows too long, they offer free time-cards indicating a future time range when you can return to get in line. Until then, you can spend your time in the Solamachi mall.  This system is reminiscent of FastPass in the Tokyo Disney Resort parks.   With this system in place, I spent no worse than 30 minutes in the actual ticket-counter queue.

If that still sounds like too much waiting for you, I have some news you might be interested in.  Since my initial visit, Skytree has launched a new form of ticket aimed exclusively at foreign visitors.  Guests with a non-Japanese passport can now go to a separate counter and buy an instant-entry ticket, thus skipping the normal line altogether.  Further details are at the bottom of this article.

Multiple artistic depictions of the Skytree line the wall at the ticket queue.

There are four elevators, each patterned after the four seasons.  I went up in the Autumn elevator, the gold colours representing the changing leaves of that season.

All four of these elevators go straight to the lower observation deck.  The screen above the door displays the current elevation, in addition to a cut-away of the tower’s shape, as it transforms from a triangle to a circle.

The main observation deck, called the Tembo Deck, is 350m (1,148 ft.) above ground.  As you can see, I came in during the night.  I'm pretty sure the blue needle-like structure in the far background, a bit to the left, is none other than Tokyo Tower.

A view down to the west of the tower.  The Sumida River crosses along the front of the shot, and Asakusa's Senso-ji area is behind that, to the centre.  If you look closely in the lower-left, you can also see the Asahi headquarters (also seen in my Asakusa Nighttime Walk article).

Posted at multiple points around the Tembo Deck are these touchscreen panels where visitors can identify specific places in the distance.  Many observation towers have pictures for this purpose, but the ones here show both night and day views, as well as facts about various locations!

Like in Tokyo Tower, there are a few windows set into the floor where you can look down to the base of the tower.  I must say, my camera's tendency to turn white lights green in the night made for an interesting shot, for once!

For an extra thousand yen (exact prices at the bottom of this article), you can climb up to the Tembo Gallery, a second observation deck with an elevation of 450m (1,476 ft.). It is a tubular walkway which curves upward in a full circle around the tower.  At night, the Gallery has its own unique lighting patterns.  The pink lights shown here were chosen in honour of the Spring sakura season.  Combined with the tube-like architecture, it felt rather space-age.

As I was walking up the Tembo Gallery, I saw a few welcome messages projected in lights onto the glass.  I'm not sure if that blue streak in the centre is supposed to be one of those, or just a bridge lit up.  Either way, the greenish glow of the lights in this picture remind me of a circuit board.

At the end of the Tembo Gallery is the "Sorakara Point", the highest point one can climb to on the Skytree, specifically 451.2 meters (1,480 feet).

Of course, I just had to take a selfie at the Sorakara Point.  If you desire a more professional photo, you can have your picture taken by the staff at different locations on both the Tembo Deck and Gallery (not at the Sorakara Point, sorry), and buy a copy of it for ¥1,500.

I'll wrap up this article with one more vertical panorama, this one showing off Skytree's night-time colour patterns.  They are the blue iki, representing the nearby Sumida River, and the purple miyabi (shown), a traditional colour of old Edo.  As pretty as Skytree is at night, both inside and out, I imagine seeing it, and seeing out from it, during a clear sunny day would be a different experience altogether.  If you can, I'd recommend going up Tokyo Skytree twice; once during the day, and once at night!

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Hours: Open 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM. No regular closing days.

Costs: ¥2,100 for the Tembo Deck, plus an additional ¥1,000 for the Tembo Galleria.  On weekends and holidays, the ticket prices are ¥2,300 and ¥1,100 respectively. Major credit cards including MasterCard, Visa, JCB, and Discover are accepted.

It is possible to reserve tickets ahead of time through their website; however, this requires a credit card issued in Japan, and as such is not feasible for overseas visitors. However, foreign guests can take advantage of the new Fast Skytree Tickets, which are sold at a separate counter and allow the user to skip the regular lines. These tickets cost ¥3,200 (Tembo Deck only) or ¥4,200 (Tembo Deck & Galleria).

Address: 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒130-0045

Access: Right next to Oshiage Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon (Z) and Toei Asakusa (A) lines, and Tokyo Skytree Station on the Tobu Skytree (TS) line.  From Tokyo Station, walk to nearby Otemachi Station and take the Hanzomon subway line to Oshiage (Z14, 15 minutes, ¥200).

Directions: The ticket counter is on the 4th floor, in the structure directly underneath the tower.  The Oshiage subway stations are on the east side of the Skytree complex (roughly underneath the East Tower), and Tobu's Tokyo Skytree station is on the opposite west side.

Website: (English) (Japanese)