Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kiyomizu Kannon-dō
ਗ਼ਫ؍Իಊ
• 24hr • Free
Built out over the hillside, the red-lacquered
Kiyomizu Kannon-dō
temple is a smaller,
less impressive version of Kyoto's famous Kiyomizu temple. But, dating from 1631,
it has the rare distinction of being one of the last parts of the Kan'ei-ji complex still
standing. The temple is dedicated to
Senju Kannon
(the thousand-armed Kannon),
whose image is displayed only in February, although the second-rank
Kosodate Kannon
receives more visitors as the Bodhisattva in charge of conception. Hopeful women leave
dolls at the altar during the year, following which the dolls are all burnt at a rather sad
memorial service on September 25.
Tōshō-gū
౦রٶ
• 9-88 Ueno, Taitō-ku • Daily 9am-sunset • ¥200 • Nezu or Ueno stations
A tree-lined avenue marks the approach to Tokugawa Ieyasu's shrine,
Tōshō-gū
. Ieyasu
died in 1616 and is buried in Nikkō, but this was his main shrine in Tokyo, founded in
1627 and rebuilt on a grander scale in 1651. For once it's possible to penetrate beyond
the screened entrance and enclosing walls to take a closer look inside. A path leads
from the ticket gate clockwise round the polychrome halls and into the worship hall,
whose faded decorative work contrasts sharply with the burnished black and gold of
Ieyasu's shrine room behind. Before leaving, take a look at the ornate, Chinese-style
front gate, where two golden dragons carved in 1651 by Hidari Jingorō - he of Nikkō's
sleeping cat (see p.208) - attract much attention. So realistic is the carving that,
according to local tradition, the pair sneak off at midnight to drink in Shinobazu Pond.
The seventeenth-century, five-storey pagoda rising above the trees to the north of
Tōshō-gū is actually marooned inside Ueno Zoo (see below).
4
Ueno Zoo
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, Ueno dōbutsuen • 9-83 Ueno Kōen, Taitō-ku • Tues-Sun 9.30am-4pm • ¥600, free for children 12 and under; monorail
¥150 •
T
03 3828 5171,
W
www.tokyo-zoo.net • Ueno station
Considering the fact that
Ueno Zoo
is over a century old, it's less depressing than might
be feared. In recent years the pens have been upgraded - though they're still small and
concrete - and there's plenty of vegetation around, including some magnificent,
corkscrewing lianas. Among the animals here are rare gorillas and pygmy hippos, as
well as a couple of pandas - make a note of the feeding time when you enter the zoo, as
they tend to spend the rest of the day doing very little at all. The macaques, particularly
the younger ones, seem to have a whale of a time on the rocky crag they call home; the
same cannot be said of the bears and big cats, who tend to pace around small corners of
their pens. The east and west parts of the zoo are connected by monorail.
National Museum of Western Art
ࠃཱ༸ඒज़ؗ
, Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan • 7-7 Ueno Kōen, Taitō-ku • Tues-Sun 9.30am-5.30pm, Fri till 8pm • ¥420; more for
special exhibitions •
T
03 3828 5131,
W
www.nmwa.go.jp • Ueno station
he
National Museum of Western Art
is instantly recognizable from the Rodin statues
on the forecourt. The museum, designed by Le Corbusier, was erected in 1959 to
house the mostly French Impressionist paintings left to the nation by Kawasaki
shipping magnate Matsukata Kōjirō. Since then, works by Rubens, Tintoretto, Max
Ernst and Jackson Pollock have broadened the scope of this impressive collection.
National Science Museum
ࠃཱՊֶതؗ
, Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan • 7-20 Ueno Kōen, Taitō-ku • Tues-Sun 9am-5pm, Fri to 8pm • ¥600 •
T
03 5777
8600,
W
www.kahaku.go.jp • Ueno station
he
National Science Museum
offers lots of videos and interactive displays, though
sadly very little is labelled in English. Six floors of displays cover natural history as well
as science and technology. In the “exploration space” on the second floor, pendulums,
