Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AMEYOKOCHŌ
The bustling
market
area south of Ueno Station,
Ameyokochō
(
Ξϝԣஸ
), extends nearly
half a kilometre along the west side of the elevated JR train lines down to Okachimachi Station.
The name is an abbreviation of “Ameya Yokochō”, or “Candy Sellers' Alley”, dating from the
immediate postwar days when sweets were a luxury and the hundreds of stalls here mostly
peddled sweet potatoes coated in sugar syrup (
daigakuimo
). Since
rationing
was in force,
blackmarketeers joined the candy sellers, dealing in rice and other foodstuffs, household
goods and personal items. Later, American imports found their way from army stores onto
the streets here, especially during the Korean War in the early 1950s, which is also when the
market was legalized. Ameyokochō still retains a flavour of those early days: there's a clutch of
yakitori
bars under the arches, stalls specializing in everything from bulk tea and coffee to
jewellery and fish line the street, and gruff men with sandpaper voices shout out their wares.
wonderful collection of Southeast Asian bronze Buddhas. The Chinese and, particularly,
the Korean collections are also interesting for their obvious parallels with Japanese art.
Kyū Iwasaki-tei Gardens
چؠ࡚ఛఉԂ
, Kyū Iwasaki-tei teien • 1-3-45 Ikenohata, Taito-ku • Daily 9am-5pm • ¥400; tea ¥500 •
T
03 3823 8340 • Ueno-
Hirokōji station
The west side of central Ueno is dominated by seedy love hotels and dubious bars. A
short walk past Yushima Station, however, you'll discover a remnant of a much more
genteel past. The
Kyū Iwasaki-tei Gardens
date from 1896 and surround an elegant
house
, designed by British architect Josiah Conder (see box, p.58), which combines a
café au lait
-painted, Western-style two-storey mansion with a traditional single-storey
Japanese residence. The wooden Jacobean- and Moorish-influenced arabesque interiors
of the mansion are in fantastic condition, in stark contrast to the severely faded screen
paintings of the Japanese section. The lack of furniture in both houses makes them a
little lifeless, but it's nonetheless an impressive artefact in a city where such buildings
are increasingly rare. You can take tea in the Japanese section or sit outside and admire
the gardens, which also combine Eastern and Western influences.
4
Yushima Tenjin
౬ౡఱਆ
• 3-30-1 Yushima, Bunkyō-ku • 24hr • Free • Ueno-Hirokōji station
Yushima Tenjin
(also known as Yushima Tenmangū) is a shrine dedicated to Tenjin, the
god of scholarship. The best time to visit is in late February when the plum trees are in
blossom and candidates for university entrance exams leave mountains of
ema
(wooden
votive tablets) inscribed with their requirements. At other times of year it's still worth a
visit, with the tree-covered south end of the complex a lovely place to relax.
Tokyo University
౦ژେֶ
, Tōkyō Daigaku
Just west of the Kyū Iwasaki-tei Gardens is the nation's top-ranking
Tokyo University
,
whose graduates fill the corridors of power. Founded in 1869, Tōdai (
౦େ
) - as it's
commonly known - occupies the former estate of the wealthy Maeda lords, though
there's little sign of their mansion beyond a pond and the one-storey, red-lacquer gate,
Aka-mon
, which forms the front (west) entrance into the university's sleepy, pleasant
campus. Passing through Aka-mon and immediately turning left brings you to
Fukutake Hall
, a concrete-lined piece of industrial chic designed by renowned architect
Andō Tadao.
YANAKA GINZA
P.67
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