{"id":2419,"date":"2026-10-23T14:48:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T14:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thejapanpro.com\/blog\/?p=2419"},"modified":"2026-10-23T14:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T14:48:14","slug":"ueno-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejapanpro.com\/blog\/ko\/ueno-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Ueno Guide 2026: Museums, Zoo, Ameyoko and the Skyliner, Exit by Exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ueno is the part of Tokyo where you go for museums, a zoo, a lotus pond and a loud street market, all within ten minutes of one station. This Ueno guide is organised by the station\u2019s exits, because the exit you pick decides whether you walk uphill into the park, west to Shinobazu Pond or south under the tracks to Ameyoko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late 2026 is a strong season to come. Turner is at the National Museum of Western Art, a big Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay show opens at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in November, and the Tokyo National Museum has a once-in-40-years Daitokuji exhibition until 6 December. What Ueno no longer has is pandas: the zoo\u2019s twins went back to China in January 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n

\u00a51,000<\/p>

Tokyo National Museum collection<\/p><\/div>

\u00a5600<\/p>

Ueno Zoo, adult<\/p><\/div>

41 min<\/p>

Keisei Ueno to Narita, fastest<\/p><\/div>

\uc6d4\uc694\uc77c<\/p>

Most museums and the zoo close<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n

\"Ueno
The Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Park. Photo: Wiiii<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n\n

Which Ueno exit should you use?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

JR Ueno has nine exits grouped around four ticket gates, according to JR East\u2019s own station guide<\/a>. You only need to know four of them. Keisei Ueno, for the Skyliner, is a separate station on the south-west edge of the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exit (JR Ueno)<\/th>Where it puts you<\/th>\uc774\ub7f4 \ub54c \uc774\uc6a9<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Park exit (K\u014den-guchi)<\/td>Straight onto Ueno Park, by the National Museum of Nature and Science<\/td>All the museums, the zoo\u2019s Main Gate, Toshogu<\/td><\/tr>
Shinobazu exit<\/td>Street level by the tracks, next to Ameyoko<\/td>Ameyoko market, Keisei Ueno<\/td><\/tr>
Yamashita exit<\/td>Below the park\u2019s south slope<\/td>Shinobazu Pond, Ueno Royal Museum<\/td><\/tr>
Panda Bridge exit (Iriya gate)<\/td>A footbridge into the park\u2019s east side<\/td>A quieter way into the park<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Coming by Tokyo Metro Ginza or Hibiya Line, you surface on the street east and south of JR. For the park, follow signs for Ueno Park or the JR Park exit. All of these lines take Suica and PASMO (see our IC \uce74\ub4dc \uac00\uc774\ub4dc<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is on in Ueno\u2019s museums in late 2026?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Three big museums sit within five minutes of each other on the park\u2019s plateau. Each has a permanent collection and one major paid show at a time. This Ueno guide lists only what is confirmed on their official sites for the next few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/th>\uc804\uc2dc<\/th>\uae30\uac04<\/th>\uc131\uc778 \ud2f0\ucf13<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
\ub3c4\ucfc4\uad6d\ub9bd\ubc15\ubb3c\uad00<\/td>Daitokuji: 700th anniversary special exhibition (Heiseikan)<\/td>14 Oct \u2013 6 Dec 2026<\/td>\u00a52,300 same day<\/td><\/tr>
\ub3c4\ucfc4\uad6d\ub9bd\ubc15\ubb3c\uad00<\/td>Hiroshige: New Perspectives on Edo Japan (Honkan)<\/td>29 Sep \u2013 20 Dec 2026<\/td>In \u00a51,000 collection ticket<\/td><\/tr>
\ub3c4\ucfc4\uad6d\ub9bd\ubc15\ubb3c\uad00<\/td>Neverending Journeys: FINAL FANTASY 40th Anniversary Exhibition<\/td>8 Jan \u2013 4 Apr 2027<\/td>Not yet published<\/td><\/tr>
\uad6d\ub9bd\uc11c\uc591\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/td>Tate: Turner, Painting the Sublime, in Dialogue with Contemporary Art<\/td>24 Oct 2026 \u2013 21 Feb 2027<\/td>\u00a52,400<\/td><\/tr>
\uad6d\ub9bd\uc11c\uc591\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/td>Matisse: prints from the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation<\/td>20 Mar \u2013 19 Jul 2027<\/td>Not yet published<\/td><\/tr>
\ub3c4\ucfc4\ub3c4\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/td>What a Wonderful World: Masterworks from the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay<\/td>14 Nov 2026 \u2013 28 Mar 2027<\/td>\u00a52,400<\/td><\/tr>
\ub3c4\ucfc4\ub3c4\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/td>Two 100th-anniversary shows on the museum\u2019s history<\/td>19 Nov 2026 \u2013 11 Jan 2027<\/td>\ubb34\ub8cc<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the wider picture across the city, our Tokyo art exhibitions round-up<\/a> covers other galleries, and the ultimate Tokyo museum guide<\/a> explains the permanent collections in depth. Here is what you need on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ub3c4\ucfc4\uad6d\ub9bd\ubc15\ubb3c\uad00<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Japan\u2019s oldest and largest museum, at the north end of the park. Hours are 9:30\u201317:00, and until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; it closes on Mondays (Tuesday when Monday is a holiday) and from 26 to 31 December 2026, per the TNM admissions page<\/a>. The collection ticket is \u00a51,000 for adults, \u00a5500 for university students and free for under-18s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Daitokuji show brings out treasures from the Kyoto Zen temple and its sub-temples, many of which never open to the public. In the evenings the museum garden hosts ZEN NIGHT TOKYO (14 October \u2013 6 December, from 17:30), a light-and-sound event whose \u00a54,200 ticket includes the Daitokuji exhibition. Note that Honkan Room 4 is closed from 26 October 2026 to 25 April 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\uad6d\ub9bd\uc11c\uc591\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Opposite the Park exit, in the Le Corbusier building. It opens 9:30\u201317:30, until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and closes on Mondays and from 28 December to 1 January (\uad6d\ub9bd\uc11c\uc591\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/a>). The Turner exhibition, with works from Tate, has its own closures: 24 November and 12 January, but it opens on the holiday Mondays of 23 November and 11 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turner tickets are \u00a52,400 for adults at the door (advance tickets at \u00a52,200 were sold until the show opened), \u00a51,500 for university students and \u00a51,100 for high-school students; junior-high and younger go free. From 4 to 19 November 2026, university and high-school students get in free with a student ID at the museum counter (\uacf5\uc2dd \ud2f0\ucf13 \ud398\uc774\uc9c0<\/a>). Van Gogh\u2019s Roses<\/em> is hanging in the permanent collection until 11 January 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ub3c4\ucfc4\ub3c4\ubbf8\uc220\uad00<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tokyo\u2019s public art museum turns 100 this year. Its usual closing days are the first and third Monday of each month, per its November 2026 calendar<\/a>. The Orsay show brings about 110 works, including Millet, Renoir, Monet and Van Gogh, from 14 November; it runs 9:30\u201317:30, until 20:00 on Fridays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect queues on weekends and in the last two weeks of any big show. The two free anniversary exhibitions from 19 November are a good fallback if the Orsay line is long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Museum of Nature and Science<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The science museum next to the Park exit is the best rainy-day pick for families. It opens 9:00\u201317:00, closes on Mondays and from 28 December to 1 January, and costs \u00a5630 for adults. High-school students and younger, and visitors aged 65 or over, go free (Kahaku<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there still a panda at Ueno Zoo?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No. Twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei left Ueno Zoo on 27 January 2026 and were returned to China the next day, which left Japan with no giant pandas at all. Kyodo reported in July 2026 that no replacement had been announced, and the zoo is now promoting other animals such as its shoebill storks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even without pandas, the zoo is worth a few hours. The East Area has Asian elephants, Sumatran tigers, gorillas and polar bears; the West Area, down the hill, has giraffes, hippos, okapis, aye-ayes and a vivarium. It opens 9:30\u201317:00 (tickets until 16:00) and closes on Mondays and from 29 December to 1 January (Tokyo Zoo Net<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud2f0\ucf13<\/th>\uac00\uaca9<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Adult (16\u201364)<\/td>\u00a5600<\/td><\/tr>
65 and over<\/td>\u00a5300<\/td><\/tr>
Age 13\u201315<\/td>\u00a5200 (free if living or at school in Tokyo)<\/td><\/tr>
Age 12 and under<\/td>\ubb34\ub8cc<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use the Main Gate (five minutes from the Park exit) for the East Area, or the Benten Gate by Shinobazu Pond if you are coming from Keisei Ueno. A third gate, Ikenohata, is five minutes from Nezu Station on the Chiyoda Line, which is handy if you are going on to Yanaka.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n

\"Shinobazu
Shinobazu Pond and Bentendo. Photo: Nesnad<\/a> \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n\n

Shinobazu Pond: the free part of Ueno<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shinobazu Pond fills the park\u2019s south-west corner and is split into three: a lotus pond, a boat pond with rowing and swan boats, and a cormorant pond. The lotus covers the water from early July to late August; in late autumn the leaves die back and the pond looks bare, which is normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The octagonal Bentendo hall sits on an island in the middle, reached by a causeway. It is free and open 7:00\u201317:00. The pond was laid out to represent Lake Biwa, copying the layout of Enryakuji temple near Kyoto, according to japan-guide.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The park itself is free to enter, and only the boats and some facilities charge (\ub3c4\ucfc4\ub3c4 \uacf5\uc6d0\ud611\ud68c<\/a>). From the pond, the Yamashita exit of JR Ueno is the closest way back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toshogu and the old temple grounds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ueno Park was once the grounds of Kaneiji, one of the richest temples in Edo. It was badly damaged in the Battle of Ueno in 1868 and the land opened as a public park in 1873. The survivors are spread along the west side of the plateau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n