Thank you so much for joining the first tour at Ueno Park on February 11. We welcomed five guests from America, UK, France and Canada. I really appreciate your participation in our tour in spite of the cold weather. It is spring according to the calendar but is still wintry. Some winter cherry blossoms were blooming. I hope all of you enjoyed walking with us on the memorable day at Ueno Park.
As you may know Ueno Park is full of tourist attractions such as nature, museums, temples, shrines, statues, pond etc. Among them the most popular destination may be Tokyo National Museum. Tokyo National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. They have about 120,000 items including 89 national treasures. There’s no other place in Japan where you can admire so many cultural and historical masterpieces. The current main building, Japanese gallery was reconstructed after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the building structure is the combination of Japanese and European architecture.
One of the reasons for the popularity is that their permanent display of the main building is outstanding and definitely worthwhile to visit. Main building shows the variety of the Japanese arts from the ancient world to the Edo days including Buddhist statues, paintings and scrolls on the 2nd floor. The 1st floor has genre exhibits such as sculptures, ceramics and lacquerware. If you don’t have enough time, just visit the 2nd floor with the history of the Japanese art. In addition, Tokyo National Museum frequently holds an absolutely stunning exhibition currently displaying unrivaled calligraphy from Taiwan Palace Museum: Yan Zhenqing and his legacy until Feb 24. The next exhibition will be National Treasures of To-ji Temple, Kyoto: Kukai and the Sculpture Mandala from March 26.
Toyokan, Asian gallery features Asian arts and artifacts from China, Korea, India, Gandhara and Egypt. Heiseikan exhibits the Japanese ancient culture such as archaeology. The gallery of Horyuji Treasures shows over 300 intricate Buddhist statues donated by Horyuji Temple, Nara mainly from the 7th to 8th century. Lastly behind the main building is a traditional Japanese garden with a teahouse. Open in spring at the time of cherry-blossoms and in autumn foliage. There are a few other galeries. ￥620 admission.
Ueno Park is vibrant and charming whenever you come. We offer the pleasant Japan experience for all the guests and believe that you will be satisfied with our guide at Ueno Park.
The tour is held irregularly for the time being and the next tour is scheduled on March 21(national holiday). Ueno Park is famous for viewing spot for cherry-blossoms. Cherry Trees may start to bloom around that time.
We will be looking forward to seeing you then. Join us if you are around Ueno or Tokyo.
(Posted by Yoshi)