Day 1 in Ueno at Night
A first evening in Ueno, walked in order from the station to the park, through the market, and down into a basement bar. Everything here is within about ten minutes on foot. The timings are a guide, not a schedule.
18:00 — Ueno Station
Four gates lead out of Ueno Station. Take the Park Exit for the park and the museums, or the Shinobazu Exit for Ameyoko and most of the places on this page.
If you need cash or a currency exchange, do it now. At Keisei Ueno the exchange counter closes at 19:00, the tourist information desk at 18:30, and baggage storage at 18:00.
18:15 — Ueno Park
Free to enter and open until 23:00. After dark the frog fountain at Hakamagoshi Plaza is lit; the zoo, the temples and the museums have already closed, so this is a walk rather than a visit.
Drones and skateboards are not allowed. If you want to see a shrine while it is still open, you have to come before 16:30 — see shrines and temples at night.
19:00 — Dinner at Izuei Umegawatei
Edo-style grilled eel, from a house that has been at it for about 300 years. The Umegawa-tei branch sits inside the park.
- Dinner runs 17:00–21:00 and last orders are at 20:00, so arrive by 19:30.
- Closed on Mondays.
- Reservations are taken by phone only. Set courses run about ¥3,960 to ¥6,160.
20:30 — Ameyoko
The market strip under and beside the train tracks, about 500 metres long with around 500 shops. Many daytime stalls shut around 19:00 or 20:00, but the bars and food stands in the side alleys run late.
Touts are banned here by local ordinance. Anyone who approaches you on the street offering a bar is not connected to the venues on this site.
21:00 — A drink at BAR SAMURAI
A basement bar two minutes from the station, open since 2001, built around a black marble counter. Open 18:00–1:00.
The bar states plainly that it is an ordinary drinking bar: there are no sword or flame shows. Closing days are not listed on its official site, so call ahead if it is the only thing you are coming for.
22:30 — Ramen to finish
Ramen Kamo to Negi, a minute from Okachimachi’s north exit, is open 24 hours. Nineteen seats, entirely non-smoking, and cash only.
Getting back
Lines through Ueno and Okachimachi stop between roughly midnight and 1:00. If you miss the last train, Isomaru Suisan and Ichiran are open around the clock, and Torikizoku serves until 5:00.
Next: Day 2 moves one station south to Okachimachi. If this is your first night out in Japan, read what gets added to the bill first.
Every area in this guide
Ueno · Asakusa · Shibuya · Shinjuku · Roppongi · Ginza · Tsukiji · Tsukishima