Neighbourhood guide
Asakusa and Ueno: temples, museums and old Tokyo
Sensō-ji and its lantern gate, the river and Skytree, the museums of Ueno Park and the wooden lanes of Yanaka.
The north-east of the city keeps the most of old Tokyo. Asakusa grew around Sensō-ji, the great temple, and Kappabashi’s kitchen shops; across the Sumida River, Tokyo Skytree rises in Oshiage. Ueno Park holds the national museums, and beyond it Yanaka and Nezu keep their temples, shrines and wooden houses.
Sights
Sensō-ji, Tokyo Skytree, the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, Ueno Park, Nezu Shrine and Kappabashi Dōgu Street.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Alexkom000 · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsEating
HOMMAGE (Two MICHELIN Stars, 2026), Oku and Nabeno-Ism (One Star); soba at Asakusa Hirayama, eel at Hatsuogawa and onigiri at Yadoroku (Bib Gourmand).
Sensō-ji is lovely at night, when the gates are lit and the stalls are shuttered.
Staying
THE GATE HOTEL Kaminarimon by HULIC.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Ka23 13 · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsOur advice: take the water bus from Asakusa down the Sumida to Hama-rikyu.
Why it's on our list
- Sights
- Eating
- Staying
What’s nearby
Distances from Asakusa and Ueno: temples, museums and old Tokyo are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Key sights
- Sensō-ji500 mWalk 6 minCycle 3 minCar or taxi 8 min
- Tokyo Skytree1.5 kmWalk 18 minCycle 7 minCar or taxi 11 min
- The palace gardens5.0 kmCycle 25 minCar or taxi 23 min
- Tokyo Tower8.1 kmCycle 40 minCar or taxi 33 min
- Meiji Jingū10 kmCar or taxi 39 min
- The Shibuya crossing11 kmCar or taxi 42 min
- Haneda Airport19 kmCar or taxi 71 min
Main railway stations
- Ueno Station2.1 kmWalk 26 minCycle 10 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Tokyo Station5.0 kmCycle 25 minCar or taxi 23 min
- Shinjuku Station9.4 kmCar or taxi 37 min
- Shibuya Station11 kmCar or taxi 42 min
- Shinagawa Station11 kmCar or taxi 44 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storyTokyo at the table: eleven three-star dining rooms, and a bowl of sobaMore MICHELIN stars than any other city, sushi counters of eight seats, tempura fried in front of you, kaiseki, French and Chinese of the highest order, and noodle shops with a Bib Gourmand: how to eat in Tokyo.
The back storyTokyo CuisineEdomae sushi piece by piece, tempura straight from the pan, cold soba on bamboo, glazed eel, yakitori over charcoal, shoyu ramen and the wagashi of the tea ceremony: the dishes of Tokyo, and where to taste them.
The back storyWhere Tokyo sleeps: towers above the palace, ryokan and the new hillsAman and HOSHINOYA in Ōtemachi, the Palace Hotel on the moat, The Peninsula and the Imperial in Hibiya, the Bvlgari above Tokyo Station, Janu at Azabudai Hills and the reopened Park Hyatt in Shinjuku: where to stay, and why the address matters.