Ueno Imperial Grant Park, Metropolitan park in Tokyo, Japan
Ueno Imperial Grant Park covers about 53 hectares on the Ueno plateau in Taito ward, holding some 8,800 trees, the 16-hectare Shinobazu Pond, and museums including the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art. A paved walkway runs beneath a canopy of pale pink cherry blossoms, with low dark metal fencing on both sides and blue tarps laid on the ground during hanami season.
The grounds were part of a Buddhist temple until the 1860s, when civil war destroyed most buildings. The government converted the land into a public green space in 1873, leaving a few religious structures in place.
The word for museum, hakubutsukan, was coined in the Meiji period, and the Tokyo National Museum grew out of the 1872 exhibition by the Ministry of Education's museum department. The National Museum of Western Art, opened in 1959, houses the Matsukata Kōjirō collection returned by France and occupies a Le Corbusier building inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum dates to 1926.
The park stays open all day and night, though individual facilities such as the zoo keep their own hours. Spring brings large crowds for the blossoms, so early morning or late afternoon visits work better.
A shallow pond near the center divides into three water sections depending on the season, with shifting lotuses and water lilies. The ducks and herons nesting there have grown used to daily walkers and often stay within sight of the paths.
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