TOKYO - DECEMBER 31: A fishmonger sells seafood at a fish stall in the Ameya Yokocho street market on December 31, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. People shop around in preparation to celebrate the New Year holidays at the market featuring over 500 stalls, which sell various products such as fresh fish, dried food, vegetables, fruits, spices, clothes, bags and cosmetics on the narrow street. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Ameya-yokochō

Ueno & Yanesen

LoginSave

One of Tokyo's few remaining open-air markets, Ameya-yokochō got its start as a black market, post-WWII, when American goods (which included ameya – candy and chocolates) were sold here. These days, vendors sell everything from fresh seafood to vintage jeans and bargain sneakers. There are also lots of cheap eateries in and around the market that stay open later than the shops.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Tokyo, Ueno, Taito-ku: Tokyo National Museum, Honkan

    Tokyo National Museum

    0.68 MILES

    If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it the Tokyo National Museum. Here you'll find the world's largest collection of Japanese art, including…

  • April 29, 2018: The Robot statue in an open garden space at the Ghibli museum.

    Ghibli Museum

    11.53 MILES

    This museum is the heart of the Studio Ghibli world, a beloved (even 'adored') film studio responsible for classic, critically-acclaimed animated titles…

  • Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kanto region, Japan. Tiny alleys crowded with night bars and clubs at Golden Gai district.

    Golden Gai

    4.07 MILES

    Golden Gai – a Shinjuku institution for over half a century – is a collection of tiny bars, often literally no bigger than a closet and seating maybe a…

  • Tokyo, Japan view of Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest crosswalks in the world. aerial, architecture, asia, asian, billboards, buildings, business, city, cityscape, commercial, cross, crosswalk, crowd, district, downtown, dusk, evening, famous, futuristic, japan, japanese, landmark, lights, location, metropolis, metropolitan, modern, morning, night, office, pedestrian, people, place, plaza, road, scene, scenery, scenic, shibuya, shopping, signs, skyline, skyscrapers, square, street, tokyo, twilight, urban, view, walk

    Shibuya Crossing

    5.4 MILES

    Rumoured to be the busiest intersection in the world (and definitely in Japan), Shibuya Crossing is like a giant beating heart, sending people in all…

  • Tokyo, Japan - May 6, 2017: Cup noodles Museum Front display in Yokohama.; Shutterstock ID 652705672; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiA: Takayama, south of Tokyo POI images for online

    Cup Noodles Museum

    19.08 MILES

    This impressively slick attraction is dedicated to, you guessed it, cup noodles. But in reality, its focus is more broad, with numerous exhibitions…

  • teamLab Borderless

    teamLab Borderless

    3.74 MILES

    Digital-art collective teamLab has created 60 artworks for this museum, open in 2018, that tests the border between art and the viewer: many are…

  • Tokyo Imperial Palace, tokyo, japan 138905807 ancient, architecture, asia, asian, attraction, bridge, building, castle, city, edo, emperor, fort, fortress, historic, historical, history, imperial, japan, japanese, king, landmark, moat, monarchy, nijubashi, old, oriental, otemachi, palace, royal, royalty, stone, tokyo, tower, travel, urban, wall

    Imperial Palace

    2.19 MILES

    The Imperial Palace occupies the site of the original Edo-jō, the Tokugawa shogunate's castle. In its heyday this was the largest fortress in the world,…

  • Exterior of the Sensouji Temple. 1075025648 architecture, asakusa, asia, background, blue, buddhism, buddhist, building, capital, city, copy, cultural, day, destination, famous, god, japan, japanese, landmark, landscape, morning, old, people, pray, red, religion, senso-ji, sensoji, sensouji, shinto, shrine, sky, space, temple, tokyo, tourism, tourists, travel, worship

    Sensō-ji

    1.29 MILES

    Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…

View more attractions

Nearby Ueno & Yanesen attractions

1. Shitamachi Museum

0.16 MILES

This small museum recreates life in the plebeian quarters of Tokyo during the Meiji and Taishō periods (1868–1926), before the city was twice destroyed by…

2. Saigō Takamori Statue

0.2 MILES

Near the southern entrance to Ueno-kōen is this unconventional statue of a samurai walking his dog. Saigō Takamori started out supporting the Meiji…

3. Shinobazu-ike

0.25 MILES

A key feature of Ueno-kōen is this large, natural pond, much of which is completely covered with giant lotuses that bloom in summer. Go bird- and botany…

4. Kiyōmizu Kannon-dō

0.27 MILES

Kiyōmizu Kannon-dō is one of Tokyo's oldest structures: established in 1631 and in its present position since 1694, it has survived every disaster that…

5. Benten-dō

0.3 MILES

Take a stroll down the causeway leading to the island on which Benten-dō stands. The temple is dedicated to Benzaiten, the Buddhist goddess of the arts,…

6. Gojōten-jinja

0.35 MILES

This Inari shrine inside Ueno-kōen is most noteworthy for its photogenic succession of torii gates, which form a vermilion tunnel. This feature is typical…

7. Yokoyama Taikan Memorial Hall

0.38 MILES

Early-20th-century artist Yokoyama Taikan was one of the masters of modern nihonga (Japanese-style painting). Inside his former residence, a traditional…

8. Yushima Tenjin

0.39 MILES

In the 14th century, the spirit of a renowned scholar was enshrined here, leading to the shrine's current popularity: it receives countless students who…