Hello travel friends and Japan lovers, it's time again for new impressions from the land of the rising sun. In my blog posts I always try to show different sides of this, even after several years, for me still fascinating country and to share with you.

Sometime we look around a bit in the countryside and discover the beautiful green side of the island nation, then again we go to more traditional places connected with a touch of history, and of course we won't miss out on the city life either. I can actually appreciate all of them, and it's exactly this variety that makes my life here so entertaining and interesting. Even in my daily life I always discover something new, which then encourages me to look a little closer and learn something.

But the place I'm probably most attached to is Tokyo, and I've had the great fortune to be able to visit this vibrant metropolis a few times and explore it a bit deeper. It's a city with many sides and facets, where I never get bored. With its many districts, it sometimes seems as if Tokyo is actually a jigsaw puzzle made up of several cities, each with its own unique charm. Of course, in the end everything comes together to form a wonderful and complete picture, but if you look more closely, the different parts of the city often have a character all their own, which again seems to attract very different people. During my wanderings through the city, I was already able to explore some areas a bit more closely, although of course there is still so much new here for me to see and discover. Unfortunately, I haven't made it to Tokyo lately, but hopefully traveling here in Japan will soon be possible again without any problems or restrictions. For now, I'm settling with my many photos that help me keep my memories warm and fresh while keeping the passion for this great city burning.

And since I also like to show these photos, we are having another little Tokyo blog today. This time we go to Ueno, a district that is particularly known for its large transfer station and also the park of the same name. Besides countless bars and restaurants, Ueno is also home to several famous museums and also the Ueno Zoo, and is one of Tokyo's famous sub-centers.

Traditionally, Ueno was part of the former "Shitamachi" district, the lower city where the working class had lived. In the immediate vicinity of the huge Ueno Station, land prices are barely affordable today, but just a short walk away you can discover the less bright and glitzy Tokyo. But Ueno Station in particular, where so many different train and subway lines come together and cross, attracts a huge crowd that couldn't be more diverse. Travelers from all over the world come through here and often stay a little longer, and in addition you meet with Japanese who have come from all over the country to look around in the museums located in Ueno Park. But also the many shopping opportunities around the station attracts a huge crowd throughout the day, and from the early evening it's buzzing in all the bars and izakaya, which are usually open until late at night. A colorful mix of people can be encountered at Ueno, and for some of you, the first impression of this busy district may be a bit overwhelming. But if you're willing to give it a try, you'll quickly feel like jumping into all the hustle and bustle yourself and immerse into the fascinating world of Ueno.

But let's take a closer look at this colorful mix of people, culture and also history....

Directly in front of the station, you will watch a scene like you know it from other corners of the city center. A large main street is framed by skyscrapers housing department stores, restaurants and all kinds of stores. Colorful billboards dominate the cityscape here and stimulate the eye. People stream out of the station exits toward their next destination, usually not having time to really notice their neighbors and their surroundings. Lucky are those who have a little leisure to look at the whole spectacle in peace and quiet, catching their breath for a moment and are able to smile as well.

Ueno Station brings together more than a dozen different rail and subway lines and is also a transfer station for the Shinkansen express train. From next-door Keisei-Ueno station, it takes about 45 minutes to get to Narita Airport. During my travels, I have disembarked, changed trains, and even stayed for a few days here in Ueno many times. There are plenty of hotels around the station, perfect for further forays into the big city.

Around the station there are several shopping streets where stores are open seven days a week waiting for their customers. Japan is a shopping paradies, and Ueno is no excemption.

And if you are more into amusement, you will also get your money's worth here. There are plenty of karaoke stores and gambling centers, and especially the many pachinko saloons with their somewhat obtrusive advertising can't be overlooked or ignored.

I rather recommend to go to one of the countless inviting izakayas, as the more traditional Japanese bars are called. Because of its proximity to the Ueno Zoo, the panda is a popular motif on many billboards and in shop windows. But why not end the day with a small snack and a cool or even warm drink. You probably can't get more Japanese than that!

This special character is the landmark of Kappabashi-dori, a shopping street dedicated to restaurant and kitchen supplies with over 200 stores.

Located a little further east of Ueno Station, you can find everything for your kitchen and restaurant and even a very special souvenir for your friends back home.

In terms of advertising and promotion, Japan and Tokyo impressed me right from the start. The way it shines and glows everywhere in the city is fascinating, and clearly shows that Tokyo just can't come to rest and sleep.

This billboard advertises Tokyo's oldest amusement park, Hanayashiki, which is located in the Asakusa neighborhood next to Ueno and has been welcoming visitors for over 150 years. In its early days, still during the Edo-era, there was still a shogun and samurais, and the whole city must have looked so different.

This advertising poster best sums up the district located from Ueno to Asakusa. A colorful potporri of traditional and modern with a dash of Japanese playfulness - I guess that's what keeps drawing me here.

But let's also take a quick look at Uneo Park, this green gem between all the many buildings and skyscrapers. This sprawling public park attracts droves of visitors year-round who come to relax and look around for a while. The park is home not only to the Uneo Zoo, but also to many state museums, such as the Japanese National Museum.

And as briefly mentioned before, in Ueno you just can't escape the panda. In shop windows, on billboards or even as a mailbox, he greets you everywhere and at any time, and probably he just fits perfectly in this district. In any case, he ensures a good mood.

In Edo times, on the hill in the present park, there was a temple, Kanei-ji, which was closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns. During the Boshin War, the site was largely destroyed and subsequently Ueno Park was built, which opened in 1876. Even today, the remains of two tombs of former Edo period shoguns can be found on the grounds of Ueno Park.

During the Boshin War, from 1868 to 1869, the forces of the last Tokugawa shogun and the troops of the newly formed Imperial Army fought each other, ultimately leading to the elimination of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power. Ultimately, however, the Meiji Restoration also ended the power of the samurai class and Japanese feudal society and ushered in a period of modernization and a fundamental transformation of Japanese society.

Also in Ueno, which at that time was already part of the capital Edo, there were major clashes during this period, resulting in the Battle of Ueno. Although Edo had just been surrendered to imperial troops without fighting, the Shogitai, a group of elite samurai loyal to Tokugawa, who camped at Kanei-ji, engaged in a fierce battle with the imperial troops, who were mostly from the south of Japan. The latter were much better and more modernly equipped and eventually managed to defeat the remaining Tokugawa samurai. As a result of the battle, the Kanei-ji temple was almost completely destroyed and several thousand buildings were subsequently burned down.

In Ueno Park, a tomb in which the fallen Shogitai samurai are buried still commemorates this last and probably only battle here in Edo. This was the beginning of a new era, which, was marked by great social upheaval and modernization, and paved the way for the modern era of Japan.

Another statue in the park quickly catches the visitor's eye, the monument to Saigo Takamori, one of Japan's most influential samurai. Although he was a leader of the imperial forces in the Boshin War and one of the major players during the Meiji Restoration, Takamori was nevertheless an opponent of modernization and the opening of Japan. His resistance ultimately resulted in the Satsuma Revolution of 1877, in which disaffected samurai under his leadership revolted against the new government. Despite several months of resistance, however, even the "last samurai" and his warriors were defeated by the better-equipped imperial troops. To prevent his capture, Takamori is said to have asked a faithful to behead him with his own sword.

However, the new Meiji government was unable to break the affection for Takamori that prevailed among the Japanese, and on February 22, 1889, it officially recognized his courage and pardoned him posthumously. In 1898, this statue was finally erected in his honor in Ueno Park, which still commemorates him today.

Fighting is still going on in Ueno Park today, but fortunately only for points. In the middle of the park there is this baseball facility, and when we passed here during an evening walk, the atmosphere there attracted me irresistibly, and we sat down to quietly watch the guys play. It's wonderful that today people can also use this park for games and sports, and no wars have to be fought here anymore.

Inside the park, the big city seems far away, but suddenly you are almost in the middle of the action again. Ueno park is a wonderful time out from all the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, and also a green oasis, important to give body and mind a little rest and revitalize us.

No matter the season, Uneo Park has its charm and manages to enchant me. Especially in the light of the setting sun, when everything seems even more intense than normal, and when my longing starts to wander off.

History and modernity, everywhere you meet this contrast, which actually complements and influences each other. Without the first, the second would not exist, and we would not be where we are today.

Outside the gates of the park, the light of the big city shines and flickers, inviting and irritating at the same time. For myself, I always find it important to occasionally take these little trips into the past to better understand where we actually came from, and how and why we made it this far. And how it could go on tomorrow.

Ueno is one of the places that I connect a lot with and will probably always be connected with. Its strategic location will definitelt bring me here again, and hopefully I can stay here a little longer in the future. Some paths I would like to walk again and there is still some new territory to discover, especially in Tokyo, a city that changes quickly and reinvents itself again and again.

My longing is far from satisfied, sometimes it seems to me as if it grows more and more and I just start to follow the right path. But since life is a bag full of surprises, there will be some unexpected things for all of us in the future, and hopefully we will be able to share them with many people.

I wish you all a wonderful day, I'll be back soon with new impressions from the land of the rising sun.

またね matane

[//]:# (!pinmapple 35.712628 lat 139.773695 long Ueno - My favorite Tokyo gateway, full of people, culture, history and pandas d3scr)