One of the great things about Tokyo is that the green lungs of the metropolis never are too far away. Close to where I live there is a park called Ueno Koen (上野公園 - koen means park btw) where I often (or at least once a month or so..) go jogging in the afternoon after work. Right now the autumn season is coming to an end, but Yuma and I visited the park just in time to snap some photos of the park while the leaves still were red.
Ueno Koen is known among other things for its many museums, but we usually go to the area around the Shinobazu pond (不忍池). As you can see it is quite a romantic spot for couples, and if you're interested you can rent a boat here as well.
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| The Shinobazu pond (不忍池) |
At the center of the pond lies the Bentendo (弁天堂) temple. The temple pagoda is always lit up in the evening, and this makes it a very nice place to pass by if you like to go jogging in the evening!
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| Bentendo's pagoda |
The Shinobazu pond consist of three sections, and it is possible to walk right through the middle of the lake thanks to a bridge built in 1907.
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| The boat rental service on the Shinobazu pond |
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| Birds on the lotus section of the pond |
While we were walking on the bridge we saw an
ojiisan feeding the birds with rice corns. When we
stopped to watch he asked me if I wanted to feed the birds too, and gave me a handful of rice.
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| Feeding the birds |
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| One of the birds chased away almost all the other birds.. |
The Bentendo temple lies in the middle of the pond on Benten island (弁天島). This temple is devoted to the goddess of eloquence called Benzaiten.
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| Bentendo |
As the temple and the pond attracts many visitors, especially during the weekend, there is also a chance you'll find some small food stalls that sells Japanese food like takoyaki and okonomiyaki (we preferred kebab this time :P)
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| Japanese food stalls |
Ueno Koen is also a nice place if you like doing pull-ups. When Yuma and I go jogging to the park, he always stops up to do some exercise here :)
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| Ueno Koen is also great for exercising, especially if you like doing pull-ups. |
All in all, a nice place to visit for a lazy day..!
About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.
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