7 Interesting Shopping Spots in Exciting Ueno
Ueno is a charming area that’s known for being a cultural district for housing museums, national art collages, and other cultural or historical things. But did you know that it’s also a bustling shopping district that’s home to the former black market, Ameyoko, and a plethora of other stores? More stores means more stuff to buy! Just by walking around the train station, you’re sure to always find something new.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
1. Ameyoko Street (Ameyoko-dori) [Okachimachi]
Ameyoko Street is the main street of the Ameyoko shopping district. If you head out from Ueno Station and walk towards Okachimachi Station, you’ll find that it’s the street right in the middle of the Ameyoko area, or that it’s on the east side of Ameyoko Center Building. You can hear food stall owners shouting loudly in an effort to stand out amongst the others and sell their products.
You can get fresh seafood for a relatively cheap price here, such as tuna, crabs, and shrimps. There are also clothing shops that sell a vast variety of clothes, from hats to bags. You can enjoy shopping according to your needs! If you’re looking for medicine, there’s also several drug stores in the area.
[About Ameyoko Street]
Access: Around a 1 minute walk from North Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around a 4-minute walk from Central Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野 (Google Map)
HP: www.ameyoko.net/ (Japanese Only)
2. Ueno Naka Street (Uechun Street) [Okachimachi]
Opposite of Ameyoko street and located to the west of Ameyoko Center Building is Ueno Naka Street (Ueno Naka-dori). Locals usually call it Uechun Street (Uechun-dori). The street is crowded with many clothing stores and other types of stores. In the small lane that connects Uechun Street and Ameyoko Street, you’ll find an optical store called Hakusan Megane, which is known to have been loved by the late John Lennon.
Another characteristic feature of the street is the number of shoe stores. There are some famous shoe stores along the street, such as ABC Mart with a variety of sneakers, Toraya that has hiking and ski shoes, and other well-established shoe stores like Kutsu no Ida and Ikedaya Shoes.
[About Ueno Naka Street (Uechun Street)]
Access: Around a 1 minute walk from North Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around a 4-minute walk from Central Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野 (Google Map)
HP: www.ueno-nakadoori.or.jp/en/index.html (English)
HP: www.ueno-nakadoori.or.jp/ch/index.html (Traditional Chinese）
HP: www.ueno-nakadoori.or.jp/ (Japanese)
3. Ameyoko Center Building [Okachimachi, Ueno]
Located in-between Ameyoko Street and Uechun Street, Ameyoko Center Building is considered as an icon of the whole Ameyoko area. It has 5 floors and 2 basement floors. Like the shopping streets around it, the building has many stores inside.
The basement floors have a lively atmosphere that will make you excited. There are several food stores located on these floors that sell a wide variety of ingredients and condiments that can be used to make cuisine from all over the world. On the upper floors, there are other kinds of shops, such as clothing stores, shoe stores, and even golf shops! While they’re relatively smaller than the shops on the basement floors, they’re also a lot more quiet, so you can enjoy shopping in a serene setting.
[About Ameyoko Center Building]
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Closed: Third Wednesday of every month (except for December)
Access: Around a 3-minute walk from North Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around a 4-minute walk from Central Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: 4-7-8 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野4-7-8 (Google Map)
HP: www.ameyoko-center-bldg.com/ (Japanese Only)
4. Niki no Kashi - First Store [Okachimachi]
Niki no Kashi is a well-established candy store with a history of 70 years. They have around 5,000 varieties of candies in stock at any time, which is quite impressive! You can find pretty much any kind of candy here, from familiar ones that you often see in a supermarket or convenience store, to bizarre local candies and typical Japanese snacks.
They have a special discount if you purchase a lot of the same kind of candy. This makes it a nice deal for when you need to buy a lot of candy for friends and family back home. It is located in front of Tokudaiji Temple, which is in-between Ameyoko Street and Uechun Street.
[About Niki no Kashi - First Store]
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Closed: Open all year
Access: Around a 1 minute walk from North Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around a 7-minute walk from Central Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: 4-1-8 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野4-1-8 (Google Map)
HP: www.nikinokashi.co.jp/ (Japanese Only; automatic translation available)
5. Takeya Select - Ueno Branch [Ueno]
Takeya is a well-known discount store that has multiple branches around Ueno. Takeya Select is their new branch that opened in Ueno. It stocks items that have been carefully selected from over 200,000 of Takeya’s products.
On the basement floor, you’ll find food, alcohol, and kitchen products like stainless bottles and kitchen knives. Daily necessities, health foods, medicines, and stationery are on the first floor. The second floor is dedicated to cosmetics, while the third floor is home to consumer electronics, including electric toothbrushes and shavers.
[About Takeya Select - Ueno Branch]
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
(3rd Floor) 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Closed: New Year's Day
Access: Around a 3-minute walk from Shinobazu Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: 2-13-11 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野2-13-11 (Google Map)
HP: takeya.co.jp/english/ (English)
HP: cn.takeya.co.jp/ (Simplified Chinese)
HP: takeya.co.jp/ (Japanese)
6. ABAB - Ueno Branch [Okachimachi]
Walk towards Shinobazu-ike (Shinobazu Pond) from Ameyoko Center Building and stop when you get to a main street. The fashion building to your left is ABAB. They stock many women’s clothes. There is a nice food market in the basement, as well as a 100 yen shop - Daiso - on the 7th floor. It is filled with a bunch of small things that would definitely come in handy for your travels.
There are sweets stalls by the entrance and on the seventh floor. You can purchase sweets that you can eat right away, such as ice cream and crepes!
[About ABAB - Ueno Branch]
Opening Hours: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Access: Around a 6-minute walk from North Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around an 8-minute walk from Shinobazu Exit of Ueno Station on various JR lines
Address: 4-8-4 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野4-8-4 (Google Map)
HP: abab.ababakafudado.co.jp/english.php (English)
HP: abab.ababakafudado.co.jp/china.php (Traditional Chinese）
HP: abab.ababakafudado.co.jp/index.php (Japanese)
7. 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan [Suehiro]
There is an event space in the facility where they hold workshops and events related to craftsmanship. It is also recommended to drop by Yanaka-Coffeeten, where you can have high-quality coffee. It is the perfect place to take a break in-between shopping!
[About 2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan]
Opening Hours: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM (some stores have different opening hours)
(Common Street) 10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Closed: Wednesdays (open if it is a public holiday, but some stores have different policies)
Access: Around a 3-minute walk from Exit 2 of Suehirocho Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
Around a 4-minute walk from South Exit of Okachimachi Station on various JR lines
Around a 6-minute walk from Central Gate of Akihabara Station on various JR lines
Address: 5-9 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo 東京都台東区上野5-9 (Google Map)
HP: www.jrtk.jp/2k540/ (Japanese Only; automatic translation available)
*Thumbnail image retrieved from Tim Franklin Photography/Flickr
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
About the author
