As this station was the traditional point of arrival and departure for journeys to northern Japan, it became the inspiration for many poems and song lyrics, including a famous poem by Ishikawa Takuboku. There is a memorial plate about this poem in the station.
Station layout
Hirokoji entrance, 2020Central ticket gate, 2019
Like most major stations in Japan, Ueno Station contains and is surrounded by extensive shopping arcades. The station contains a branch of the Hard Rock Cafe.
JR East platforms
Station layout in 2009 (before removal of track 18)
The station has two main levels of tracks and underground platforms for the Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks. Through tracks 1 to 4 on two island platforms on the main level are used by Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tohoku Line trains. Tracks 5 to 9 on two island platforms and one side of a terminal platform lead to the Ueno-Tokyo Line to Tokyo Station and beyond on the Tōkaidō Main Line. Tracks 10 to 12 terminate inside the building, and below these on a lower deck are further terminal tracks 13 to 17 (Track No.18 has been removed). Two subterranean island platforms serve Shinkansen tracks 19 to 22.
Chest-high platform edge doors were installed on the two Yamanote Line platforms (2 and 3) in November 2015, and brought into use from December.[2]
First station building, south entrance, 1912Opening of current station building in 1932
Ueno Station opened on 28 July 1883. After the destruction of the first building in the fires caused by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, Japanese Government Railways constructed the current station building. In 1927, Tokyo Underground Railway (now Tokyo Metro) opened Japan's first subway line from here to Asakusa Station. Following World War II, the neighbourhood in front of Ueno Station was a major center of black market activity. Today, many people come to the area to visit Ameya-Yokochō.
In March 1985, the Tōhoku Shinkansen was extended south from Ōmiya to Ueno, with the line extended further south to Tokyo in June 1991.
In March 2010, to promote the release of the Cho-Den-O Trilogy of the Kamen Rider movies, a special marking was used on the trains going to Nakano-fujimichō from Ueno, and Den-O's Rina Akiyama greeted 200 fans who rode on the first of those trains.[4][5]
Station numbering was introduced to the non-Shinkansen JR East platforms in 2016 with Ueno being assigned station numbers JU02 for the Utsunomiya line, JJ01 for the Jōban Line rapid service, JK31 for the Keihin–Tōhoku Line, and JY05 for the Yamanote line. At the same time, JR East assigned the station a three-letter code to its major transfer stations; Ueno was assigned the code "UEN".[6][7]
TH Liner services on the Hibiya Line between Ebisu and Kuki commenced on 6 June 2020.[8]
The new park exit, 2021
In March 2020, the Park Exit (Ueno Park Exit) was moved to the north and the roadway in front of it was changed to a dead end, allowing pedestrians to enter Ueno Park from the station without crossing the roadway.[9]
Passenger statistics
In fiscal 2013, the JR East station was used by 181,880 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), making it the thirteenth-busiest station operated by JR East.[10] In fiscal 2013, the Tokyo Metro station was used by an average of 211,539 passengers per day (exiting and entering passengers), making it the eighth-busiest station operated by Tokyo Metro.[11]
The daily passenger figures for each operator in previous years are as shown below.
^ＪＲ東日本:東京−上野の新線 愛称を「上野東京ライン」 [JR East names new line between Tokyo and Ueno "Ueno-Tokyo Line"]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Japan: The Mainichi Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
^山手線上野駅に可動式ホーム柵設置 [Platform edge doors installed at Yamanote Line Ueno Station]. Japan Railfan Magazine Online (in Japanese). Japan: Koyusha Co., Ltd. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
^"「営団地下鉄」から「東京メトロ」へ" [From "Teito Rapid Transit Authority" to "Tokyo Metro"]. Tokyo Metro Online. 2006-07-08. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
^"⾸都圏エリアへ 「駅ナンバリング」を導⼊します" [Introduce “station numbering” to the Tokyo metropolitan area] (PDF). jreast.co.jp (in Japanese). 6 April 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^Kusamachi, Yoshikazu (7 April 2016). "JA・JK・JT・AKB…JR東日本、首都圏で駅ナンバリングなど導入へ" [JA, JK, JT, AKB … JR East to introduce station numbering in the Tokyo metropolitan area]. Response Automotive Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
^"2020年6月6日（土）東武鉄道・東京メトロダイヤ改正 東武線・日比谷線相互直通列車に初の座席指定制列車「THライナー」が誕生!" [June 6, 2020 (Saturday) Tobu Railway / Tokyo Metro Timetable Revision Tobu Line / Hibiya Line Mutual direct train, the first reserved seat train "TH Liner" is born!] (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). 東武鉄道／東京地下鉄. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
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