About
In a corner of Ueno Forest, nestled quietly between the Tokyo National Museum and Tokyo University of the Arts, stands a small, unassuming station building. Its triangular roof resembles a miniature version of the National Diet Building, exuding a stillness as if left behind by the passage of time. This is the place once affectionately known as “Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen Station.”
In 1933, when Keisei Electric Railway extended its line from Nippori to Ueno Park, this station opened as the gateway to the Imperial Museum (now the Tokyo National Museum) and Ueno Zoo. However, its construction was fraught with considerable difficulty. The land on which the station was built was “hereditary imperial property” belonging to the Imperial Household, and imperial authorization from the Emperor was required for construction. Under the strict order that “it must not lack dignity,” the Ministry of Railways’ architecture division undertook the design, resulting in a magnificent Western-style building. (keisei.co.jp)
The station’s exterior walls were adorned with decorations modeled after acanthus leaves, and the domed ceiling inside shone beautifully in the soft light. However, the platform was only just long enough to accommodate a four-car train, and as train formations grew longer over time, the number of trains able to stop there became limited, and users gradually decreased. Operations were suspended in 1997, and the station was officially closed in 2004. (keisei.co.jp)
Even after closure, the station building remained, and in 2018 it became the first railway facility to be selected as a “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Selected Historical Building.” Through collaboration with Tokyo University of the Arts, the station building was reborn as a place for cultural and artistic creation, and is occasionally opened to the public or used for events. Inside the station, traces of old graffiti and Japanese-style toilets remain as they were, conveying the atmosphere of the Showa era to the present day. (trafficnews.jp)
Today, when Keisei Electric Railway trains pass this station, passengers can catch a glimpse of the dimly lit platform from the train window. It is a remnant of the days when many people came and went, and the station bustled as Ueno’s cultural gateway. Though swept along by the tides of time, this station building continues to quietly tell its story of history and beauty, breathing quietly in the heart of Ueno Forest.