Piles of seaweed for sale at one of the outdoor markets along Ameyoko (アメ横) in Ueno, Tokyo.

The markets were packed full of fresh produce including all types of seafood, vegetables and fruits. I saw everything from headless octupus to various parts of animals I care not to mention.

If you’re ever in Ueno, make sure you check out Ameyoko (アメ横), which runs alongside the railway line across the the massive JR Ueno railway station.

If anyone knows what the sign says exactly I’d be grateful if you could leave a comment.

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I shot this image of one of the market stalls littering the Ameyoko; a busy street market that runs along the main railway line in Ueno, Tokyo.

If you’re ever in Japan, as well as some other Asian countries, you’ll see people, both old and young, wearing masks out in public places. It’s not something I have ever seen in Australia, the US or Europe.

The markets feature plenty of different products on sale ranging from fresh seaweed, octopus, dried shrimp (the pink piles on the stall) plus your standard meat and vegetables.

Alongside the produce, there are also many shops with the latest t-shirts, jeans and shoes – pretty much anything you can think of is available in the area.

Ameyoko, Ueno: Photo Location

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I found this sign in the grounds of Ueno Zoo, which is just 10 minutes north of central Tokyo by train. We visited there when we stayed in Ueno and apart from it being the coldest and wettest day of our trip, it was definitely worth the visit. There’s plenty to see and do for everyone.

There’s a fair bit going on in this sign but don’t worry as I’m going to break it all down and we’ll go though the kanji and katakana one at a time.

Go West

Starting from the left side of the top sign we see 西園, which indicates the West section of the park (zoo). The two kanji work separately here so 西 means West and 園 is garden or park, this is not a kanji compound. If you’re in Japan for any length of time you’ll more than likely see the kanji for park (園) in a lot of public places in the following format – 公園. This a kanji compound – public (公) and park (園).

Children’s Zoo

Next is the top line of the first sign, which is 子供動物園 (Children’s Zoo) and there are two kanji compounds at work here – 子供 (こども) and 動物園 (どうぶつえん). The first one translates as “Children” with the first character 子 meaning child (こ). The second part of that line is 動物園 (どうぶつえん), which means zoo.

Breaking that down even further we get 動物 (animal) and 園 (garden or park), which of course gives us zoo (animal park).

Kirin…But Not The Beer

On the bottom line of the first sign there are three katakana words – キリん, カバ and サイ, which translate to kirin (Giraffe), kaba (Hippopotamus) and sai (Rhinoceros). Katakana is normally used only for loan words, meaning words from other countries. I would suggest these are only written in Katakana here so that smaller children are able to read the sign. I have included the kanji for each of them in the table below.

Keep Your Hands In Your Pockets

In the second sign we come across a few kanji that you might be seeing for the first time: 両生爬虫類館

The breakdown of the kanji compounds in this sentence are 両生 (りょうせい – Amphibian) and 爬虫類 (はちゅうるい – Reptiles) followed by 館, which translates as house, hall or building.

We end up with a sign that roughly means Amphibious Reptile Building eg an area of the zoo that holds the likes of crocodiles or alligators.

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I hate to drag up a photo from warmer days while those of you in the northern hemisphere are still freezing cold but here we go anyway ^_^

This was shot somewhere along the busy market streets of the famous Ameyoko in Ueno, Tokyo.

There is all sorts of produce available for sale including seafood, fruit and vegetables right through to shoes, t-shirts and jeans. The markets are always packed, which makes for an exciting place to visit when you’re next in Tokyo.

The fruit on a stick sells from just ¥100, which is a bargain I reckon, especially in Japan.

Almost all of the fruit in the signs are listed in Katakana so this is a great exercise to sharpen those skills if you’re just starting out with Japanese or getting rusty.

Here’s a few to get you started.

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I used a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS USM lens for all shots and the images were processed in Lightroom 2 on OSX.

Bikes parked on the sidewalk in Ueno, Tokyo

Looking through the window of a liquor store in Ueno, Tokyo

The never ending line of taxis waiting outside JR Ueno train station

A taxi driver waits for a fare outside JR Ueno train station

Ameyoko (アメ横) is a famous street market in Ueno, Tokyo

Lanterns outside of an eatery in Ueno, Tokyo

As night falls, the crowded streets of the Ameyako are deserted

A discarded wooden crate in one of the Ameyako stalls

Coca Cola seating sits empty in the back streets on Ueno, Tokyo

Streets still buzzing at 9pm on a Monday in Ueno, Tokyo

I can’t get enough of all the different taxi lights

I was surprised by the number of homeless people around Ueno

Pedestrians lit by construction works below Ueno railway line

A vendor tending to another fresh batch of…well whatever they are

Vending machines can sooth the 24/7 shopper’s needs

Care Bears ponder another day of vending machine madness

Workers watch as bitumen is sliced open to access water pipes

Under construction in Ueno, Tokyo

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