Ueno Park is one of the five oldest parks in Tokyo, first designated over 140 years ago. With about 12 million visitors annually, the park area is seen as the nation’s cultural and education center, containing seven museums, a zoo, a botanical garden, and several social facilities. When the sphere of Japan’s local autonomy was expanded in 2003, many local governments started to contract out park operation and management works to private companies with more than 90 parks managed by private contractors in Tokyo. Nevertheless, Ueno Park is directly operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG), due to their large-scale sites and diverse functions. Instead of contracting out, it adapts flexible legal settings and innovative collaboration with private sector. This solution explains how TMG manages Ueno Park in light of its historical background and meets current social needs for urban parks.