Attractions

Edo-Tokyo Museum

Edo-Tokyo Museum

Travel Guide

Edo-Tokyo MuseumEdo-Tokyo Museum

Edo-Tokyo Museum is Japan's premier museum dedicated to the history of Japan's capital city, Tokyo. It shows how Edo, a small 15th century fishing village, came to be the huge Tokyo metropolis of today. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is a historical and cultural resource with imaginative presentations, interactivity, and user-friendliness - for English-speakers, too. It was established in 1993. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is housed in an unique looking building, designed like an old elevated grain storehouse, located in the Ryogoku district. It was designed by Kiyonori Kikutake. The distinctive elevated shape of the museum building is modelled after an old storehouse in the kurazukuri style.

The museum's permanent exhibition vividly illustrates the past of Tokyo (formerly Edo) through its exhibits and covers many features of the capital from the Edo Period to relatively recent decades.

In an interactive way, visitors are able to experience and learn about various aspects of earlier Tokyo, such as the way of life of people, Edo Period architecture, cultural heritage, political climate, commercial situation and more. Through numerous models of towns, figurines and life-sized figures, the museum makes it interesting to find out about how towns were constructed in the past. The main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the Nihonbashi; the Nakamuraza theatre; and scale models of towns and buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Showa periods.

The museum also offers many good picture taking opportunities, for example with vehicles and items which were previously used. There is a theater in the museum, at which performances are held on weekends. Programs vary from rakugo (comic story) to koto (13-stringed Japanese zither) performances.

In addition to the permanent exhibition, special exhibitions are held periodically on varying, Tokyo related themes, covering some aspect of Tokyo's history, art, geography etc. Special exhibitions are charged for separately from the permanent exhibition, but a combination ticket is available with a considerably reduced permanent exhibition entry fee. Furthermore, the museum has a sister museum in the western suburbs of Tokyo, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum, which preserves and exhibits multiple historic buildings.

From the moment you enter to the moment you leave, the Edo-Tokyo Museum will keep you entertained, educated and interested. So if you want to learn more about Tokyo and its history, this is a must visit place. You can learn all about it from 1590 until modern times. 

Edo-Tokyo MuseumEdo-Tokyo MuseumEdo-Tokyo Museum

 
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Travel Advice

Guide

Free guide
Activity 90 minutes to 2 hours of personal guide at free of charge can be arranged although at busy times you may have to wait a while for someone to become available.
Phone 03-3626-9974
Reservation Reservation is not required. Please make the reservation within 2 weeks before the visit day if you want to make reservation.
Hours 10:00 to 15:00
Admission Free
Language Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, French, German and Spanish.
In some cases, guide services are not available in languages other than Japanese and English.

 

- Audio guides on English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese for free for the permanent exhibition but requires 1,000 yen refundable deposit.

Facilities

- Photography is forbidden in many places in the museum.

- Free rental for wheelchairs and dolls are provided.

- Baby room on 1st and 5th floor. A bed for changing diapers is attached to the women's toilets on the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh floors.

- Lockers are located on the first, third and seventh floors.

Surroundings

- While you’re in the area, have a look at the sumo stadium next to the museum. If there’s a basho (sumo tournament) on, get tickets and go to see some matches.

 
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Visit

Address 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
Phone 03-3626-9974
Admission Permanent Exhibition
Adult: 600 yen (Groups 480 yen)
University Students: 480 yen (Groups 380 yen)
Student: 300 yen (Groups 240 yen)
Adult: over 22
University Students: 18 to 21
Student: 12 to 17
Groups: over 20
Hours 9:30 to 17:30 (Saturday till 19:30) Entry until 30 minntes before closing
Closed Every Monday. The following day if a public holiday falls on the day.
Duration 2 hours
Getting There By Train
1 minute walk from Ryogoku Station on subway Oedo Line.
3 minutes walk from Ryogoku Station on JR Somu Line.

By Car
Take Shuto Expressway to the Komagata exit. It is approximately 10 minutes from exit.
Parking Parking available
 
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