Shitamachi Museum

Small but very cute and a lot of thought and heart went into this museum. We got a guided tour of the first floor for free, not sure if that is always on offer. The first floor is a recreated set of houses to explore and the second floor uses artefacts and interpretive panels (with English translations) to learn about the history and culture of the Shitamachi area of Tokyo. One hour would be more than enough to see and read everything in the museum. It was recently renovated so everything is very clean and up to date.

This is a small but very interesting museum with some wonderful recreations of streets and buildings. I learnt quite a lot, especially about the earthquakes that have caused so much damage over the years. There are actual seismographs in the building. There's a small charge to get in but it is well worth it as this is a great way to spend an hour or so. It's also right next to the zoo so between the two and some food, this could be the perfect way to use one of your vacation days.

It’s a small museum spread across three floors, but I genuinely enjoyed my time here. One of the highlights for me was the replica of traditional Japanese homes—it really made me feel like I’d been transported to a simpler time. My favorite was the second-floor exhibit, which presented a timeline of everyday Japanese life leading up to the present. The third floor focused more on the war and post-WWII period. As someone from a country that was under Imperial Japan during World War II, it was eye-opening to see what life was like in Japan at that time. It reminded me that in war, there are no real victors—only people who suffer. I left with a deeper sense of empathy and hope that we continue striving for a world with more understanding and compassion for one another.

Small museum covering the culture of the area. We had a fantastic guide (Fuji), and he described first-floor exhibits. He added information about his personal memories, which was really interesting. We explored the 2nd and 3rd floors alone. We spent about an hour and paid 300 yen each for adults.

Lovely little local history museum, with nice displays about the local area. The curator gave a good explanation of the exhibits.

It's a small museum but it provides a great opportunity to see how the old Tokyo looks like. Totally worth it.

Amazing, small museum. Focused on one specific subject and one can see and get to know everything in 1-1,5h. Stuff is very friendly, they are happy to deliver additional informations. I'm tired of big museums, when you can run around for days and still missing things. And (thanks to than) is cheap :)

We really enjoyed this museum. The ground has a life size traditional japanese house with a merchant workshop and a small neighborhood street. You are allowed to enter the space and touch the items and furniture, which was a great experience. Upstairs has a nice film animation linked to day to day items and a small exhibit. A lot of posters and explanations, some translated. And an area where you can play with traditional toys. The only downside is that the renovation seems to have reduced the life size replica of the japanese neighborhood, which I had looked forward to but still a really nice experience. 🙂