The Fukagawa Edo Museum (深川江戸資料館, Fukagawa Edo Shiryōkan) is a historical museum located in the typical and picturesque shitamachi quarter of Fukagawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo, and reproduces the popular Edo neighbourhood of Saga-cho (佐賀町) at the end of the Edo period . Fukagawa is located on the Sumida River and was home to artisans, wealthy merchants, and other residents.
The museum was established in 1986. It houses an exhibition hall on two floors as well as eleven full-scale replicas of traditional houses; vegetable and rice shops, a fish store; two food stalls; a fire watchtower; a boathouse with a boat actually floating on water and several tenant homes; so-called nagaya (長屋, "long houses" or "row houses"), all painstakingly arranged to depict an actual Fukagawa neighbourhood.
The museum employs a lot of sound and light effects. It pays meticulous attention to minute details, such as birds singing, cats sleeping on the roof, a dog relieving itself at a pole, roosters crowing, and rats scurrying along beams. A day's cycle lasts forty-five minutes, with the lighting imitating day and night, dusk and dawn. The seasons change as well, depicted by blooming sakura trees in spring, looming typhoon skies in late summer, and leafless trees in winter.
Visitors can roam freely about the quarters and – after removing their shoes – explore the buildings' interior and most exhibited artefacts at their heart's desire. Volunteer guides are ready to lead free tours in Japanese and English. The museum shop on the first floor offers books and pamphlets on the exhibits and the Edo period in general (most in Japanese), as well as other souvenirs.
More photos in the Fukagawa Edo Museum gallery.
The museum was established in 1986. It houses an exhibition hall on two floors as well as eleven full-scale replicas of traditional houses; vegetable and rice shops, a fish store; two food stalls; a fire watchtower; a boathouse with a boat actually floating on water and several tenant homes; so-called nagaya (長屋, "long houses" or "row houses"), all painstakingly arranged to depict an actual Fukagawa neighbourhood.
The museum employs a lot of sound and light effects. It pays meticulous attention to minute details, such as birds singing, cats sleeping on the roof, a dog relieving itself at a pole, roosters crowing, and rats scurrying along beams. A day's cycle lasts forty-five minutes, with the lighting imitating day and night, dusk and dawn. The seasons change as well, depicted by blooming sakura trees in spring, looming typhoon skies in late summer, and leafless trees in winter.
Visitors can roam freely about the quarters and – after removing their shoes – explore the buildings' interior and most exhibited artefacts at their heart's desire. Volunteer guides are ready to lead free tours in Japanese and English. The museum shop on the first floor offers books and pamphlets on the exhibits and the Edo period in general (most in Japanese), as well as other souvenirs.
More photos in the Fukagawa Edo Museum gallery.
Visiting hours and admission: daily 09:30 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30); closed from 28 December to 5 January.
Admission 300 JPY (discounts for elementary & junior high school students and disabled visitors).
Address and access: 1-3-28 Shirakawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo; 135-0021 東京都江東区白河 1-3-28; Phone: 03-3630-8625, Fax: 03-3820-4379
Access: Three-minute walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station (Toei Oedo Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, from Exit A3).
Admission 300 JPY (discounts for elementary & junior high school students and disabled visitors).
Address and access: 1-3-28 Shirakawa, Koto-ku, Tokyo; 135-0021 東京都江東区白河 1-3-28; Phone: 03-3630-8625, Fax: 03-3820-4379
Access: Three-minute walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station (Toei Oedo Line, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line, from Exit A3).
