Small Museums of Tokyo, Japan gives unique experience that will leave you impressed with the history and culture that Tokyo possesses. From folk art, to sumo history, to the earthquake disaster, the small museums give a variety of Japanese history and life.
Activity/Place Highlights
There are different options where you can start the tour of the museums. In the Harajuku district, a modern place in eastern Tokyo is the Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Art Museum. This place is characterized by colorful posters designed by the best artists in Japan, in addition to the traditional wooden blocks. To get into this museum you must take off your shoes and wear special shoes given.
Also in this same area of the city, you will find a small but fascinating collection, the Mingeikan Museum. This was founded by folk art aficionado Yanagi. Although most of its 17,000 works are Japanese, the museum also contains folk art from China, Korea, among other places.
District of Ryogoku
This district is known as zero points for all sumo. Here you will find the Sumo Museum on the ground floor of the famous Kokugikan Stadium. In addition, you can see exhibitions about the origins and the great history of the Japanese struggle. There is also a collection of Banzuke, dental ceremonials and old photos of sumo legends from past centuries.
There is a museum in the city that will move you. This is the Kanto Earthquake Memorial Museum, located on the grounds of the Tokyo Memorial Temple. This museum is the only one dedicated to a natural disaster, which commemorates the earthquake of 1923 and the fire that caused the death of more than 58 thousand people and also destroyed more than 70% of the city. You will have the opportunity to admire on display the remains of molten glass and metal artifacts recovered in the ruins, as well as photos and legends of the accident.
How to get there
The closest airport to both Harajuku district and Ryogoku district is Haneda Airport (HND). From the airport, they are only about 15 and 16 minutes by car respectively.
When to go
Spring and autumn are the best seasons to explore Tokyo. Summers are hot and humid, and winters can be very cold.
How long
Given the vast size of Tokyo, it is better to navigate through the museums in a certain neighborhood on the same day. Get a good map of the city’s transportation system and plan accordingly. If you want to know all these small museums, take a week of holidays in the city and enjoy all its wonders.
Opening and Closing Hours
- Museum of Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial Art: From 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. They work from Tuesday to Sunday, also holidays but not the next day, or the new year.
- Mingeikan Museum: From 10 am to 5 pm. Ticket sales are until 4:30 p.m. You do not work on Mondays unless it’s a holiday. It is temporarily closed between each exhibition.
- Sumo Museum: From 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They do not work on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
- Memorial Museum of the Kanto Earthquake: From 9 am to 5 pm. Open from Tuesday to Sunday.
Planning
If you try to get a couple of museums like the sea in a single day, you must buy a Tokyo Metro Open ticket, which offers you a day of unlimited travel on the various metro lines. Remember to ensure the purchase of your tickets to contact numbers or on the websites of each museum.
Inside Information
Most museums have many discounts, both to students and to seniors. Children enter free, in addition, you have to be careful in certain parts of the museums because they are not adapted for all public, as people in wheelchairs. The Memorial Museum of the Kanto Earthquake has free admission.
History
The Museum of Commemorative Art of Ukiyo-e Ota was founded in 1980 and contains more than 12 thousand works of art. Previously it was said that Ukiyo-e, meant “Under a world of misery and suffering”, however, since the Edo period (1603-1868) was transformed. Currently, pleasure is linked to this and refers to the ephemeral beauty of existence.
On the other hand, after the great earthquake that occurred in 1923 in Kanto, the Museum in Memory of the Kanto Earthquake was built in the place where more than 40 thousand people died due to a fire. The museum also included 100 thousand people who died due to air accidents after the Second World War.
Websites
- www.jnto.go.jp,
- www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp,
- www.sumo.or.jp.
- www.mingeikan.or.jp
Other nearby attractions
It is impossible for you to visit Tokyo without going to see the big tower in Tokyo. This place never goes out of style. It is inspired by the famous Eiffel tower and measures approximately 333 meters in height. At first this tower was only for radio and television signals, however, after a few years, it became an icon of the country. Although by day the tower does not change its appearance, during the night this place becomes a world full of lights with more than 2 thousand bulbs in the whole tower. You can visit it every day from 9 in the morning until 10 at night.
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