Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei City, Tokyo, is an outdoor museum within the Metropolitan Koganei Koen Park. On display at the museum are relocated and restored historical structures with cultural value that existed in Tokyo from the early Edo period until the postwar period. The nostalgic townscape also became the model for the uncanny world that the main character of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, Chihiro, gets lost in. Meiji period stationery shops, a sento public bath that symbolizes Japanese bathhouse culture, Japanese houses built using traditional methods, izakaya bars wrapped in a nostalgic atmosphere, and more are displayed just as they were in the past. Different from and closer to home than historical structures such as castles and temples, here visitors can catch a glimpse of the lifestyles of the common people of the time. Depending on the season, special exhibits and events such as illuminations and festivals are also held, so make sure to check the official website ahead of time.

Photograph provided by Tokyo Convention＆Visitors Bureau