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It’s one of Tokyo’s most informative and detailed museums for history geeks. Unfortunately, it’s been closed to the public now for almost four years as it undergoes much-needed renovations. Finally, history buffs have some good news. The museum is set to reopen on March 31st, 2026 – and it’s bigger and better than ever.
A piece of history set to return
Picture by the author
Tokyo Metropolis established the Edo-Tokyo Museum in 1993 to preserve the city’s history from its days as Edo to the present. Part of a larger project to preserve local history, the eight-floor museum is patterned after a traditional rice storehouse and is the same height as the old Edo Castle.
The museum is a treasure trove of information about Tokyo – and about Japan – from the Edo Period (1601-1868) up to the present day. It features several scaled recreations of everyday life in the Edo, Meiji, and Shōwa eras, including a full-scale reproduction of the original Nihonbashi Bridge from 1603.
The museum is also a critical resource for historians and scholars. Its seventh floor contains 560,000 texts and cultural relics related to Edo and Tokyo.
The museum has been closed since April 2022. In a preview event this weekend, the museum invited reporters back to give them a small taste of what the newly reopened museum will include.
Artist’s rendering of the Hattori Watch Shop.
New attractions include a full-scale model, 26 meters in height, of the historic K. Hattori Watch Shop in Ginza, run by the founder of Seiko, which used to sit in the space occupied by the Wakō Building. Other new attractions will include yatai (food cart) stands, soba shops, and other hands-on exhibits where visitors can get a feel for what it might have been like to live in Edo.
The Edo-Tokyo Museum is located in Sumida City, at 1-4-1 Yokoami. It sits near the Sumida River, just across town from Tokyo Skytree.
Other Tokyo museums
Tokiwaso Manga Museum in Toshima. (Picture: Osugi / Shutterstock)
The reopening is well-timed, as many visitors will be in Tokyo to enjoy cherry blossom season. (First bloom in Tokyo is expected on March 19th, with full bloom predicted for March 26th.) That should lead to big crowds for the museum’s reopening.
If you’re coming before it reopens – don’t despair! There are plenty of other museums across Tokyo to enjoy. Besides the famous Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, near the Edo-Tokyo Museum is the Japanese Sword Museum, where samurai enthusiasts can learn all about some of Japan’s great swordmakers. Those looking for more on the history of Tokyo can visit the Shitamachi Museum in Kōtō City and the Fukagawa Edo Museum in Ueno, two other museums created by Tokyo Metropolis to preserve its history and rich cultural heritage.
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Tokyo is also full of fun little specialized museums, some of which I cataloged in a previous post. Unique spots such as Intermediatheque, the Meguro Parasitological Museum, and the Tokiwaso Manga Museum are all designed to entertain as well as educate.
Those looking to deep dive into the history of Shinjuku can also check out the (in UJ’s opinion) under-appreciated Shinjuku Historical Museum, where you can learn about historic locations such as the Moulin Rouge Shinjuku.
Discover the “unseen” side of Japan
Japan is on everyone’s travel bucket list. Sadly, many end up going to the same places as everyone else. That can turn what could have been a fun, once-in-a-lifetime experience into an exhausting battle with crowds.
We started Unseen Japan Tours for the same reason we started Unseen Japan: To give people a unique glimpse into Japan they can’t get anywhere else. Let us create a custom itinerary of hard-to-find spots centered on your interests. We can also serve as your guides and interpreters, taking you to places that non-Japanese-speaking tourists usually can’t access.
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Sources
Edo-Tokyo Museum. Wikipedia
江戸東京博物館、新装開館へ…銀座の象徴「服部時計店」原寸大模型など展示. Yomiuri Shimbun
AloJapan.com