The Showa-era Odaiba Retro Museum sits on the fourth floor of the Decks Tokyo Beach multiplex in Tokyo. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
A Japanese museum sporting nostalgia from 1920s through 1980s Japan opened last year in Tokyo’s Odaiba district, a virtual island of entertainment.
As a fan of 1980s America nostalgia, I jumped at the opportunity to dive into a little of Japan’s most sentimental scenery and relics from yesteryear at the Odaiba Retro Museum.
You’ll find the experimental Showa-era museum on the fourth floor of Decks Tokyo Beach multiplex.
The electronics shop at the Odaiba Retro Museum in Tokyo is a jewel of Showa-era relics such as this record player and other items from the period. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
The museum is based on the reign of the late Emperor Hirohito, who held the office from 1926 until 1989, the longest in Japan’s history.
Hirohito, who presided over World War II Japan, also played a role in the country’s modernization and reconstruction efforts.
Entering the low-lit museum was like stepping through time. Eighteen sections display a street corner layout of the era, a genuine experience while walking down the pathways between each section.
Check out a Showa-era toy store with aged figurines, trains and other items at the Odaiba Retro Museum in Tokyo. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
The Showa-era Odaiba Retro Museum sits on the fourth floor of the Decks Tokyo Beach multiplex in Tokyo. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
The reproductions include an aged electronics shop, a ramen stall, a classic household, a toy shop and more.
Highlights include a 1960s-era, baby blue Mazda Carol, which sat near the entrance. Visitors can get inside for a feel for its small, cramped interior. At my less than average height, it was difficult for me to maneuver into the vehicle’s back seat.
Farther in, a Japanese toy store with dozens of aged figurines, trains and other items brought memories of American-style equivalents. The electronics shop is another jewel with displays of record players, vintage still cameras and video cameras, cassette players and others.
Visit a Showa-era ramen stall at the Odaiba Retro Museum in Tokyo. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
Step inside a Showa-era elementary school classroom at the experimental Odaiba Retro Museum in Tokyo. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)
My son particularly enjoyed the science prep room, where he played the part by donning a lab coat, viewing scientific charts and the preserved specimen of a dissected frog.
Our visit was capped off with a creepy restroom near the back of the museum. The display was nightmare fuel from Japanese folklore and presents a grotesque fake hand laid over the top of one closed stall and feet are seen under an opposite stall, which shook violently for several seconds.
Friendly staff are available to answer questions. Eating and drinking is not allowed in the museum and once you exit there is no re-entry. Other locations include Yufuin Showa-kan, Takayama Showa-kan, and Hida Takayama Retro Museum.
On the QT
Directions: Decks Tokyo Beach 4th floor, Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Daiba 1-6-1, 135-0091
Times: Open weekdays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Costs: Adults pay 1,300 yen. Tickets are 1,000 yen for high school students, 800 yen for junior high students and 500 yen for elementary age.
Food: Nearby vendors offer a variety of food and beverages.
Information: Online: odaiba-retromuseum.tokyo.jp
AloJapan.com