Shitamachi Museum

In front of you stands the Shitamachi Museum, devoted to the arts and traditions of Tokyo. Visiting this museum is like stepping into another era—particularly the Edo period, a defining chapter of the city’s development from 1603 to 1868. Hard to imagine that the world’s most populated metropolis was once nothing more than a quiet fishing village called Edo, meaning “estuary”. In the early 17th century, the Tokugawa clan settled in this very place and established the Tokugawa shogunate, whose ruler was the shogun. This event marked the beginning of the golden age of Japan—a time when power and population flourished, where Edo rapidly grew to become one of the most populated cities in the world by the 1720s. Enter the Shitamachi museum, and you’ll jump back in time as you discover what Edo used to look a while back, showcasing everyday objects from people’s lives, a meticulous replica of a shoemaker’s house, or a sweets shop. A real immersion into Japan’s cultural traditions!