This article is based on a visit made on Wednesday, 2 April 2014.
To complement the
Edo-Tokyo Museum I visited at the start of my Spring 2014 trip, a few days later I paid a visit to its sister museum, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (江戸東京たてもの園,
Edo Tōkyō Tatemono-en). Located in the western suburbs of Tokyo, the museum consists of all manner of buildings, relocated or reconstructed here to preserve them from disasters and redevelopment. It is somewhat out of the way -- a half-hour train ride from Shinjuku on the Chuo line, plus a 5-minute bus or taxi ride -- but it's worth it to witness a wide variety of time periods represented in one place.
The entrance to the museum lies within Koganei Park (小金井公園, Koganei-kōen). I had timed my holiday to coincide with the sakura, or cherry blossom, peak in Tokyo, and as you can see from the above picture, it finally paid off here. Koganei Park may not be one of the more famous spots of its kind, but it was nonetheless abuzz with families holding
hanami (花見, lit. 'flower-viewing') picnics.
The museum is laid out in three "wings" -- West, Centre, and East, with the entrance in the Centre Zone. Nearby in the West Zone stand a row of more modern buildings, such as this photography studio built in 1937. The upper floor used frosted-glass windows to create optimal lighting conditions inside.
The museum attracted a few budding artists who parked themselves down to paint some of the houses. It must be fulfilling to re-imagine the building in a setting of your own design, as in the painting above. Good work!
The far end of the West Zone has a few rural buildings from the Edo period (AD 1603-1867), mainly farmhouses. The one pictured above actually belonged to the Hachioji Thousand Warriors, the retainers of the Tokugawa Shoguns.
The museum employs various volunteers, identifiable by their blue
happi (法被) coats. These gentlemen were making handicrafts such as straw sandals.
Going back across the Centre Zone, one passes this mansion. It was built in 1902 and once belonged to the Meiji-era politician
Korekiyo Takahashi (高橋 是清,
Takahashi Korekiyo, 1854-1936). As can be seen here, guests are allowed to enter this and most other buildings in the museum, but generally must take their shoes off before going in.
There are a number of nature spots to walk through within the museum grounds, such as this garden belonging to the mansion shown above.
East Zone. The copper building on the left was the house of the Uemura family, dating to 1927. The brown building on the right is a grocery store from 1928, with a small tobacco-shop fixture in the front-right corner.
An old (but well-maintained) streetcar stands near the front of this wing. Also, for some reason there were a whole bunch of stilts for visitors to play with!
A former public bathhouse located in the back of the East Zone. This bathhouse, in addition to Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, has been cited as an inspiration for Studio Ghibli's anime film
Spirited Away. This would not surprise me -- Ghibli's office and museum are located not far away, in Mitaka.
The bathhouse had separate bath and changing rooms for men and women. Paintings like the one shown here depict scenes of nature (the other side featured Mt. Fuji on its wall) to evoke feelings of calmness and relaxation. It almost makes me want to write about some of the hot spring resorts I've been to lately... Another article, perhaps?
Hours: Open from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM (closes 4:30PM November to March). Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time. Closed on Mondays, and from 26 December to 1 January.
Costs: ¥400.
Address: 3-7-1 Sakura-chō, Koganei-shi, Tōkyō-to 〒184-0005
Access: Take the JR Chuo (Rapid)
(JC) line to Musashi-Koganei station (JC15, 25 minutes, ¥310 from Shinjuku station; 40 minutes, ¥470 from Tokyo station; JR Pass OK). From there, take Seibu bus 武12, 武13, 武14, 武15, or 武21 (any bus departing from stops 2 or 3). Get off at the fifth stop, Koganei-koen Nishi-guchi (小金井公園西口, 5 minutes, ¥200).
Alternately, take the Seibu Shinjuku
(SS) line to Hana-Koganei station (SS18, 25 minutes, ¥270 from Seibu-Shinjuku station). From there, go to the Hana-Koganei Iriguchi bus stop (turn left out of the station's north exit and head to the traffic light), and take one of the Seibu buses listed above, bound for Musashi-Koganei station (武蔵小金井駅). Get off at the fifth stop, Koganei-koen Nishi-guchi, as above (5 minutes, ¥200).
From either of the above stations, the museum can also be reached on foot in 25 minutes.
Website:
(English) (Japanese)
