Daijoubu

Hinano and JP are finishing up their trip to Japan and feel like if they’d stayed longer they’d have run out of things to do. But there are lots of great places in Tokyo they didn’t visit which are awesome. So I’ll take the opportunity to list a few places I’d like to go to in Tokyo:

Edo-Tokyo Museum
This place looks interesting, with a replica of the Nihonbashi Bridge. They have multiple floors of exhibits on the history of Edo/Tokyo. Right now they also have a temporary exhibition entitled, “The Legacy of Genghis Khan and the Magnificent Mongol Empire.” This museum also has an Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, where you can see actual Meiji-era buildings and, according to Wikipedia, “Hayao Miyazaki often visited here during the creation of his film, Spirited Away, for inspiration.”

Shitamachi Museum
With its recreation of pre-Kanto Earthquake homes and shops, this museum would be a great place to capture the spirit of old Edo. Their website also says that objects can be handled by visitors. That’s very rare for any museum! The Museum also changes their exhibits to show daily life during the different seasons!

Fukagawa Edo Museum
Another museum that recreates a section of old Edo, the Fukagawa Edo Museum sounds awesome as well. This one also changes with the seasons AND goes through a daily cycle every 45 minutes! Look at the pictures, including one of Mamesuke, the robot neko!

Nihon Ki-in
As someone who was obsessed with Hikaru no Go a few years back, I would to visit the home of the Japan Go Association in Ichigaya. There are artifacts on display and you can see people playing and studying games. It would be interesting, although perhaps a bit intimidating, to check out a Go parlor too!

Todai
The campus of the University of Tokyo should be a familiar one to anime fans, not least of all from its appearance in Love Hina. The signature Yasuda Auditorium would be well worth getting a picture of. Certainly some fans I know who went to Japan did that!

Kabuki-Za Theater
Experiencing Kabuki is another way to get into the spirit of Edo period Japan. At the famous Kabuki-Za Theater, located in Ginza, if you don’t want to see an entire show of many hours, you can get tickets for just one Act. There are headphones with English language translations available too, so why not experience a traditional form of theater???

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
A great place for views of Tokyo is from the two observation decks of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku. And guess what, its free and open until 11 PM, so its something you can do after 5 PM, wai wai!

Ota Memorial Museum of Art
Yet another way to experience Edo-era Tokyo is through the great art of ukiyo-e. Just off Omotesando in Harajuku is the Ota Museum, which specializes in ukiyo-e and has information in English. And this is cool–they have an exhibition right now, “Edo seen by Ryoma -Scenery in the Late Edo Period” Wow, that reminds me (getting off the subject of Tokyo sites) of how I’d like to visit the Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum in Katsurahama as well!

Tokyo National Museum
This is also a must-go place! There are so many things to see here! The current temporary exhibition is about Hasegawa Tohaku, the master painter of the Momoyama period.

There’s more I could mention, but these alone would fill up a few days time at least!