December 2024: Please note the Shitamachi Museum is temporarily closed. Please see our things to do in Ueno page for other museums in the Ueno district.
You can’t turn back time, but you can have a look at days gone by. The small but charming Shitamachi Museum in Ueno is the place to go for a glimpse of working-class Tokyo life between the 1860s and 1920s.
Shitamachi Museum - image © Florentyna Leow
Little remains of Tokyo as it was prior to WWII. Unlike Kyoto, which has preserved many of its old buildings, Tokyo has far less to show for the decades gone by. But, the Shitamachi Museum is one place for people to have a glimpse of the kinds of buildings and trades that would have existed in Tokyo at the turn of the 20th century.
Shitamachi Museum - image © Florentyna Leow
The first floor of the museum is dedicated to recreations of shopfronts for various trades - a merchant’s house, an old-fashioned sweet shop, and a coppersmith’s workshop. The second floor has displays of objects like toys, board games, clothes, tools, and card games - the paraphernalia of everyday life for the masses.
Shitamachi Museum - image © Florentyna Leow
The entrance fee for the Shitamachi Museum is just JPY300. But, a good time to visit if you’re really strapped for cash is on International Museum Day, which falls on or around 18 May. Waiving its usual entry fee, the Shitamachi Museum opens its doors to the public to celebrate and encourage awareness of the role museums play in societal development.
English name:
Shitamachi Museum
Japanese name:
下町風俗資料館
English address:
2-1 Uenokoen, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 110-0007
Japanese address:
〒110-0007 東京都台東区上野公園2-1
Opening hours:
9:30am-4:30pm (last entry 4pm)
Closed Monday or the following Tuesday when Monday is a national holiday
Admission:
Adults: 300
High, junior high and elementary school students: 100
Nearest Transport:
Train: 3-minute walk from the Ikenohata exit of Keisei Ueno Station on the Keisei Main line.
Train: 5-minute walk from the Shinobazu exit of Ueno Station.
Nearest Hotels:
:: Check availability and pricing for hotels near Shitamachi Museum on Booking.com or Agoda.com.
Telephone:
+81-3-3823-7451
Website:
Official Website (Japanese, machine translation is available)
Near To Here:
Shitamachi Museum is located in Tokyo's Ueno district. See our complete list of things to do in Ueno, including places to eat, nightlife and places to stay.
Where Is This Place Located?
See this place on the Truly Tokyo Google map:- Open the Tokyo map
- You will see the list of places on the left hand side. (Click the 3-line icon in the top left corner if not). Scroll down or use the map search (the magnifying glass icon) to find the place you want.
- Click the name of the place in the list. Its location pin will be highlighted on the map.
- Map pins are color coded - BLUE: Hotels / Ryokan / Guesthouses | VIOLET: Ryokan | PINK: Places to Eat | GREEN: Shops | YELLOW: Things to See and Do
- If you're using the map on your phone, open the map and then search for the name of the place. The map will then zoom in on its location.
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- For all the essentials in a brief overview, see my First Time In Tokyo guide
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