One thing visitors to the Edo Japan Museum will learn is that when the Canadian representative signed Japan's official surrender document following World War II, he did so on the wrong line. The remaining signatories were therefore forced to replace the names of the countries on the following lines with the names of their own. As a result, New Zealand's representative had to sign the lower edge of the paper.

This sort of openness about the history of Japan, dating back four hundred years to when Tokyo was the city of Edo, is the most delightful aspect of the Edo Tokyo Museum. For anyone wanting to leave Tokyo understanding clearly how it became the city it is today, a visit to the Edo Tokyo Museum is essential.

Located in Tokyo's Ryogoko district, the Museum's exhibits are housed in a remarkable T-shaped building which seems to float in the air, with an entrance reminiscent of the spaceship entrances of science fiction. Its futuristic approach belies the building's interior; once inside, visitors cross a replica of the Nihonbashi, the wooden bridge which led into seventeenth century Edo.

The Edo Tokyo Museum Zones

The Museum's Edo Zone contains full-scale reproductions of not only the Edo Bridge, but of Edo period row houses and the Nakamura Kabuki Theatre; it also has marvelous miniature displays showing the busy life of the Ryogoku district during the Edo period, and an extensive display on the art of woodblock printing.

Passing under the Nihonbashi Bridge, visitors enter the Tokyo Zone and experience Japan's nineteenth century efforts to westernize. The Zone contains a full-scale reproduction of a newspaper office; a small scale reproduction of the Rokumeikan where government receptions were held; and a room dedicated to the 1923 Kanto Earthquake. The Museum is full of fascinating period artifacts, and offers free multilingual guided tours.

Hotels near the Edo Tokyo Museum

The Pearl Ryogoku Hotel, a one-minute walk from the Ryogoku JR Station, and facing the Ryogoku National Sport Palace, is close to the Edo Tokyo Museum, Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Water Line.