Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
192
tour it in about 30 minutes, and be sure to take a peek in the basement shop with its
furoshiki
(traditional wrapping cloth), handkerchiefs, and other items.
1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku.
&
03/3403-0880.
www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp. Admission ¥700-¥1,000
adults, ¥500-¥700 high-school and college students, ¥200-¥400 junior-high students, free-¥200 chil-
dren; price depends on the exhibit. Tues-Sun 10:30am-5:30pm (enter by 5pm). Closed from the 27th to
end of each month. Station: Harajuku (2 min.) or Meiji-Jingumae (1 min.). Near the Omotesando Dori and
Meiji Dori intersection, behind La Forêt.
SPECIALTY MUSEUMS & SHOWROOMS
Beer Museum Yebisu
If you find yourself in Yebisu Garden Place (perhaps to see
the Museum of Photography), you may wish to take a 30-minute spin through this
showcase of Sapporo breweries. Named after Yebisu Beer, which made its debut in 1890
and to which both Ebisu Station and the surrounding neighborhood owe their names, it
presents a high-tech explanation (in Japanese only) of an age-old process. I especially like
the gallery of old beer advertisements (featuring almost always women), but it's not
always on display. Alas, there are no free samples; visitors must purchase tickets from
vending machines at the tasting lounge, but prices are much lower than elsewhere (¥200
for a glass or ¥500 for a sampler of four brews), making the beer here the best reason for
a visit.
Yebisu Garden Place, 4-20-1 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku.
&
03/5423-7255.
Free admission. Tues-Sun 10am-
6pm (enter by 5pm). Station: Ebisu (8 min.). Behind Mitsukoshi department store (take the B1 exit from
the store).
Drum Museum (Taikokan)
This fourth-floor museum, which you can tour in
about 20 minutes, features a collection of more than 600 instruments, displayed on a
rotating basis and including traditional Japanese drums as well as a variety of drums from
all over the world. With the exception of some of the rare, older pieces (distinguished by
a red marking), many of the 200 or so drums always on display can be touched and
played, making this a good spot for children. There are also videos of drumming from
Japan and around the world. On the ground floor is a shop specializing in Japanese
percussion instruments and items used in Japanese festivals, including decorative Japa-
nese drums, lion heads for the lion dance, Japanese flutes, and masks.
Miyamoto Japanese Percussion and Festival Store, 2-1-1 Nishi-Asakusa, Taito-ku.
&
03/3842-5622.
Admission ¥300 adults, ¥150 children. Wed-Sun 10am-5pm. Closed holidays. Station: Tawaramachi (2
min.) or Asakusa (5 min.). Tokyo Shitamachi Bus: Ueno Koen Yamashita/Ueno Station. On Kokusai Dori,
north of Kaminarimon Dori.
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en)
7
Although located on the far western outskirts of Tokyo, this branch of the Edo-
Tokyo Museum is a must for architecture buffs. Spread on 7 hectares (17 acres) in the
middle of an expansive park, it showcases some two dozen buildings from the late Edo
Period to the 1940s, arranged along streets in a village setting. Included are 200-year-old
thatch-roofed farmhouses, traditional Japanese- and Western-style residences, a teahouse,
soy-sauce shop, bathhouse, photography studio, stationery store, Japanese umbrella shop,
police box, and more, filled with related objects and furniture. You'll need at least 2 hours
to see everything, plus another 2 hours to get here and back.
3-7-1 Sakura-cho, Koganei-shi.
&
042/388-3300.
Admission ¥400 adults, ¥200 children and seniors.
Tues-Sun 9:30am-5:30pm (to 4:30pm Oct-Mar). From Shinjuku Station, take the rapid Chuo Line about
30 min. to Musashi-Koganei Station. Take the north exit and board bus no. 2 or 3 (departures every 7
min.) for a 5-min. ride to Koganei Koen Nishi Guchi stop, from which it's a 5-min. walk; or board bus no.
4 or 33 (departures twice an hour) to Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en-mae stop, from which it's a 3-min. walk.
