# Edo-Tokyo Museum: old Edo and modern Tokyo in Ryogoku

The [Edo-Tokyo Museum](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-4-1) tells the story of the city from the Edo period to the present, mostly through life-size reconstructions you can walk through. It reopened on March 31, 2026 after about four years of renovation, and it stands right next to the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo hall. The list below is updated daily with exhibitions and events at the museum and around Ryogoku.

## What the museum is

The museum opened in 1993 as Tokyo's own history museum, run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The building by architect Kiyonori Kikutake is hard to miss: a huge block lifted on four legs, modelled on a raised storehouse and about 62 metres tall. Its collection holds around 350,000 items, from woodblock prints and kimono to firefighters' coats and everyday tools.

In 2022 it closed for its first large renovation since opening. The work renewed the roof, climate control and visitor facilities, and the architect Shohei Shigematsu reworked the spaces inside and out, with a torii-like approach on the ground floor and large projections on the third-floor plaza. The permanent exhibition fills the fifth and sixth floors, about 9,000 square metres, split into an Edo Zone and a Tokyo Zone.

- → [Museums and big exhibitions in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/museums.md)
- → [Tokyo neighbourhoods for events: where to go for what](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/neighbourhoods.md)
- → [Events in Sumida](https://eventstokyo.com/en/sumida.md)
- → [Cultural & Ethnic Festivals events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/culture.md)

## What to see inside

The visit starts on a life-size Nihonbashi, the wooden bridge every road out of Edo was measured from. Only the northern half is rebuilt, but at full width and height, based on records from the early 1800s. From the bridge you look down on the Edo Zone: a scale model of the palaces of Edo Castle, a daimyo residence, townspeople's streets and a full-size nagaya row house you can step into.

Further on are the Nakamura-za kabuki theatre at full scale (since the renovation you can go inside), new street stalls such as a morning glory seller and a tempura stand, a full-size festival float of Kanda Myojin, and a model of the crowded Ryogoku Bridge area with around 1,500 tiny figures. The Tokyo Zone moves through the Meiji era with the brick streets of Ginza, a model of the Rokumeikan and a new full-size Hattori clock shop, the building that became today's Wako. It ends with the 1923 earthquake, the postwar years and a 1960s housing estate flat.

Free audio guides play on your own phone through QR codes in more than a dozen languages, and tablets by the exhibits carry multilingual notes. Bring earphones.

- Look down from the bridge first, then walk the Edo Zone floor. The scale models make more sense once you have seen the layout from above.
- A free museum talk (in Japanese) is usually held on Fridays, meeting under the Nihonbashi on the fifth floor.

- → [Kabuki, noh and rakugo in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/kabuki.md)
- → [Matsuri in Tokyo through the year](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/matsuri.md)

## The year at the museum and in Ryogoku

Special exhibitions in the first-floor gallery change a few times a year and need their own ticket. The opening show after the reopening drew on the museum's own collection, with kabuki, sumo and ukiyo-e by Hokusai, Utamaro and Sharaku. The museum stays open later on Saturdays and adds occasional late evenings, usually announced on its calendar.

Ryogoku's year runs on sumo. The Kokugikan next door hosts the Tokyo grand tournaments in January, May and September, and on those fifteen days the streets fill with wrestlers in yukata and fans heading to the hall. The Sumida River fireworks, which began as the Ryogoku fireworks in the Edo period, now go up a little upstream near Asakusa on the last Saturday of July. The museum closes over the year-end and New Year holidays.

- → [Sumo in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/sumo.md)
- → [Fireworks festivals in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/fireworks.md)
- → [Museums and big exhibitions in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/museums.md)
- → [Sports in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/sports.md)
- → [Fireworks (Hanabi) events in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/fireworks.md)

## Tickets, timing and rules

No reservation is needed for the permanent exhibition. You can buy a ticket on the day at the first-floor counter (cash, transit IC cards and cards are accepted) or online in advance. Children up to junior high school age get in free, and on the third Wednesday of each month visitors aged 65 and over can see the permanent exhibition free.

The museum is closed on Mondays, or on the following weekday when Monday is a holiday. Most people need two to three hours for both zones. Weekday mornings are usually calmer than weekends, and on sumo tournament days Ryogoku Station gets busy in the late afternoon.

Photos are allowed in the permanent exhibition, for personal use. Flash is not allowed except at marked spots, and tripods, monopods, selfie sticks and gimbals are not allowed. Special exhibitions set their own photo rules. Large bags go into the first-floor lockers.

- Check the official calendar before you go: hours and special openings change through the year.
- Food and drink only in the designated areas. The museum restaurant serves soba, tempura and sushi.

- → [What to do in Tokyo when it rains](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/rainy-day.md)
- → [Tokyo with kids](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/kids.md)
- → [Tokyo on a budget: free things to do](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/budget.md)

## Getting there and what is nearby

From the west exit of [Ryogoku Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=JR%20%E4%B8%A1%E5%9B%BD%E9%A7%85%20%E8%A5%BF%E5%8F%A3%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-3-20) on the JR Sobu Line it is about a three-minute walk, and exits A3 and A4 of [Ryogoku Station](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E9%83%BD%E5%96%B6%E5%A4%A7%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E7%B7%9A%20%E4%B8%A1%E5%9B%BD%E9%A7%85%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-4-29) on the Toei Oedo Line open right in front of the building.

The [Kokugikan](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E4%B8%A1%E5%9B%BD%E5%9B%BD%E6%8A%80%E9%A4%A8%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-3-28) stands beside the museum, and its small [Sumo Museum](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E7%9B%B8%E6%92%B2%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-3-28) is free on weekdays outside tournaments (during tournaments only ticket holders can enter). [Kyu-Yasuda Garden](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E6%97%A7%E5%AE%89%E7%94%B0%E5%BA%AD%E5%9C%92%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-12-1), a small strolling garden around a pond, sits just past the sumo hall, with the [Japanese Sword Museum](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E5%88%80%E5%89%A3%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A4%A8%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E6%A8%AA%E7%B6%B21-12-9) in its grounds. The [Sumida Hokusai Museum](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%E3%81%99%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A0%E5%8C%97%E6%96%8E%E7%BE%8E%E8%A1%93%E9%A4%A8%20%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E5%A2%A8%E7%94%B0%E5%8C%BA%E4%BA%80%E6%B2%A22-7-2&query_place_id=ChIJgRjTtzOJGGARqoKBtB8BAno) is a short walk away, and Ryogoku's chanko nabe restaurants, the hot pot sumo wrestlers eat, are a good place for lunch. Asakusa and Tokyo Skytree are a few stops away.

- Combine the museum with the Sumo Museum on a weekday, when both are open and the area is quiet.
- On a tournament day, walk around the outside of the Kokugikan in the morning to see the wrestlers arrive.

- → [Sumo in Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/sumo.md)
- → [Asakusa: temple fairs, festivals and old Tokyo](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/asakusa.md)
- → [Tokyo Skytree: the two decks, Solamachi and the view](https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/tokyo-skytree.md)
- → [Events in Sumida](https://eventstokyo.com/en/sumida.md)
- → [Events in Taito](https://eventstokyo.com/en/taito.md)

## All events, soonest first

- **[Matsumaro Kanda's Japanese Storytelling Tour: The Tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/matsumaro-kandas-japanese-storytelling-tour-the-tale-of-the-forty-seven)** — Sat, Nov 14, 2026 14:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · ¥2,500–¥2,800
- **[Special Exhibition Commemorating the Renewal of the Edo-Tokyo Museum: Maruyama Okyo – Beyond Realism, A Revolution in Space](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/jpy-3)** — Sat, Nov 28, 2026 – Sun, Jan 24, 2027 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum 1st Floor Special Exhibition Room (Sumida) · ¥2,100
- **[59th Grand Rokyoku Performance: Rokyoku Museum](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/59th-grand-rokyoku-performance-rokyoku-museum)** — Sat, Nov 28, 2026 12:30 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Grand Hall (Sumida) · ¥4,000–¥8,000
- **[Tamagawa Daifuku: Sakana Chushingura - Year-End Anago Festival 2026](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/tamagawa-daifuku-sakana-chushingura-year-end-anago-festival)** — Sat, Dec 12, 2026 14:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · ¥3,500
- **[11th Kanda Matsumaro Solo Performance: A Full Evening of Kodan Storytelling](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/11th-kanda-matsumaro-solo-performance-a-full-evening)** — Thu, Feb 18, 2027 19:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · ¥2,500
- **[Edo-Tokyo Traditional Performing Arts Festival: Journey Along the Tokaido—Traveling with Companions and Performing Arts, Told Through Storytelling and Puppet Theater](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/edo-tokyo-traditional-performing-arts-festival-journey-along-the)** — Sun, Feb 28, 2027 14:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Grand Hall (Sumida) · price on the official site
- **[Three Rakugo Storytellers New Year Performance: Hayashiya Tsuruko, Irifunetei Senshiro, and Kinhara Teibako](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/three-rakugo-storytellers-new-year-performance-hayashiya-tsuruko-irifunetei-senshiro)** — Wed, Jan 13, 2027 19:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · ¥3,600
- **[4th Duo Rakugo Performance by Kiyohiko Hayashiya & Bima Suzunoya: An Evening of Two Storytellers](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/4th-duo-rakugo-performance-by-kiyohiko-hayashiya)** — Tue, Jan 26, 2027 19:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · price on the official site
- **[Golden Storyteller Project Vol.1](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/vol1-4)** — Sat, Nov 7, 2026 11:00 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum Small Hall (Sumida) · ¥3,000〜
- **[Edo-Tokyo Museum Reopening Commemorative NHK Taiga Drama Special Exhibition "Toyotomi Brothers!" (Tokyo)](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/nhk)** — Tue, Sep 15, 2026 – Sun, Nov 8, 2026 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum (Sumida) · ¥1,900
- **[NHK Taiga Drama Special Exhibition Brothers in Arms](https://eventstokyo.com/en/events/nhk-taiga-drama-special-exhibition-brothers-in-arms)** — Tue, Sep 15, 2026 09:30 – Sun, Nov 8, 2026 (JST) · Edo-Tokyo Museum · ¥1,900〜¥2,100

## Questions people ask

**Is the Edo-Tokyo Museum open now?**
Yes. It reopened on March 31, 2026 after about four years of renovation. It is closed on Mondays (the next weekday when Monday is a holiday) and over the New Year holidays.

**Do I need to book tickets for the Edo-Tokyo Museum?**
No reservation is needed for the permanent exhibition. Buy at the counter on the day or online in advance. Special exhibitions have separate tickets.

**Can you take photos inside?**
Yes, in the permanent exhibition, for personal use. No flash outside marked spots, and no tripods, selfie sticks or gimbals.

**How long do you need?**
Plan on two to three hours for the Edo and Tokyo zones, more if you add a special exhibition or the Sumo Museum next door.

**Is the Nihonbashi bridge in the museum real size?**
It is a life-size replica of the northern half of the old wooden bridge, so it has full width and height but only half the length.

**Is it good for children?**
Yes. Admission is free up to junior high school age, and the full-size houses, theatre and festival float are easy to enjoy without much reading.

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Tokyo Events: https://eventstokyo.com/en/guides/edo-tokyo-museum