Today we visited the Edo-Tokyo museum as part of our tour in Tokyo. The museum contains a permanent exhibition and a "special" exhibition that is seasonal and was not available today. We were fortunate to explore the permanent exhibiotion that takes you through a journey of Japanese history during the "Edo" era of the 1600s up to 1800s. It covers everything in that magnificent era from infrastructure to daily lifestyle to commodities and housing. You can see life size replicas of houses during that era as well as ancient clothing items and means of transportation. It was trully a wonderful experience that is highly recommended. I do recommend that you give it 3 hours+ as we managed a couple of hours only and felt that it wasn't enough. The museum closes at 5.30 pm. They provide you with a tour guidance device that speaks in multiple languages and gives you thorough information about the different articles and displays. If you enjoy Japanese history and would like to know about ancient times this is definitely the place to visit.

Museum in a bit strange modern building turned out to be one of the highlights of our Tokyo visit. It houses several life size models of Edo period bridges, houses, ships, etc. as well as fantastic miniatures in various scales. Inside the houses you can see models of Edo period people living their lives, peasants, kabuki actors, teachers, chefs, craftsmen… Authentic historical items are at display, too, such as the letter declaring Ieyasu Tokugawa as the Shogun. You can even interact with some of the models, try to lift portable sushi booths and the like. The museum is divided in two parts: Edo and Tokyo. The history continues in Tokyo part up to late 20th century and is interesting as such, but I have to admit I went there mostly for the Edo part. The museum shop sells some nice souvenirs at reasonable prices. Overall, a superb museum, highly recommended!

Would just line to support the positive comments that other reviewers have made about this museum. It really is impressive. We took advantage of the free guided tour and had a personal guide in English for some 90 minutes. She really enhanced our understanding of what was on display. There is just so much to see. While in the area, there is the sumo wrestling complex located slight behind the museum but had little - at least in English - to indicate this. You simply walk past the main entrance (really a side one). After a short walk, there is a T junction and the stadium's right tile roofing can be seen easily of the left. It has a museum and gift shop but one should check on the web for opening times. On the right of the T junction, there is also a small park and lake. It has benches and offered a pleasant break from sightseeing.