Edo-Tokyo Museum and Tokyo Tower

Today was our last day in Tokyo for sightseeing. Tomorrow, we climb Mount Fuji (or at least as far as we can -- the summit is currently closed as there is an inordinate amount of snow!).

We visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum first. What an incredible place to learn about Japanese history. It has artifacts that are almost 20,000 years old, but most of the exhibits cover the 1600-1800s, the Edo period.

The most striking part of the museum are the large and very detailed models of the Edo castle and what typical towns were like. The pictures don't do them justice, but here is a small sample.



The museum is a must-see for anyone who visits Tokyo.

In addition to the Edo period, it also covers, in more brief form, the history of Japan through modern times. This includes the 1900s and the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II. Although there is virtually no discussion of the causes of the war, the effects of the civilians of Tokyo were devastating. I actually met a man at the exhibit who lived through the Tokyo bombing when he was four. He said it was terrifying.

It was interesting to see how the early history of Japan has still had an impact on how Japanese society is organized today. I could have spent many more hours there (but Sam had her fill after about 2 1/2 hours).

We then went to Tokyo Tower, which has great views of the city and includes a bunch of hokey tourist stops. The views from the tower were great, but, unfortunately for us, were obscured by clouds today.


We're going to bed early since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We have an early start for a bus to the climbing station for Mount Fuji. Not sure when we'll post that update, but we'll write it up eventually, even if it is after we get home. We don't have a lot of time free between our return from Fuji and our return flight to the US.