
The sumo stadium and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are both right next to Ryogoku Station. If you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo during the three 14-day sumo tournaments of the year, it’s not to be missed. Details on dates & tickets here. But if you’re not in Tokyo at tournament time, we can still see wrestlers going about their daily business in Ryogoku. They often take the train, and you can spot them easily by their size and the fact that they never wear western clothes.

Now let’s head over to my favorite museum in town: the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Half the museum is about everyday life in the Edo Era (during the time of the shōguns, before Japan opened to the West) and half of the museum is about life in the Meiji Era (after 1868, including fascinating info about life in Japan during WWII).




And on the Meiji Era side…

Open: Six days a week, closed Mondays, on the day after national holidays, and from December 29 – January 3. Open other holidays.
Hours: 9:30 – 17:00 (Last entry 16:30)
Admission: Adults: ¥600, Seniors (65 & older): ¥300, College students: ¥480, High school & middle school students: ¥300, Younger children: Free. (Plus extra fee for special exhibitions.)
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