Shitamachi Museum

This museum presents the living environment of ordinary Tokyoites between the pivotal Meiji restoration of 1868 and the Great Earthquake of 1923. It’s a small counterpart to the large-scale Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku. Take off your shoes and step into re-creations of a merchant’s shop, a coppersmith’s workshop and a sweet shop. Everything has a hands-on intimacy: open up a drawer and you’ll find a sewing kit or a children’s colouring book. Upstairs are traditional toys that even today’s kids still delight in.