The Edo Tokyo Museim

One thing visitors to the Edo Japan Museum willbelies the building's interior; once inside, visitors
learn is that when the Canadian representativecross a replica of the Nihonbashi, the wooden
signed Japan's official surrender documentbridge which led into seventeenth century Edo.
following World War II, he did so on the wrongThe Edo Tokyo Museum Zones
line. The remaining signatories were thereforeThe Museum's Edo Zone contains full-scale
forced to replace the names of the countries onreproductions of not only the Edo Bridge, but of
the following lines with the names of their own.Edo period row houses and the Nakamura Kabuki
As a result, New Zealand's representative had toTheatre; it also has marvelous miniature displays
sign the lower edge of the paper.showing the busy life of the Ryogoku district
This sort of openness about the history of Japan,during the Edo period, and an extensive display on
dating back four hundred years to when Tokyothe art of woodblock printing.
was the city of Edo, is the most delightful aspectPassing under the Nihonbashi Bridge, visitors enter
of the Edo Tokyo Museum. For anyone wantingthe Tokyo Zone and experience Japan's
to leave Tokyo understanding clearly how itnineteenth century efforts to westernize. The
became the city it is today, a visit to the EdoZone contains a full-scale reproduction of a
Tokyo Museum is essential.newspaper office; a small scale reproduction of
Located in Tokyo's Ryogoko district, thethe Rokumeikan where government receptions
Museum's exhibits are housed in a remarkablewere held; and a room dedicated to the 1923
T-shaped building which seems to float in the air,Kanto Earthquake. The Museum is full of
with an entrance reminiscent of the spaceshipfascinating period artifacts, and offers free
entrances of science fiction. Its futuristic approachmultilingual guided tours.