The warmer weather is perfect for little day trips, not far from central Tokyo. When my friend, Flavia, visited me over the weekend, I was thinking what we could visit together in Tokyo, as she loves museums and we both wanted to discover a new one. I have heard about Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum before but as it is a bit far from central Tokyo,  I kept it on my list for a free and warm day. The museum is located in Koganei Park and can be accessed by taking the Seibu Shinjuku Line to Kawagoe and stop at Hana-Koganei Station. From the station, we walked for around 20 minutes in order to reach the museum.

The last station on the same line is Kawagoe, a small town in Saitama prefecture, also known as “Little Edo” because it maintains that atmosphere of an old town from the Edo Period (1603-1867). I wanted to visit it for quite a long time, as I love such towns with an old atmosphere and in Japan there are so many called “Little Kyoto” but Kawagoe is the only “Little Edo” I have heard of. I thought that one day might not be enough for both the museum and the old town but it was just perfect, as Kawagoe was a little too crowded and there were not many things to see. I recommend Kawagoe during the week if you plan to go, weekends can get too crowded and I think this makes it a bit unpleasant as its streets are quite narrow.

We visited the main street with the Bell Tower (toki-no-kane “Bell of Time”) and tried local sweets that were plentifully sold along this street. We also visited one of its many temples.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum was not very crowded and it has large spaces so it is perfect for a Sunday stroll. And it is a great place for a kimono shooting! If you plan on renting a kimono in Tokyo, then come here for photos, you will surely have amazing memories. My friend bought her own kimono and put it on all by herself, in just one hour! I wish to be able to put on a kimono someday, as they are quite affordable in vintage/ second-hand shops for kimono.

I didn’t wear a kimono but here was my look for the day 🙂

Another interesting thing about Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is that you can experience Japanese traditional arts and crafts. When we visited, we learned about Japanese paper umbrellas (and took photos with them) and about pottery. They also hold a matsuri (festival) here. You can check out the dates here.

Thank you for your visit! Happy traveling ^^!