Tokyo’s coolest open-air museum gets even cooler with hot summer nights event

Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum wants to take you back in time to an old-school summer festival.

The Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, located in the Koganei neighborhood west of the city center, is one of the coolest museums in the country. A collection of over two dozen reconstructed houses, shops, and restaurants, walking through the Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum feels like you’re taking steps back into time.

That atmosphere is going to be boosted even more this summer with the museum’s Downton Summer Evening event, in which its Shitamachi Nakadori section will remain open after sundown. Ordinarily, the museum closes at 5:30 p.m. in the summer, but during the event the Shitamachi Nakadori, which recreates a traditional downtown street, will be open until 8:30. As the view of surrounding modern-day Tokyo fades into the twilight, Shitamachi Nakadori comes alive with the glow of lanterns, the ringing of wind chimes, and a Japanese summer festival atmosphere.

It’s not a proper festival without snacks, and so during the event food and drink will be available form food stalls.

▼ The promotional photos shows signs for shaved ice and beer, both beloved ways to cool off on a warm summer night.

Three of the preserved shops in the museum will also return to operating status during the Downton Summer Evening event, with the Kodera Soy Sauce Shop, Takei Sanshodo, and Hanaichi stores selling drinks, retro stationary, and fresh-cut flowers.

▼ Hanaichi flower shop

Also part of the festivities are classic Japanese carnival games for kids, like yo-yo fishing and shooting galleries…

…performances by bamboo instrument ensemble Tokyo Rakutakedan…

…an arts and crafts market…

…and games of shogi, a.k.a. “Japanese chess,” on terrace seats starting at noon and running until 8.

The Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum’s Downton Summer Evening will be held on August 5 and 6.

Location information
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum / 江戸東京たてもの園
Address: Tokyo-to, Koganei-shi, Sakuracho 3-7-1 (inside Koganei Municipal Park)
東京都小金井市桜町3-7-1（都立小金井公園内）
Open 9:30-5:30 (April-September), 9:30-4:30 (October-March)
Open until 8:30 p.m. for Downton Summer Evening event
Admission: 400 yen (adults), 320 yen (college students), 200 yen (high school and middle school students), free for elementary school students and younger children
Website

Source: PR Times via Japaaan
Images: PR Times
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