Culture in bloom: Three museums to visit in Tokyo this spring

Spring in Japan means cherry blossoms and new exhibition openings. Here are three cultural spots to add to your Tokyo itinerary.

Edo-Tokyo Museum
Ryogoku 

It would be hard to miss the hulk that is the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Designed by the late metabolist architect Kiyonori Kikutake and dedicated to the history of Tokyo, this landmark recently reopened after a four-year renovation. Architecture firm OMA were commissioned to nudge the museum into its next chapter. “Rather than physically altering the existing architecture, we took a somewhat ‘non-architectural’ approach, focusing on fully activating its unique spaces and highlighting its extraordinary collection,” says OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu. Music to the ears of those who appreciate Kikutake’s work, which is increasingly hard to find. 

The museum entrance has been refreshed with a procession of shrine-like red gates while the vast galleries now have ceiling projections, transforming static exhibits into immersive displays. There are recreations of old Tokyo buildings such as Nakamura-za kabuki theatre and Hattori Tokeiten (the 1881 watch shop where Seiko began); an Edo-era street and a prewar Dojunkai apartment in Daikanyama, complete with its distinctive metal front door and early-Showa decor. The dining room of a now-demolished house that stood in Shinagawa was saved and moved here, its mountain-cottage interior (all the rage in the early 20th century, apparently), preserved for posterity. Artefacts and visuals record details of everyday life in the city – even a 1980s school lunch – that would otherwise be forgotten. A fascinating trip through 400 years of Tokyo history and culture.  
edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp
1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku

Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives
Takanawa Gateway City, Shinagawa

Part of railway company JR East’s epic rejuvenation of a corner of Shinagawa (now known as Takanawa Gateway City), Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives doesn’t have a specific theme or permanent collection. Instead, its open spaces and galleries are waiting to be used for whatever the curators put in them. In Japanese, mon can mean both “gate” and “question”, and Mon Takanawa is intended to be a place where modern and traditional culture can connect, with everything on the programme from performance and technology to academia and business. 

The institution’s swirling architecture was designed by Kengo Kuma (now drafting the extension for London’s National Gallery), who mostly used Japanese native plants to green the low-rise building. There’s a theatre, a relaxation area of about 100 tatami mats, an outdoor foot bath and panoramic restaurant. You’ll also find a compact farm, a Shinto shrine and seven types of cherry trees on the rooftop. The opening exhibition, Spiral, Spiral: Evolving Human Narratives (on view until 23 September) takes its cues from the museum’s architecture, a breezy exploration of spirals in Japanese culture from Jomon pottery to conveyor-belt sushi. 

If you go to Takanawa Gateway City, look out for the Newoman shopping centre and Ogawa Coffee’s new food court and book a lounge in the adjacent residential building. If the walk from one end to the other looks daunting, just hop on one of autonomous wooden vehicles that glide around the development.
montakanawa.jp
3-16-1 Mita, Minato-ku

Nonlecture books/arts
Shibuya

Shibuya Center-gai, the teeming heart of Shibuya, is brimming with shops and restaurants, but culture – once a key attraction – is sometimes overlooked. Department store Parco, which has been a feature of Shibuya since 1973, is the honourable exception and has long sponsored groundbreaking art shows and hosted theatrical and film events. Now it has opened Nonlecture books/arts, a freewheeling cultural oasis in a basement space on the crowded sloping street known as Spain-zaka. 

Co-sponsored by outdoor brand Goldwin, Nonlecture offers a lively mix of books on art, design and nature, as well as exhibitions, music and a drink stand serving coffee, wine and beer from microbrewery Vertere. The venue is already being used for talk sessions and book signings. Upcoming events include an exhibition featuring photographs by Ryuai Takano and a conversation with author Shinichi Takei about his book The History of Record Stores in Shibuya ~ & Beyond.

Hearteningly the organisers say: “This is not a place for trend or consumption…It quietly aims to exist as an extension of everyday life in the city of Shibuya.” A welcome breath of fresh air and an excellent addition to the neighbourhood.
nonlecture.jp
Shibuya Zero Gate B1, 16-9 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku