Page 78 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Tokyo

76 ❯❯ Tokyo Area by Area

and bamboo ware. Exhibitions tend
to focus on single themes, with
individual artists using traditional
methods and materials.
Nihonbashi Bridge
6
MAP P2 • Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku
Occupying a special place in Tokyo’s
history, Nihonbashi is shown in
many ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The
current structure dates from 1911. In
the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics,
The elegant red-brick Tokyo Station waterways were filled in and a system
of overhead expressways built.
Tokyo Station
4 Distances throughout Japan are still
measured from the bronze pole here,
MAP N3 • 1-9-1 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku called the Zero Kilometer marker.
Designed by Kingo Tatsuno, this 1914
Intermediatheque
red-brick building recently under- 7
went a major restoration that brought MAP M3 • 2-7-2 Marunouchi,
back its twin cupolas. Rendered in Chiyoda-ku • 5777-8600 • Open
Queen Anne style, it is said to be 11am–6pm Tue–Thu & Sun (to 8pm
modeled on Station Amsterdam Fri & Sat) • Adm • www.
Centraal. The south side of the intermediatheque.jp/en
building is occupied by a hotel and the This is one of Tokyo’s most
north by the small but interesting eclectic and interesting museums,
Tokyo Station Gallery, hosting displaying key pieces from the
regularly changing exhibitions. collection of the University of
Tokyo – from dinosaur skeletons
to contemporary art.
BUILDING EDO CASTLE
Currency Museum
When completed in 1640, Edo Castle 8
was the largest cita del in the world, MAP N2 • 1-3-1 Nihonbashi-
with 30 bridges, 28 armories, 21 watch - Hongokucho, Chuo-ku • 3277-3037
towers, and 110 gates. Gigantic slabs of • Open 9:30am–4:30pm Tue–Sun
stone were shipped from Izu Penin sula Operated by the Bank of Japan,
to make impregnable walls. More this museum has a dizzying variety
than 100 men were hired to drag the of currencies from the past and
stones from the ship. The stones have
survived; the wooden castle has not. present on display, along with
money-related items from around
the world. There are also some
Crafts Gallery
5 hands-on exhibits.
MAP K1 • 1-1 Kitanomaru-
koen, Chiyoda-ku • 5777-8600
• Open 10am–5pm Tue–Sun • Adm
Beautifully finished in brick and
stonework, the 1910 building
housing this museum once served
as the headquarters of the Imperial
Guard. Today, it showcases mingei,
folk craft products representing
a mid-20th-century movement
that saw beauty through the use
and aging of objects. There are
fine examples of pottery, textiles,
ceramics, lacquer, glass, metal, Nihonbashi Bridge

074-077_Top_10_Tokyo.indd 76 15/11/2016 12:25