Museums

It sometimes can be a bit surprising  to learn that at one point in time the busiest parts of Tokyo weren’t the bustling areas of Shinjuku and Shibuya but were actually located to the East. Indeed, in old Edo (the former name for Tokyo), the Eastern area of the city held sway and  was a bustling area for artists and artisans. Perhaps the most well-known of these is Katsushika Hokusai, the famous woodblock print artist. Hokusai’s most famous work is arguably “The Great Wave” but he produced many, many other works.While he remained famous nearly two centuries later, it wasn’t until 2016 that he finally got his own dedicated museum in Eastern Tokyo (naturally). The Sumida Hokusai Museum, which opened in 2016, puts the spotlight entirely on the Edo Period’s most famous artist. At this museum you can stroll though and observe works from various periods  in Hokusai’s life. There are replicas and original works, along with temporary exhibitions. The museum isn’t just a place to see Hokusai’s art. There is a wealth of detail about his life and even a full-scale reconstruction of Hokusai’s art studio. There are both a permanent exhibit and multiple special exhibits that change periodically.…