Discovering and Collecting Edo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Edo-Tokyo Museum’s smartphone app is finally here. What creativities and delights did the lives of Edo’s townspeople have? Journey into the hustle and bustle of Edo and discover originalities that can lead to insights for the present-day!

- Find Them: One hundred from the Edo-Tokyo Museum Collection

Ryōgoku-Hirokōji is Edo’s entertainment district, which the app has had recreated in 3D based on the Edo-Tokyo Museum’s model of the area to the west of Ryōgokubashi Bridge. This augmented rendition includes the Ryōgokubashi Bridge in the summer, squares on both ends of the Bridge, and the Sumida River. Scattered among this 3D rendering, overflowing with diverse people and commodities, are one hundred items selected from the Edo-Tokyo Museum’s collection for you to find.

- The Four Areas: From the nagaya to Ryōgokubashi Bridge, and to Ekōin Temple and the Sumida River

Your journey as an Edo teenager begins in a busy morning in the nagaya. Stroll through to collect the area-themed items to open doors into the following areas, where, finally, you will enjoy a cool evening on a riverboat on the final Sumida River area.

- The Sumida River Opening Thriving with Events

The Ryōgokubashi Bridge carries many of Edo’s townspeople back-and-forth their destinations where countless incidents and events happen on the daily: performances of freak/animal shows (misemono), fires, and even street fights. The firework display at Sumida River and the sumo wrestling at Ekōin Temple are also two out of many of these events unique to Edo, items of which you can find and collect. Throughout your discovery, you might also encounter famous figures such as Katsushika Hokusai and Gennai Hiraga.