Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

On October 6, 2010, the Japanese ladies in our Culture Club took us to the Edo Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum. It was quite interesting to see some buildings and items from Japan's past.

The main building, where you buy tickets and there is a gift shop, etc.

These are my FAVORITE trees in Japan, in the fall anyway. (My absolute favs are the cherry blossoms, but these are my fav fall tree). They have these orange blossoms and smell AMAZING!!!!

Map, showing the lay of the museum.

First we went to this house (I don't know who this guy is- some rich Japanese dude).

Some of the pretty grounds at the museum.

These Japanese kids were outside playing. Some were on stilts and others were rolling hoops with sticks. Very old school- I loved watching them!

We all climbed on an old bus and took a picture.

Kimiko took this picture so I could be in it.

There goes Kimiko with her umbrella- very Japanese to stay out of the sun.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in the museum. They served us soba noodles. They are served cold, and you dip them into the soup broth on the side. They were pretty good, and were served with green tea of course.

Eating lunch

Check out my use of the chopsticks- it's pretty much not even a big deal anymore, after living here almost 2 years now.

We walked around some more of the grounds. This was an old onsen bath.

The drawing of Mt Fuji on the onsen wall.

Beautiful scenery outside the onsen window

Next we went to an old store front. These bottles were lined up on the wall.

Joan, Suzie and myself outside the store.

Our whole group for the day

A pretty kimono hanging up on wall.

Japanese "shoes"

Reproduction of a tea ceremony

Banzai trees

Some old soy sauce containers.

My attempt at being artistic

Noriko and a Japanese umbrella

Myself and the umbrella

Look at us looking so Japanese

After walking around a bit, we stopped for a drink. The ladies bought us these drinks that tasted a lot like cream soda. The bottle was the coolest part of the drink.

The pretty Japanese lady who served us the drinks.

After you peeled off the plastic wrapper, you popped up the top part. Underneath it is a marble.

You push down on the green top part and the marble pops into the drink, and then it is open. So fun, and delicious.

Posing with our drinks

At the end of the day we went by one more building which was once a house. A lady was showing how they used to cook, and tend the fire.

She let me have the "stick" and tend the fire as well.

It was a great day and I learned lots about Japan's past and of course strengthened my friendships with the other ladies in Culture Club.