A “new shitamachi style” is the concept. There are many kinds of facilities such as a shopping area, a museum and an aquarium. Together with Tokyo Sky Tree, the number of visitors has topped 100 million since its opening 2 years ago. It has become a new Tokyo landmark.
Postal Museum Japan
A 9th-floor museum that introduces and displays goods related to the postal service and communications. Along with a stamp display that numbers 330,000 which ranks as Japan’s largest collection, there are also about 400 exhibits relating to postal service within and outside of Japan. The world’s first stamp, the Penny Black, Japan’s first stamp, the Ryuumon stamp and an Important Cultural Property of Japan, the Embossing Morse telegraph, are also among the displays.
Chiba Institute of Technology Tokyo Sky Tree Town Campus
Located on the 8th floor, you can try out things in Area 1 such as the Magic Card ON THE FLY PAPER, a tablet computer made from a piece of paper, and a simulation of a Mars explorer vessel. In Area 2, you can view a high-resolution video of the moon’s surface and feel that you are flying over it (Moon Walker). And in the 300-inch 3D Space Theater, you can watch “A 13.8 Billion Space Voyage”.
Japanese Souvenirs
Located on the 4th floor which has been designed to evoke the image of a large-scale “ohdana” (big store) that used to be seen in the Edo Era. There are plenty of shops imbued with the attractiveness of Japan selling items such as ornate hairpins and hand towels, and cosmetics made from Japanese materials like konnyaku rice bran and azuki beans.
Sumida Aquarium
Located on the 5th floor, it acquired one star (if you’re interested) in the 2013 Michelin Guide. With the theme of an ocean in Tokyo, the aquarium has been set up so that you can get real close to places such as an open rooftop pool-like tank where you can see penguins and fur seals, and the Tokyo Tank which has been re-created as the Ogasawara Sea. It takes 3 minutes on the Tokyo Sky Tree line from Asakusa without needing to transfer. Tokyo Solamachi will become the center of a new shitamachi.