4 Best Sights in Fukagawa, Tokyo

Very different from the nearby Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the Ando Gallery is the pick of the independent art venues in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa. Located in a small, repurposed storehouse, the focus here is predominantly on young Japanese contemporary artists, with genres ranging from installations to design work.

Defined by its island-accented pond, around which pathways take visitors to a succession of carefully landscaped viewpoints that blend features like manicured trees and ornamental rocks, this traditional garden is one of eastern Tokyo’s undervisited gems. Originally part of a feudal lord’s residence in the early 1700s, the garden was later owned by the founder of Mitsubishi, who used it to entertain important guests and give staff a place to unwind. Sitting by the pond, watching herons perch on rocks and carp gliding through the water, it’s an incredibly relaxing spot.

On the far-eastern end of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, occupying the northernmost part of the sprawling Kiba Park, this modern museum has spaces that rotate between displays of contemporary art from its own collection and special exhibitions. The latter in recent years have included shows devoted to Jean Prouve and David Hockney, while the 2023 schedule includes the work of visual and installation artist Wendelien van Oldenborgh and a look at the designs of Christian Dior. If you need a break while here, there are a café and a restaurant on-site. The museum sometimes closes between exhibitions for reinstallations.

This shrine in the heart of Monzen-Nakacho has been a core part of Fukagawa since the 1600s. It’s said that some of the earliest sumo tournaments were held here in the 1700s, which explains the sumo-related monuments dotted around the place. Today, the grounds hold small antiques markets on the first, second, third, and fifth Sundays of each month, while lively flea markets take place on the 15th and 28th of each month. In odd-numbered years, the shrine is also the starting point of the summer Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri, a festival that sees more than 50 portable shrines paraded energetically through the streets while onlookers pour buckets of water over the carriers (and each other). One more quirk here is that you can bring your car to be blessed.