What other travelers are saying about Takayama Showa-kan Museum
A total feast for the eyes with so much to see! I loved that it was set up like a vintage street with shops cafés and businesses to duck into and the upstairs is like a family house from the era with video games to play. Brilliant attention to detail and so fun to explore. The candy and souvenir shop out the front is cute as well.
Visitors typically spend about 1 to 2 hours exploring the museum, depending on their interest in the exhibits and the level of detail they wish to observe.
The museum has some areas that are wheelchair accessible, but due to the nature of the building, certain parts may be challenging for visitors with mobility issues to navigate.
The admission fee varies, but it is generally around 800-1000 yen for adults. Discounts may be available for children, seniors, and groups.
It is a small museum that has enough to see to take between 2-4h if you don't rush it. We especially liked the room showing a child's room in the showa era. There were games to play there, digital and analog and we played together for an hour which was a lot of fun.
The museum has many small rooms with different themes that embody what life was like during the showa era. A fun and educational experience.
I had more fun than I expected at this little museum. The retro vibes were awesome. I particularly liked the room where they had an old style classroom as well as the room where you could actually play an old Sega game (which I did!). It was like a trip to a not so distant past, where things are very familiar and yet very different.
Probably the highlight of my time in Takayama, this is a great little museum that is very dense with products from the Showa era. There were several interactive areas like a car and telephone booth that you could get into, or old video games and pachinko machines that you could play. This is not the kind of museum that would be worth it to rush through, but if you allow yourself to spend time meandering through each room I think it can be very rewarding. It made me feel nostalgic for that era of Japan.
Overall I would recommend this museum to most visitors.
This very dense museum can take 30 minutes or 2-3 hours, depending on how interested you are in the Showa period of Japan! Every room is absolutely full of historical items, with a lot of trust put in visitors to not touch / break all of the items.
Rooms are convincing, and vary from classrooms, opticians, living rooms, arcades, and plenty more. The effect is made convincing by street signs and advertising all over the place. Each room is absolutely full of unique details, and there's hundreds of opportunities for selfies if interested.
Tickets are purchased at the door, after a small souvenir / traditional sweet shop.
