An exhibition of items collected by an individual over the years as a hobby, including some very unique and rare items, is displayed outside for all to see 24 hours a day with the only security measure being some CCTV cameras. Only in Japan I guess!

This place is a treasure trove of all kinds of retro machines, vehicles, products, enamel signs and statues belonging to one person. Masae Kato has turned a rather bland and nondescript corner of northern Tokyo into something of an attraction by displaying their collection for all to see.

As I was compiling a recent post about a chaotic looking outdoor museum just outside of Tokyo, I realised that there was a similar kind of place much closer to home. For the last 18 months I’ve been keeping tabs on this free outdoor retro museum which is just a ten minute ride from the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre.

January 2024

August 2024

The mega-sized Don Quixote North Ikebukuro discount store on Kawagoe-dori Street is located on one corner of a busy junction in Toshima Ward, and over the road in Itabashi Ward is this retro museum which seems to get more and more outlandish as I pass by it each week. It’s right next to Fushimi Inari Daimyojin Shrine which I first came across on the innaugural Foxed in the Head Inari shrines of Tokyo cycling series from five years ago.

The display is consistently changing and presumably not because stuff is being stolen! The most recent addition is a very rusty old vehicle that is over 100 years old, and the only one of its kind in Japan. Such a significant historical exhibit is naturally placed next to a statue of Doraemon!

The centrepiece of the display is a golden seated bronze statue offering good health and  fortune as well as protection against traffic safety among other things.

I didn’t really take a close look at all the notes stuck on the back of the statue but I assume they are prayers and wishes of some kind.

Some of the treasures are unbelievably old making it seem all the more unbelievable that this stuff is available so freely. A tanuki (racoon dog) statue on display at the front is from the 1850s!

Retro vehicles take up a fair amount of the space and exhibits include a bicycle sidecar from 1940 and a racing kart from 1984.

An abacus called soroban (counting tray) is something like an old-fashioned calculator I guess. Despite having seen features on it on Japanese TV a couple of times over the years I still don’t really have much of an idea about how it all works. Maybe time to learn on this site!

There are some interesting war pieces including a 19th century cannon of the British Eastern Fleet from the Anglo-Satsuma War of August 1863.

If you’re wondering, all (some?) of the items are for sale. There’s no pricing of course but just a small sign saying to call the owner Kato and make an offer! I haven’t made the call  yet!!

It should be noted that this isn’t the first time this place has appeared on Tokyo Fox as it was briefly featured in my annual ‘Christmas in Tokyo 2024‘ post but the focus then was just the festive-related features of the exhibit.

The place is lit up at night making it more notiecable for the heavy stream of drivers passing by along Kawagoe-kaido Street or Route 8.

At nighttime I even got to see someone installing the aforementioned old car and using all manner of tools to construct the wooden shelter in which it is housed.

This fairly dull part of northern Tokyo is rarely ever visited by tourists (both international and Japanese) so almost everyone seen is a local resident or just passing through the neighbourhood on their way to or from Saitama. It’s not easy to stop your vehicle along this busy intersection but if you’re ever near Ikebukuro this quirky place is worth bearing in mind as a side quest adventure.

Click here to read ‘Celebrate The Chaos & Clutter At This Outdoor Museum Just Outside of Tokyo’

Click here to read ‘Foxed In The Head: Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – #1 Itabashi’

Click here to read ‘Quirkiness Aplenty At This Strange Retro Museum In Shizuoka’

Click here to read ‘There’s Not Just One But Two Sex Museums In This Area of Gunma’