Another museum of this very museum oriented suburb is the Matsuo Basho Museum. According to TokyoGuide.com: "The famous poet and haiku master Basho Matsuo (・ｽm・ｽﾔ擾ｿｽ・ｽj) lived here from 1680 to 1682, along by the Sumida River, between the Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Kiyosu Bridge. This museum is situated on the grounds of Basho's former hermitage ("Basho-an"). Several of Basho's most acclaimed haiku and travel journals such as "Okuno Hosomichi" were composed while he was staying at "Basho-an". The Museum keeps the collection of materials related to Basho. The museum is 7 minute walk from Morishita station (Address : 1-6-3 Tokiwa, Koto-ku)."

South of Morishita is Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, one of the best places in Tokyo to find old shops, houses and temples. The largest number of Buddhist temples can be found in the Northern neighbourhoods of Miyoshi and Shirakawa. Most of them belong to the Jodo and Nichiren branches. Coming from Kiyoshumi-Shirakawa station, you will first come across the Edo Fukagawa Museum (・ｽ]・ｽﾋ深・ｽ・托ｿｽ・ｽ・ｽ・ｽ). Although small, it gives the visitor a good idea of how life was in Tokyo during the late Edo period (1600-1868). Admission is ・ｽ・ｽ300 for adults and ・ｽ・ｽ50 for children.

One of the best streets in the general Morishita/Kiyosumi-Shirakawa area (in my opinion at least) is Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori. Fukugawa Shiryokan Dori meets the busy Kiyosumi Dori highway opposite Kiyosumi Gardens (・ｽ・ｽ・ｽ・ｽ・ｽ・�), which are an attraction in themselves with a long and historic history. Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori is one of those streets in Tokyo where you can still find stands of traditional houses and colorful shops selling Buddhist goods. There are also plenty of temples on the sidestreets. While you are busy sightseeing in the area you can stop off at the new ・ｽ・ｽ100 Lawson convenience store on the steet to stock up on snacks and refreshments. Almost everything in the convenience store (actually more like a supermarket) is ・ｽ・ｽ100 (about one American dollar) -- add another ・ｽ・ｽ5 for the sales tax. The last time I was there I got a bacon and mayonnaise onigiri rice ball -- an interesting blend of Japanese tradition and American fast food biz, wrapped in seaweed. Very satisfying and cheap to boot!

If you follow Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori from Kiyosumi Dori all the way to the end, you will pass the aforementioned Edo Fukagawa Museum, and the also aforementioned ・ｽ・ｽ100 Lawson store, and eventually you will spill out on to Mistume Dori. On first sights this looks like a rude and dreary road lined with faceless apartment blocks, but there are a few gems amongst all the banality. A short walk from the intersection with Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori, heading towards Kiba, lies the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art. It seems like an interesting building from the outside -- a postmodern blend of old Japan castle and futuristic glass. Beyond the museum, the vast Kiba Park retreats into the distance.

But that's another story!