Tokyo Fire Museum

photo by Suikotei · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by Syced · CC0

Free, inside the Yotsuya fire station: a real helicopter and real fire engines up close.

In the galleries you walk alongside a real helicopter and fire engines ranging from the '20s to the present day: on some vehicles you can climb into the cab, and there is also a driving simulator. One floor uses prints and documents to show how fires were fought in the Edo period, when neighbourhood brigades put out fires by pulling down the houses nearby, before mechanical pumps. The exit of Yotsuya-sanchōme metro station leads into the building.

Attached to the Yotsuya fire station and run by the Tokyo Fire Department (東京消防庁), the museum covers the history of firefighting in the city: from the neighbourhood brigades of the Edo period, which fought fires by demolishing the surrounding houses before pumps existed, to the mechanised vehicles of the twentieth century. The exhibits include a real vintage fire engine and a real helicopter.

ℹ️ Open 9:30–17:00, last entry at 16:30; closed on Mondays (on Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday) and from 29 December to 3 January. Free entry. The exit of Yotsuya-sanchōme metro station leads directly into the building, which is attached to a fire station still in operation. It is designed mainly for families with small children and school groups: anyone looking for in-depth history may find it thin.

🚉 Yotsuya-sanchome · 1 min walk

Sources: tfd.metro.tokyo.lg.jp

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