Tokyo Tarot Museum

[Silverlotus]

I was lucky enough to be able to visit the Tokyo Tarot Museum at the end of November last year. It was a really wonderful little place that takes Tarot quite seriously. And, as someone who speaks almost no Japanese (and reads even less), I still felt very welcome.

 

The museum is quite small, and is more of a shop with a cover fee (currently about ￥800 for a 90 minute visit). It is small-ish, about the size of an apartment, with seating areas, decks on display for sale, and displays of Tarot artifacts. There is also a small library of books and decks you can use while you are there (all in Japanese). When you check in you are asked to pick a card that you get to take with you, and you are given a little bit of information about the museum, a brochure, and a listing of card meanings. Then you are invited to sit down, enjoy some tea, and use one of the decks to do a reading for yourself.

 

There are a lot of decks for sale, from all over the world. The prices for decks that are easily obtainable in North America (like those from Llewellyn and Los Scarabeo) are quite expensive, but, unsurprisingly, Asian decks are priced very well. I picked up the Traditional Tarot by Naoki Yamamoto, as well as a glossy fortune telling themed magazine (which seems to be quarterly lifestyle publication that covers all sort of divination methods).

 

I really liked the vibe of the museum. It is a serious place, not covered in crystals and overpowered by incense. It is the kind of place you go to study, to look something up, to enjoy a cup of tea and look at the displays.

 

The museum also has a sister site, the Tokyo Tarot Cafe, which is located a few blocks away. It serves vegan food and also offers decks you can borrow, etc. We didn't visit it as my son has food allergies they couldn't accommodate and were on a tight schedule. We will be returning to Tokyo next spring, and I do intend to pop in then just to take a look.

 

The museum only allows pictures in one small area. I've attached a picture of the interior of the brochure they give you, which shows most of the museum. I will add my own pictures later (when I find them...).

 

 

[DanielJUK]

thanks for sharing about your visit @Silverlotus and the leaflet of it. I hope one day to visit as it looks so cute! Please do share any pics of it if you want to in future and come across them again, it will make us all want to go! 🥰

 

I vaguely remembered and then found that there was a thread posted when the museum started -

 

 

[Hemera]

Oh, how interesting. What a lovely place! Thank you for sharing this, Silverlotus. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures. Did you do a reading for yourself there? What was the card you picked on entering? (-Only if you want to share, of course)

[Natural Mystic Guide]

🌷🤍🌷 Thanks so much for sharing about your visit to the Tokyo Tarot Museum.  I hope to visit Japan within a couple of years.  I'm not sure if I can handle a big city.  If I do, then I know where to go.  This is my second exposure to the museum within the last month or so.  It sounds like a lovely place to hang out.  Your description makes me feel like I've been there.  And yes, of course I too am curious to know about your experience with receiving a card or doing a reading.  What new insights did you walk away with? 🌷🤍🌷

 

[Guest]

This is so cool! Very curious about the Asian decks they're offering.

[Silverlotus]

I'm sorry for the delay in getting back to this post. I just couldn't find my pictures. Thankfully, I eventually found them tucked away in the wrong folder.

 

The first is the one area where they allow pictures. If you've seen anyone else's Instagram or whatever about the museum, you've probably seen this spot.

The second photo is one of the signs in the museum that describes the cards. There are small displays through the museum that feature different decks. When I was there, the first Tower Takeover deck was one of the featured displays, and there was a special display of Rima Fujita's artwork and her Lotus Moon Oracle Cards. (I wish I could have bought a deck of them, but I had to watch my budget for the rest of the trip!)

 

The third photo is the card I drew for myself when I entered. It is from the Tarot of the Forest. (I've since added the card to my magpie deck.) Behind it you can see some of the handouts they give you. There is a page of simple card meanings, a floor plan, and a short article about the museum (all in Japanese of course; thank goodness for Google Translate).

 

 

 

[Silverlotus]

One last picture. This is a page of one of the reference binders. They catalogue hundreds of decks, many of which are available for sale.

[Silverlotus]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:08 PM, Hemera said:

Oh, how interesting. What a lovely place! Thank you for sharing this, Silverlotus. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures. Did you do a reading for yourself there? What was the card you picked on entering? (-Only if you want to share, of course)

 

I did do a couple of readings. I wrote down that I used the Maya Munro Tarot for one, but I just tried to search for it online and it doesn't exist? I must have made a mistake. It was quite an insightful reading into some issues I am exploring. I think the atmosphere of the museum is just right for some quite introspection.

 

The card I drew for myself when I entered was Temperance from the Tarot of the Forest. They have them in a little basket, sorted into little plastic baggies. There were definitely a few different decks represented in the cards I saw. I picked one from the middle and I think it was a good message to get at the start of such a special vacation. (We visited Sensoji temple about a week later and I did one of the fortune telling draws there and received the best fortune, which was super nice!)

 

[Silverlotus]

On 6/9/2023 at 5:08 AM, Natural Mystic Guide said:

🌷🤍🌷 Thanks so much for sharing about your visit to the Tokyo Tarot Museum.  I hope to visit Japan within a couple of years.  I'm not sure if I can handle a big city.  If I do, then I know where to go.  This is my second exposure to the museum within the last month or so.  It sounds like a lovely place to hang out.  Your description makes me feel like I've been there.  And yes, of course I too am curious to know about your experience with receiving a card or doing a reading.  What new insights did you walk away with? 🌷🤍🌷

 

 

I am very, very introverted and I hate crowds. And, surprisingly, I didn't do badly in Tokyo at all. We were very careful to avoid the subway during rush hour, but my husband and son were wonderful about planning out all the navigation, etc. so I felt very safe and in charge. And, it is surprising, but there are lots of places where it feels very much like a small town. I'm so glad we went and I can't wait to return.

 

The biggest insight I walked away with was... I'm thinking about how to put this so I don't sound grumpy or mean... I guess you could say I really appreciated the seriousness that the museum treats Tarot with. I feel like sometimes online there is so much "my cards are cursed" or "I have to check my cards before I do anything", that sort of thing. And, yes, there were cute fortunetelling magazines, etc. at the museum. But they treat Tarot as both wonderful artwork and as a serious tool for self examination and deeper spiritual study. I liked that a lot, and it is something I want to bring more into my studies.

[Natural Mystic Guide]

🌹💛🌹 Beautiful, Silverlotus.  Thanks so much for sharing your experience and insights.  Both my husband and I have spent a lot of time in wilderness areas and don't do cities well -- except we really do love Singapore!  My son just returned from a trip to Japan and he had a great time in Tokyo, too.  So this may be tipping the balance in terms of spending a couple of days there.  The rest of the time we plan to do hot springs.

 

It's heartening to learn that:

21 hours ago, Silverlotus said:

 

they treat Tarot as both wonderful artwork and as a serious tool for self examination and deeper spiritual study. I liked that a lot, and it is something I want to bring more into my studies.

That's very much my personal orientation too.  I'm so glad that I have found Benebell Wen as a teacher.  Have your worked with her material at all?  Best wishes, Juna 🌹💛🌹