Free entry and a nice small museum to explore silk making history in the region. The Staff speaks Japanese but really kind. Thanks Oonishi san,amazing lady who tour us local plants and history of the region.

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April 26, 2026 There aren't a lot of exhibits, but it was a nice place to learn about the history of silk in Hachioji for free.

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Around Hachioji City, you often see banner flags that say "Soto Monogatari," right! Honestly, it's a mystery, isn't it! To solve that mystery, I stopped by the Silk Road Museum (Kinu no Michi Shiryokan) to look for materials that might give a hint! The Silk Road Museum is a museum in the Yarimizu area where you can learn about the history of sericulture, and admission is free! The museum is built like an old traditional house, a building that gives off a sense of historic dignity! Inside, one resident staff member looks after the building all on their own, and the inner area with the loom is the archive room where the exhibits are kept, and outdoor shoes are strictly prohibited! The archive room explains in detail, with diagrams and videos, sample looms, the history of Hachioji's industry, and the sericulture process! Muttering "I see!", I peeked at the materials on Hachioji in the mid-Edo period, and! There it was! Apparently, in the mid-Edo period, Hachioji was known as "Soto" (Kuwa no Miyako, "the Mulberry Capital"), a place where sericulture thrived! As the economic power of Edo's townspeople grew, stylish striped silk fabrics became popular, and it seems a "Shima-ichi" (stripe market) was held in Hachioji, the silk capital where sericulture flourished, and it was hugely bustling! I see! So as a remnant of that, Hachioji City is promoting the story of its silk history as "Soto Monogatari," right?! To be honest, that's something you'd only really know by asking whoever at the city came up with "Soto Monogatari," but I decided for myself that this was the answer and left the Silk Road Museum! Why don't you all learn about the history of sericulture at the Silk Road Museum too? It's a quiet place, so it's a precious spot where you can take your time looking around! The content also seemed great for kids to research as a summer vacation free project, so come see it and look into it over summer vacation~! And with that, wishing you all a wonderful story, I'll put down my pen.

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There's a free parking lot, plus admission is free too, and there were interesting exhibits like the Silk Road from Hachioji City to the port of Yokohama, so it was great. Please be sure to visit at least once.

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You can really feel how silk came about: born from mulberry fields and silkworms, it became a road, became an industry, and how its distribution developed. It's great for learning history with your kids, and I think it's the perfect opportunity for today's children to learn how silk, among all clothing materials, is made, Places like this, where you can experience history firsthand, need people to look after them. Even if just one more person experiences it, it has a reason to exist. Please do come experience it at least once!

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