Eyewear Museum in Tokyo: an iconic place with 50 years of history (9 photos + 1 video)

For more than 50 years, the Rogan Megane Hakubutsukan eyewear museum in Tokyo has been one of the most iconic places in Japan. At first it was just a warehouse, but then it was turned into a giant store-museum, which became one of the main tourist attractions in the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo.





The famous Rogan Megane Hakubutsukan eyewear museum is located in Tokyo, on the Higashi-dori shopping street in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district. For 50 years, this place has become one of the most iconic places for tourists from all over the world. It was once just a warehouse, but under the leadership of longtime owner Yutaka Takei, it has been transformed into a store and museum. An interesting feature of the museum is its unique facade, consisting of thousands of pairs of multi-colored sunglasses.



When Yutaka Takei first opened a store here, he was engaged in wholesale trade of various goods, but soon wholesale trade became less profitable. He began selling glasses, and to make his store stand out from others, Takei invested heavily in marketing. He even made deals with tour operators to attract tourists here. The museum is also known for its low prices: the average cost of glasses is about 300 yen. And also - the museum has an endless number of glasses: up to approximately 120,000 pairs.





Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever, including the Eyewear Museum. In March 2022, after 50 years in business, Yutaka Takei announced that the unique store would be closing for a number of reasons. The founder was 76 years old at that time, and he could no longer run the business. The further fate of the museum is unknown.