2 Best Sights in Nihonbashi, Tokyo

The older part of the Bank of Japan complex is the work of Tatsuno Kingo, who also designed Tokyo Station. Completed in 1896, on the site of what had been the Edo-period gold mint, the bank is one of the city's few surviving Meiji-era Western-style buildings. An annex houses the Currency Museum, a historical collection of rare gold and silver coins from Japan and other East Asian countries. There's little English-language information on the exhibits, but you can download an audio guide for your phone or pick up a explanatory printout on the second floor—after passing through the airport-like security check at the entrance.

Kite flying is an old tradition in Japan. The collection here includes examples of every shape and variety from all over the country, hand-painted in brilliant colors with figures of birds, geometric patterns, and motifs from Chinese and Japanese mythology.