Jul 1, 2015 - 2 min read

Tokyo Stock Exchange

Witness the Tokyo Stock Exchange and its museum

By Daniel Vesey

Community writer

Japanese take to the room to play the game

A line of girls get a taste of what it is like to trade

A ceremony was taking place the day I was there

A wall showing the history of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with fantastic pictures

The historic bell used between 1908-1923, to signal the opening of a trading session

The museum has numerous phones, which you can use to listen to Japanese, English, and Chinese explanations

Two lovely paintings of the building in the museum

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is easy to find, near Kayabacho Station

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the third largest stock exchange in the world, but do not be fooled into thinking this is a hectic place like a scene out of the film The Wolf of Wall Street. Technology has changed how things operate here, with trading now being done online, making the building a calm but still very significant place for both the world and Japan. The building also has a museum, which provides a fantastic insight into the history of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with excellent information, pictures and historic items on display.

One of the things that attracts many visitors is the Stock Trading Game, a simulation game which uses news and corporate information in a virtual market. The game lasts for 10 trading days, where you are given ¥10,000,000 to trade with. Unfortunately on the day that I visited the game room it was reserved for a Japanese group only, so I had to make do with a computer outside. It was still good, but I imagine being in the actual room is a lot better, given the fact you have a keyboard and should be able to quickly type in how many shares you wish to buy or sell, as opposed to clicking through with a mouse which takes up valuable time. I say "valuable" because things change remarkably quickly; one second the shares are up and the next they can plummet, making the speed of a decision a paramount of importance.

As you can see from one of my pictures I didn't exactly do well. Who wants to wire me some money so I can play this game in real life?

Visits to the Tokyo Stock Exchange are free and available Monday to Friday, from 9am - 16:30pm, with last entries at 16:00pm. You can visit the Visit TSE section of the website for more details such as guided English tour availability and Stock Trading Game availability. The closest station is Kayabacho Station, around a 5 minute walk away.