If only-in-Japan is what you’re looking for in a Tokyo museum, these are the spots I go to again and again because I never fail to be entertained and discover something new.
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ARTIZON MUSEUM
Choice pieces of modern art by all the masters, with exhibitions designed and curated in unique ways
Modern art masterworks • Killer Impressionist collection, including many Japanese Impressionists • Exhibition design makes you think about the art in new ways • The building itself draws you in and gives glimpses of the art to come
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BORDERLESS DIGITAL MUSEUM
If you see nothing else while you’re in Tokyo, see this.
TeamLab’s Borderless is back and better than ever. This is truly a digital world without horizons, constantly changing and unfolding around you.
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EBISU BEER MUSEUM
Satisfy your thirst for beer knowledge
Learn how to pour a perfect beer • Sample Ebisu’s wares.
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FUKAGAWA-EDO MUSEUM
Walk around inside a beautifully recreated samurai-era village
Life-sized furnished rooms you can go inside • English-speaking volunteers can answer questions about daily life in Edo-era Japan
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HOKI MUSEUM OF REALIST PAINTING
The only museum in Japan dedicated to giant Realist paintings, images that are as insanely detailed as photos, but seen through a painter’s eye
Portraits • Still life • Landscapes • Industrial scenes • Natural history • Animals
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KOKUGAKUIN MUSEUM
Archeology museum with an amazing collection of ancient Japanese artifacts and Shinto ritual objects
Fascinating display on the evolution of Shinto rituals and beliefs • Huge collection of high quality artifacts dating back to the Jomon Period • Clearly shows the underpinnings of today’s anime and manga aesthetic
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KUSAMA MUSEUM
Ogle the famous pumpkins and other eye-popping Kusama works
Rotating display of Yayoi Kusama’s works • Light-up display of the famous pumpkins • Choice selection of paintings & sculpture • Selfie opportunity with iridescent pumpkin
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MINGEIKAN – JAPANESE FOLK ART MUSEUM
A collection celebrating the Mingei Movement and the beauty of traditional objects used in everyday Japanese life
The work of the famous Mingei Movement artists • The collection of objects from all over Japan that inspired them • Exhibits include a wide variety of items, including pottery, weaving, embroidery, metalwork, painting, bamboo carving and weaving, lacquerware, and more
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MIRAIKAN (National Museum of Emerging Science & Innovation)
Excellent interactive special exhibitions for kids & adults
Special exhibits are always worth seeing • Interactive robots • Permanent hands-on exhibits demonstrate how the internet works, crime lab science, nanotechnology, space science and more
Check their current and future offerings here.
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MORI ART MUSEUM
Showcasing modern artists and designers who have thought-provoking messages
Exhibits often explore the blurred lines between art and design and fashion • Exhibition schedule here
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NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE
Excellent natural history museum featuring a wing devoted to all things Japanese
The real stuffed Hachiko • Exhibits showing how very Japanese plants and animals evolved • Amusing dioramas of life in Japan through the ages • Collections of Japanese animals, bugs and plants
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NEZU MUSEUM
Choice exhibits of traditional Japanese art surrounded by a beautiful garden
Nicely curated special exhibitions of traditional Japanese art & craft • Famous painted iris screen and iris garden exhibition (May) • Garden is lovely all year round
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SATO SAKURA MUSEUM
Choice works by contemporary artists painting in the nihonga tradition, many with a cherry blossom theme
Three spacious galleries • Works by talented up-and-coming Japanese artists • Museum supports artists by commissioning works for their collection • Near a famous cherry blossom viewing river and many coffee shops and bars
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NIHON MINKA-EN THATCH-ROOFED HOUSES
Walk through a park of restored thatch-roofed houses that’s an outdoor historical museum, just a short train ride from central Tokyo
23 thatch-roofed houses • You can go inside • Visitor center exhibits show how they are constructed without nails • In a beautiful park
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SENGAKUJI TEMPLE MUSEUM
Where the real 47 ronin are buried
Carved portraits of each warrior • The actual signed confession and the receipt for Lord Kira’s head • You can light incense for the 47 ronin in the graveyard where they are buried • The well where they washed Lord Kira’s severed head.
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SMALL WORLDS MINIATURE MUSEUM
A vast filled with insanely detailed cityscape models of worlds both real and imagined
Idealized European, Asian and anime-inspired worlds (including Evangelion and Sailor Moon) • People figures doing ordinary, daring and hilarious things • Airport and spaceport with model planes and rockets that take off and land • Studio where you can get a 3D scale model of yourself made to insert in any scene for a year
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TOBACCO & SALT MUSEUM
Surprisingly entertaining museum devoted to tobacco and salt
Life-sized salt statues & chandeliers made of salt crystals • Hilarious pipe collection • Excellent models depicting manufacturing of salt throughout Japanese history • Cigarette packages through the ages
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TOMO MUSEUM
The most spectacular ceramic art museum in Japan
Ceramic art from all over Japan using exquisite traditional techniques in new, modern ways • Galleries are a work of art, designed to make enjoying each piece relaxing and thought-provoking
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UESHIMA MUSEUM
Brilliantly curated collection of choice modern art, including works by young, up-and-coming Japanese artists
Thought-provoking exhibit themes • Choice works by famous international artists • Fabulous work by young, modern Japanese artists • Displayed in a way that allows maximum appreciation of each piece
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YAMATANE MUSEUM
Museum dedicated to Japanese nihonga painting and other works on paper and silk
Works by both famous and emerging artists working in the nihonga tradition • Thought-provoking exhibition themes
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YAYOI-YUMEJI MUSEUM
Takehisa Yumeji’s paintings and the actual vintage kimono ensembles worn by his models
Gorgeous collection of Jazz Age kimonos • Takehisa Yumeji’s haute couture fashion illustrations
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YUSHŪKAN WWII MUSEUM at the Yasukuni Shrine
World War II Museum filled with memorabilia from the Japanese side
WWII timeline from the Japanese perspective • Hall filled with artifacts and memorabilia of the kamikaze • Actual Japanese planes, tanks, boats and weapons
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 