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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EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM
Half of this museum is about everyday life in the Edo Era and the other half is about how Japan changed after 1868, including fascinating info about daily life during WWII
Fabulous models of Tokyo streets filled with people going about their daily lives • Life-sized rooms with scenes from daily life • Fascinating artifacts, from samurai armor to WWII debris • Excellent information about all aspects of life in Japan from the samurai times onward
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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 