Shitamachi Museum
The Shitamachi Museum will timewarp you back to the Meiji Era (1868-1912), which is after Japan opened to the West, but before any of the world wars took their toll. Like … Continue reading Shitamachi Museum
Tag: museum
The History Garage
This Toyota MegaWeb museum is styled to look like a town where all the cars are rare, famous, or both. There are two floors of vintage cars, race cars, movie cars, … Continue reading The History Garage
National Museum of Nature and Science
The National Museum of Nature and Science is split between the Global Gallery and the Japan Gallery, but it’s the Japanese building that’s a delightfully only-in-Japan view of the natural world. … Continue reading National Museum of Nature and Science
Kusama Museum
Yayoi Kusama might be the most well-known (and eccentric) modern artist living in Japan today, and last year she opened a jewel of a museum to showcase a rotating sample … Continue reading Kusama Museum
Asakusa Area
This is where I often take people on their first day in Tokyo. It’s everything you think Japan should be – traditional festivals, a secret garden, temples & more. … Continue reading Asakusa Area
Kiyosumi-shirakawa Area
This old-fashioned neighborhood is an undiscovered gem, with a serene (and uncrowded!) garden and the Fukagawa-Edo Museum – a life-sized samurai-era town you can walk around. As you can see, … Continue reading Kiyosumi-shirakawa Area
Nihon Minka-en Thatch-Roofed Farmhouses
A village of thatch-roofed farmhouses you can go inside! You don’t have to go to Okayama to see traditional Japanese houses – the Nihon Minka-en is a beautiful natural park set … Continue reading Nihon Minka-en Thatch-Roofed Farmhouses
Odaiba Area
Odaiba is a man-made island out in Tokyo Bay, and it’s home to the kind of experiences you’ll definitely tell your friends about when you get home. The hot spring theme park, the … Continue reading Odaiba Area
Ryogoku Area
The sumo stadium and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are both right next to Ryogoku Station. If you’re lucky enough to be in Tokyo during the three 14-day sumo tournaments of the … Continue reading Ryogoku Area
Sengaku-ji Temple
You know the story of the 47 ronin? The samurai who avenged their lord, then were all ordered to commit ritual suicide? Well, this is the temple where they’re actually … Continue reading Sengaku-ji Temple
Ueno Area
Why do guidebooks send people to Ueno for all the wrong reasons? For example, if you go during cherry blossom season, chances are, all you’ll see is this: Ugh! But all … Continue reading Ueno Area
Yasukuni Shrine
This is a gorgeous, lively, maddeningly nationalistic, must-see Imperial shrine. If you follow Japanese news at all, every year you’ll hear about the Yasukuni Shrine. It’s the place where … Continue reading Yasukuni Shrine
Tokyo beyond the guidebooks 