Howdy all. Well last year as we headed into December I was reviewing my time in Japan earlier in 2024 for you, and now we continue onwards in 2025 as I detail the rest of my North Asian adventure to you. And we are still in Tokyo for a few more vlogs and today I thought I’d do a blog on Tokyo’s Museums, because frankly they have a LOT of museums and some really excellent and different ones that you can visit.

I compiled a vlog whilst in Tokyo last year of the museums that I visited, which I’ll be popping somewhere in this post, but this post I’m going to include all the ones I remember visiting from past trips as well. You could spend a week in Tokyo just doing museums to be honest. Not sure if that’s anyone’s idea of a great holiday, but if you are a museum lover…

Anyways.

Kite Museum

This was probably the smallest museum I have visited in Tokyo, located a 15 minute walk from Tokyo station in 2024 it was I think in a temporary location and was due to move, so what was on display did not include everything they had in storage. At least that’s my understanding. A cheap museum which was just really a large room with a lot of Japanese kites, it’s very colourful and certainly a bit unique. In the form I saw it in in 2024 it won’t take more than half an hour and that’s probably stretching it.

Tobacco and Salt Museum

This one is a short walk from the Tokyo Skytree. To be honest the topic wasn’t inspiring, but it sounded different so I gave it a go. I did have concerns about a museum devoted to tobacco, which to be fair was a really interesting place and showed how tobacco became a thing and how it was shipped around the world, and there’s an impressive collection of tobacco containers from yesteryear and pipes. Japan does museums so well and it has a lot of information presented in accessible ways, and this was no exception. But I also know that well, we wouldn’t have this in Australia for sure because it was basically promoting tobacco. As a side note, cigarettes are super cheap in Japan.

The Salt Museum is on the floor below the tobacco museum, and it was certainly interesting too and well presented. The ticket is sold as one for the two floors. It was an interesting place to pop in and both together could take an hour I guess. But I’m not sure if I would recommend this one.

Cup Noodles Museum, Yokohama

This museum I visited years ago and then again in 2024, it’s a large museum in the size of the space, it is fun and interactive for the kids who can cook noodles at the end or design their own cup noodle container, and you can learn about the creation of cup noodles and their creator who is somewhat immortalized in the museum. It’s fun for something different and wouldn’t take a huge slice out of your day, but it is in Yokohama rather than Tokyo.

Ramen Museum

A similarly themed museum I visited years ago, it’s more of a recreation of an old Yokohama street (also I believe in Yokohama) full of noodle shops and you have the chance to buy ramen noodles from various little stores. It’s quite atmospheric. Is it preferable to the Cup Noodles museum? Not sure. Doesn’t require a lot of time spent there.

Shitamachi Museum

This museum is a house kept in the style of ‘Shitamachi’ – a part of Tokyo in the Edo Period. This is the area and sort of dwelling merchants, fishermen etc would have used and it’s beautifully preserved and worth a stop. It’s not far from the National Museum in Ueno, and there’s the beautiful Shinobazno Pond covered with lily leaves right outside its front doors. Temporarily closed as of late November 2024.

Tokyo National Museum

I visited the Tokyo National Museum back on my first trip to Japan in 2011, so forgive me if my memory is somewhat hazy. It’s a massive and impressive museum as you might expect full of the things you expect from a national museum from pots and rocks, to historical art work and historical information. Definitely worth a visit!

National Museum of Science and Nature

This one I really only popped my head into back in 2011. It’s housed in an older looking building however it’s very modern inside. Kids will love it it’s very interactive and there’s a lot for them to discover and explore. I probably had about 30 minutes in it as it was closing.

Miraikan – The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation

Okay, so that’s quite a mouthful of a title. This is one not to miss even if you need to take about three different lines to get out and see it. It has a walking, talking robot that interacts with crowds, and is full of fun and fascinating stuff for kids and adults alike. It’s in a shiny ultra modern building and you feel like you’re in a place from a futuristic piece of Japanese anime.

Unko Museum

This is the weirdest one you are likely to encounter in Tokyo, it’s a museum devoted to, well, poop! You walk in and they make you sit on a toilet and pretend to poop, and a plastic, coloured poop appears in the bowl which you get to keep. There are games involving (fake) poop, poop displays, it’s bright and extremely colourful and if you are interested in a museum that makes you question what you are doing there, this is probably the one!

Japanese Sword Museum

Finally, the Japanese Sword Museum, not far from the Sumo Stadium in Ryo Goku in Tokyo, is definitely a specialised museum. Another large room with who knows how many swords in glass cases, if you have a thing for swords don’t miss it. Again, it’s not going to take a huge slice of time out of your day, but with Samurai culture being such a popular element of Japanese history, come see a selection of swords from over the last few centuries! All them pretty much kept in pristine condition!

Well there you are folks, a little list of all the museums I’ve checked out in Tokyo (and Yokohama) for you. A real variety and every one presented immaculately for the visitor. Japan does this sort of thing better than anyone!

Take care wherever you are in the world! Thanks for popping by today and… May the Journey Never End!