Established in 2009, this rather specialized ethnological museum focuses on unique textiles, graphics and product designs with a traditional Japanese aesthetic. One highlight is Chuzaburo Tanaka's massive collection of "boro" patchwork-style textiles and folk arts from northern Japan, most dating back 100 years or more. Unlike many museums, here you can touch many of the exhibits, and there are even some items of traditional clothing that you can try on for yourself. Established in 2009, this rather specialized ethnological museum focuses on unique textiles, graphics and product designs with a traditional Japanese aesthetic. One highlight is Chuzaburo Tanaka's massive collection of "boro" patchwork-style textiles and folk arts from northern Japan, most dating back 100 years or more. Unlike many museums, here you can touch many of the exhibits, and there are even some items of traditional clothing that you can try on for yourself.

The other focus of the museum is ukiyoe, woodblock prints from Edo-era Japan. The Ukiyo-e Theater screens a 40-minute video presentation of works from the Spaulding Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, subtitled in English, which offers a fascinating glimpse into daily life in Edo-era Tokyo whlie exploring nine famous works by Hiroshige, Hokusai, Utamaro and Sharaku.

Most of the museum's exhibit areas are on the second and third floors, while woodblock prints are exhibited along the staircase running from the third to the sixth floor, continuing on to a small sixth-floor exhibit space. One flight up is the roof deck, offering views of Sensoji Temple in one direction and Tokyo Sky Tree in the other. Down on the first floor is a rather large museum shop that sells handicrafts and textiles (including items from Tanaka's collection) as well as more ordinary souvenirs.

After the museum is closed you can relax with a drink and a snack in the top-floor Bar Six (pronounced the French way), which offers a panoramic nighttime view of Sensoji Temple and the rest of Asakusa.

See the bonus photo album on Facebook. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Designed by Italian architect Mario Bellini, the Tokyo Design Center was completed in 1991. The most prominent feature of the building is a galleria passageway that cuts upward through the building diagonally, leading to a garden area sitting on a steep hill at the rear of the building. After moving up through the building you reach a glass-domed cylindrical elevator hall at the rear, and from there you can continue to climb along paths on the hill behind the building. Designed by Italian architect Mario Bellini, the Tokyo Design Center was completed in 1991. The most prominent feature of the building is a galleria passageway that cuts upward through the building diagonally, leading to a garden area sitting on a steep hill at the rear of the building. After moving up through the building you reach a glass-domed cylindrical elevator hall at the rear, and from there you can continue to climb along paths on the hill behind the building.

The front facade, facing Sakurada-dori across from Gotanda station, is exposed concrete with Travertine marble grids, and it's divided into twin wings that flank a 1970s-era office building. The building's five-story galleria area is occupied by interior design shops and showrooms, along with a design bookstore, an Italian restaurant and a cafe-bar. There's also an underground exhibition/concert space (called the Galleria) and several floors of offices above the shops and showrooms.

See also the Tokyo Design Center photo album on Facebook. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Run by the video-rental chain Tsutaya, this very large, impressively well-stocked book and music store serves as the anchor for the upscale Daikanyama T-Site shopping complex. The centerpiece of the shop is a luxuriously appointed lounge-bar area on the second floor where patrons can browse through books and magazines or just relax; the bar is open until 2am. Run by the video-rental chain Tsutaya, this very large, impressively well-stocked book and music store serves as the anchor for the upscale Daikanyama T-Site shopping complex. The centerpiece of the shop is a luxuriously appointed lounge-bar area on the second floor where patrons can browse through books and magazines or just relax; the bar is open until 2am.

The individually curated specialty departments are where the bookstore really shines - you can explore the worlds of art, design and fashion, browse through hundreds of cookbooks, and even book an overseas holiday in the travel department. The second-floor jazz and other music sections have numerous listening stations and helpful staff on hand, and the movie department is similarly well-stocked.

The stationery zone is worth seeing just for its display walls of pens - some 400 different pens are on display and for sale. Despite the analog nature of the book departments, high-tech features abound. There are self-check-out stations, and patrons can use tablet computers to check inventory and find books, magazines and other media, which are all locatable via embedded RFID tags. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Looking very much like a gigantic Pez dispenser, the Bunkyo Civic Center Building, just north of Tokyo Dome City, is one of a handful of Tokyo skyscrapers offering a free observation deck. The 25th-floor deck boasts a 330-degree panoramic view of Tokyo, centered on north, that includes the skyscrapers of Shinjuku and Ikebukuro as well as the new Tokyo Sky Tree tower. On a clear day you can even see Mount Fuji. Looking very much like a gigantic Pez dispenser, the Bunkyo Civic Center Building, just north of Tokyo Dome City, is one of a handful of Tokyo skyscrapers offering a free observation deck. The 25th-floor deck boasts a 330-degree panoramic view of Tokyo centered on north.

The view is best at dusk and nighttime, but note the early (8:30pm) closing hour. At the south end of the floor is a casual restaurant looking out over Otemachi, Ginza and the Imperial Palace. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

The ground floor of Nakano Broadway looks like a typical neighborhood arcade - dozens of shops selling handbags, sneakers, pet supplies and so on. But step onto the escalator and prepare to enter a different world - a warren of tiny, hyper-specialized shops focused heavily on anime and manga-related interests. Mandarake, the world's largest comic-book store, has its headquarters here, and they currently run 23 different minishops devoted to manga subgenres, collectible toys, trading cards, videos and soundtracks.

Mandarake's collectible toy outlets in particular have attracted a host of competitors, with names like Robot Robot and Alphaville, each with its own specialty niche. Squeezing your way through the stores' narrow aisles, you can admire impressive collections of Bearbricks and other modern designer toys, Hanna-Barbera figures from the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo era, Gundam action figures, Star Wars paraphernalia, Beatrix Potter miniatures, Pez dispensers, Playmobil sets, and much, much more. The ground floor of Nakano Broadway looks like a typical neighborhood arcade - dozens of shops selling handbags, sneakers, pet supplies and so on. But step onto the escalator and prepare to enter a different world - a warren of tiny, hyper-specialized shops focused heavily on anime and manga-related interests. Mandarake, the world's largest comic-book store, has its headquarters here, and they currently run 23 different minishops devoted to manga subgenres, collectible toys, trading cards, videos and soundtracks.

Mandarake's collectible toy outlets in particular have attracted a host of competitors, with names like Robot Robot and Alphaville, each with its own specialty niche. Squeezing your way through the stores' narrow aisles, you can admire impressive collections of Bearbricks and other modern designer toys, Hanna-Barbera figures from the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo era, Gundam action figures, Star Wars paraphernalia, Beatrix Potter miniatures, Pez dispensers, Playmobil sets, and much, much more.

Spinning off from the world of manga and anime are shops selling art books, animation cels and movie posters. A couple of art galleries put on shows of manga-themed artwork. If you like to dress up as your favorite comic-book character but you aren't handy with a sewing machine, the cosplay shops can sell you a complete outfit or two.

It's not all toys and games though - there are goth, punk and other alternative-fashion boutiques, and some half-dozen watch shops serving different market segments. Fujiya, a local audio-visual shop, has one store devoted to professional video - cameras, boom mikes, editing decks - while another sell's musician's equipment such as professional mixing boards, synthesizer components and DJ mixers. Fujiya also runs several branches of Recomints, their tasty-sounding chain of used CD shops.

Hundreds of other small shops are spread over the mall's five levels, selling everything from fabrics by the yard and tropical fish to collectible coins and banknotes. You can have your back massaged, your fortune told and your teeth cleaned without leaving the building. There are also a surprising number of tiny restaurants - serving yakitori, sushi, Chinese vegetarian fare, and okonomiyaki - wedged among the retail stores. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Fans of rockets, ships and big machinery in general will find a lot to see in this two-story technology museum run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Exhibits focus in particular on the realms of aerospace, deep-sea exploration and shipping. There's lots of hands-on activity - everywhere you turn there's a button to press or a handle to crank, and nearly everything is bilingual in both English and Japanese. Fans of rockets, ships and big machinery in general will find a lot to see in this two-story technology museum run by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Exhibits focus in particular on the realms of aerospace, deep-sea exploration and shipping. There's lots of hands-on activity - everywhere you turn there's a button to press or a handle to crank, and nearly everything is bilingual in both English and Japanese.

Young visitors can marvel at real rocket engines in the Aerospace Zone, and life-size models of mini-submarines (er, deep-sea submersible research vessels) in the Ocean Zone. Simulators of helicopters, airplanes, trams and subs give you a chance to sit in the pilot's, conductor's, and captain's seats for a few minutes.

The actual simulations, though, are fairly tame for anyone who's ever played a videogame - in the sub you use a joystick to submerge the vehicle and net a fish, while the tram simulation consists of pulling the brake lever and pressing a button for the windshield wiper.

Upstairs, the History of Vehicles room shows off dozens of scale models of big ships, airplanes and trains, while the Technology Quest area demonstrates how cranes and forklifts apply basic technology like gears and levers. The small but eclectic gift shop sells scale-model ships (ranging in price from Y8,000 to Y100,000) and tiny airplanes. You can also take home tasteful packets of space food inspired by zero-gravity astronaut fare - these include takoyaki, shrimp gratin, ice cream and "space curry." [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Yatsu Higata, a 1000-acre mudflat connected to Tokyo Bay, is one of the best bird-watching spots in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The wetlands here are an excellent place to see migrating shorebirds during their stopover in Japan, with good bird-watching opportunities all through the year. And it's relatively accessible via public transportion - roughly a twenty-minute walk from JR Minami-Funabashi station and Ikea, which are about 25 minutes from Tokyo station. Yatsu Higata, a 1000-acre mudflat connected to Tokyo Bay, is one of the best bird-watching spots in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The wetlands here are an excellent place to see migrating shorebirds during their stopover in Japan, with good bird-watching opportunities all through the year. And it's relatively accessible via public transportion - roughly a twenty-minute walk from JR Minami-Funabashi station and Ikea, which are about 25 minutes from Tokyo station.

Although it's a mudflat there's no need to bring your wading boots - with an investment of Y300 you can enjoy the wrap-around view from the site's Nature Observation Center. There you'll find good-quality telescopes and binoculars, bird-spotting guidebooks, and a fairly extensive avian-focused library (all in Japanese). A play area is provided to keep younger children busy, and the center's store sells books and bird-themed souvenirs. The cozy little cafe serves pastas and curries, coffee and microbrew beers. [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

If you love instant ramen and want to learn much, much more about the ubiquitous snack and its inventor, Momofuku Ando, you've come to the right place. Walk around inside a replica of the original shed where Ando first created instant ramen back in 1958. Stroll through the "Instant Ramen History Cube" to follow the evolution of flavors and packaging in the intervening decades. Draw inspiration from, or simply be mystified by, the museum's "Creative Thinking Box."

The highlight for most visitors seems to be the My Cup Noodles Factory, where you assemble and take home your own custom-made package of noodles. First, buy an empty styrofoam cup (Y300), which you can personalize with your own package design using magic markers. Select a flavor of powdered broth (your choice of four) and four freeze-dried toppings (out of twelve options), then watch as the whole thing is vacuum-packed, sealed, and presented in a balloon-like inflated plastic carrier. If you love instant ramen and want to learn much, much more about the ubiquitous snack and its inventor, Momofuku Ando, you've come to the right place. Walk around inside a replica of the original shed where Ando first created instant ramen back in 1958. Stroll through the "Instant Ramen History Cube" to follow the evolution of flavors and packaging in the intervening decades. Draw inspiration from, or simply be mystified by, the museum's "Creative Thinking Box."

The highlight for most visitors seems to be the My Cup Noodles Factory, where you assemble and take home your own custom-made package of noodles. First, buy an empty styrofoam cup (Y300), which you can personalize with your own package design using magic markers. Select a flavor of powdered broth (your choice of four) and four freeze-dried toppings (out of twelve options), then watch as the whole thing is vacuum-packed, sealed, and presented in a balloon-like inflated plastic carrier.

Hard-core fans can sign up for the ninety-minute Chicken Ramen Factory experience (Y300), a hands-on workshop in instant-ramen making (in Japanese; advance reservation required). Very young museum patrons might enjoy the Cup Noodle Park play area, which somehow simulates the noodle-making experience from the point of view of the noodles. Hungry visitors will certainly want to sample the fare in the exotically appointed Noodles Bazaar food court, which serves representative noodle dishes from eight countries - Kazakhstan, Italy, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Half-size portions are Y300, so you can try more than one if you like.

[By the way, if you're planning a Yokohama ramen pilgrimage to this museum and the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum, please note that they're not all that convenient to each other - plan for around 40 minutes travel time between them.] [Venue data] [Show more] [Show less]

Aimed squarely at the six-and-under crowd, this popular mini-museum and shopping mall are devoted to the cartoon-pastry hero and his many plush and collectible friends. The main reason to fork over Y1000 for the museum entrance fee is probably the live-action theater area; the rest of the mall is free. In addition to all the character-themed goods you could possibly imagine, the mall features a cafe-bakery serving character-themed baked goods, a full-fledged restaurant and a hair salon. [Venue data]