Ueno
[Open 9am-10pm (weekends -9pm) daily.]
Illustrator Chiharu Sakazaki's beloved penguin mascot, Suica's Penguin, now has an exclusive character goods shop inside JR Ueno Station. Images of the efficient urban penguin, originally designed to promote prepaid Suica cards from private railway...
[Open 9:30am-4:30pm. Closed Mondays.]
[Update: the Shitamachi Museum is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2025.] To get a real hands-on grasp of what life must have been like back in the dark days before instant noodles, the Shitamachi Museum is the place to go. Shitamachi ("low city") is...
[Open 9am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]
This is an outstanding natural history museum, with beautiful, curiosity-inspiring exhibits exploring the animal and plant kingdoms and the prehistoric world. It's also a real bargain - general admission to the vast permanent exhibition areas is...
The magnificent main building of this concert hall was completed in 1961 and designed by the Japanese modernist architect Kunio Maekawa. Maekawa apprenticed with Le Corbusier in Paris from 1928-1930 before returning to Japan and starting his own...
[Open 9:30am-5:30pm (Fri -8). Closed Mondays.]
This is the only building in Japan designed by renowned French architect Le Corbusier. The three-story reinforced-concrete structure was finished in 1959, based on detailed drawings by three Japanese apprentices of Le Corbusier's - Kunio Maekawa,...
[Open 9:30am-5:30pm (last entry 5pm). Closed Mondays.]
Five of the six galleries in this city-run facility are rental galleries, used by local artistic associations for temporary exhibitions, and thus the shows here cover a wide range of genres and levels of quality. The museum itself runs the...
[Open 9am-5pm (tickets sold until 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
Perhaps best known for its beloved giant pandas, Ueno Zoo is home to more than 2600 animals from more than 450 species. Zoo highlights include a petting zoo, a small-mammal house with a nocturnal animal section, and a reptile and amphibian house...
[Open 9:30am-5pm (enter by 4:30pm; Fri-8pm). Closed Mondays.]
The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures is part of Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park. It houses more than 300 historical artifacts, mainly from the seventh and eighth centuries, which were donated to the Imperial Household by Horyuji Temple in Nara in...
[Open 10am-8pm. Closed Wednesdays.]
With an atmosphere reminiscent of the bustling food markets of Hong Kong and Thailand, the basement of this old commercial building is filled with small shops specializing in ingredients from China, Korea, Southeast Asia and South Asia. You'll find...
[Open 11am-10pm daily.]
There are twenty-six feline residents - several of them rescue cats from a local shelter - at this conveniently located cafe just around the corner from Ueno station. The playroom is furnished with climbing trees, lots of empty boxes to explore,...
Yanaka, Sendagi, Nippori
[Open noon-7pm. Closed Sun, Mon.]
Occupying a renovated 200-year-old bathhouse, this cutting-edge gallery represents some of Japan's best-known contemporary artists. The space itself is fairly small, so it's best to combine a visit here with other sights in the neighborhood. Also...
[Open 10am-6pm (enter by 5:30pm). Closed 4th Tuesday of the month.]
This small literary museum is devoted to Meiji-era novelist, translator, critic and physician Ogai Mori (1862-1922). The attractively appointed museum building was constructed in 2012 on the site of Mori's former residence near Sendagi station. ...
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]
We were greeted by loud squawks as we entered the building - just a small taste of the exotic-bird adventure ahead. In spite of the name, this current incarnation of Tori no Iru Cafe (Cafe with Birds) isn't technically a cafe but a pet store - a...
[Open 1-5pm. Closed weekdays.]
Popular with insect fans of all ages (but mostly children), this specialized museum is devoted to the life of French entomologist Jean Henri Fabre (1823-1915), who was famous in Japan as the author of the beautifully written Fabre's Book of Insects....
[Open 9am-9pm daily.]
Advertised as Japan's first Italian cat cafe, Yadorigi serves Italian food and coffee as well as wine, craft beer and cat-themed cocktails. They're a rescue-cat cafe, so most of the dozen or so resident cats (numbers may vary) are ready for...
[Open 10:30am-5:30pm daily.]
Located in the heart of the cat-obsessed Yanaka district, Yanakado specializes in manekineko - beckoning cat figurines - along with other tasteful cat-themed goods. Manekineko figurines come in all sizes, with both raised right paws (for good...
[Open 11am-6pm. Closed Mondays (except holidays).]
Setting themselves apart from the other cat-focused gift shops in Yanaka, Neko Action sells original artwork and cat-themed craft items such as ceramic figurines, T-shirts and nihonga-style painted stones. There are also bento boxes and chopstick...
[Open 11am-6pm. Closed Mon, Tue, Wed.]
Tokyo is home to a suprising number of galleries devoted to cat-themed art, but Gallery Necomachi ("Cat Town") is one of the oldest and most serious. During a recent visit we took in small exhibitions from four or five different artists, ranging...
[Open 10:30am-5pm daily.]
One of several cat-themed novelty goods shops in the Yanaka area, "Cloth Balloon" carries everything from plush toys and miniature ceramic figurines to bags, slippers and aprons. They have an unusually wide selection of cat-shaped holders for...
[Open noon-6pm daily.]
Give them thirty minutes and Y2600, and the staff of this tiny shop will produce a custom-made hanko seal for you, with your name and an illustration of a kitty cat, bunny rabbit or cartoon bear. There's a big selection of cute animals to choose...
[Open 9:30am-4:30pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays, Thursdays.]
The former home and studio of sculptor Fumio Asakura (1883-1964) now houses a surprisingly large museum dedicated to his work. The sprawling building was designed by Asakura himself, and consists of a European-style studio wing, where he ran an art...
[Open 9:30am-4:30pm (enter by 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
Although it's called a Calligraphy museum, the collection here focuses mainly on the early history of the Chinese (and later Japanese) written language through its use in inscriptions on ancient Chinese jade, bronze and ceramic objects. There are...
Asakusa
Boats to Hinode Pier via Hamarikyu on the Sumida River Line. 40/35 min. travel time. Boats run once or twice an hour 10am-5:10pm or later. Boats to Toyosu via Odaiba Seaside Park on the Asakusa Odaiba Direct Line. 70/50 min. travel time. Boat...
Dating back to A.D. 628, this is Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple and also its most popular. Leading from the main gate is a long pedestrian walk lined with nearly 100 bustling little stands selling souvenirs and crafts. This is one of the rare...
[Open 9am-8pm (rooftop and cafe -10pm) daily.]
Rising from a relatively narrow (326-square-meter) plot, the seven-story structure is fashioned as a series of irregular horizontal planes stacked precariously on top of each other, with several of the levels bounded by distinctive-looking walls of...
[Open 11am-8pm (last entry 7:30pm). Closed Tuesdays.]
This cat cafe in the heart of tourist-filled Asakusa has a limited number of cats - eight at last count - but the staff seem to be good at keeping them engaged with various cat toys and other entertainment. The playroom is nicely furnished with...
[Open 11am-9pm. Closed Tuesdays.]
It isn't the biggest or the most populous cat cafe in town, but the vivacious and outgoing proprietor helps make Nekoen (Cat Park) a comfortable spot to hang out for an hour. And it doesn't hurt that they serve alcohol, so you can treat the place...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays.]
By far the noisiest museum we've been to in Tokyo, Asakusa's Drum Museum is also one of the most interactive. Hundreds of percussion instruments of all shapes and sizes are on display here, many of them waiting to be banged on by visitors - just...
[Open 10am-6pm (Sun 12:30-5:30pm). Open every day.]
Patronized by both professional chefs and home cooks, Kamata uses traditional methods to craft their knives, offering more than 800 different items for sale. It's also a good place to buy whetstones, which make nice gifts for any chefs in your...
[most shops 10am-6pm; some closed Sundays.]
Tsukiji fish market may be the first destination for foodies visiting Tokyo, and a department store basement food floor is also an essential stop, but one often-neglected attraction is the restaurant-supply district of Kappabashi. Famous for its...
[Open 10am-7pm daily.]
Located at the entrance to the Kappabashi shopping district on the corner of Asakusa-dori and Kappabashi-dori, this two-story shop offers an impressive selection of tableware in all price ranges. Upstairs you'll find artisanal pottery from all over...
[Open 9am-6pm daily.]
Although the custom is not as popular as it once was, some restaurants in Japan still show off plastic food models in their display windows to entice passersby. Maizuru is where they buy them. You can purchase realistic-looking plastic...
Skytree (Oshiage)
[Open 11am-8:30pm (LO). Closed Tuesdays.]
This local neighborhood spot is more like a rescue-cat shelter than a cat cafe, and unlike in typical cafes, we definitely noticed the presence of litter boxes as soon as we entered the room. There are some charming cats here though, and if you're...
[Open 8am-10pm daily.]
The world's highest free-standing broadcast tower, Skytree stands 634 meters tall and has two observation decks, situated at 350 meters and 450 meters. A restaurant, cafe and souvenir shop are located on the lower deck. The tower is part of...
[Open 10am-9pm daily.]
A long-established food-model shop in Kappabashi, Ganso has opened a less professional-oriented, more souvenir-centered shop in Tokyo Skytree's attached shopping mall. They sell both regular samples and souvenir items like keychains and...
[Open 10am-9pm daily.]
A very tasteful Kobe-based stationery and design shop, Neue really stands out among its souvenir-shop neighbors here in Tokyo Skytree. In addition to pens, notebooks and other stationery items they also carry wallets, briefcases and messenger...
[Open 9am-8pm (last entry) daily.]
Penguins are the star performers at Sumida Aquarium, where they cavort in a 350-ton indoor tank at the center of a two-story atrium space. You can also get a glimpse of marine life of the Ogasawara Islands, which are officially part of Tokyo...
[Open 10:30am-6pm daily.]
Wondering what Japanese robots are up to these days? Find out at the Tokyo Skytree campus of Chiba Institute of Technology, which is actually just a couple of exhibition spaces located upstairs from the Skytree's shopping-mall complex. One area is...
[Open 10am-5:30pm (last entry 5pm) daily.]
Stamp collectors and stamp enthusiasts will be excited to explore the centerpiece of this specialty museum - an impressively huge collection of more than 330,000 postage stamps from around the world, carefully arranged in hundreds of vertical...
[Open 10am-6pm (enter by 5:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Run by cigarette conglomerate Japan Tobacco, this oddly specialized museum focuses on the history of tobacco use around the world and the history of the Japanese salt industry. Graphic design historians can draw inspiration from a huge wall display...