Traditional picks
[Open 10am-5pm (enter until 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Pre-modern art from Japan, China, and other Asian countries is the focus of the collection here, with some 7000 items including painting and sculpture, calligraphy, ceramics and lacquerware. The stunning building was designed by architect Kengo...
[Open 10am-4pm. Closed Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon.]
Traditional Japanese wooden architecture is the focus of this fascinating mini-museum, with a particular emphasis on the technique of wood joinery - the art of constructing wooden buildings with interlocking wooden joints instead of nails and...
[Open 10:30am-5:30pm. Closed Mondays.]
Specializing in ukiyoe (woodblock prints), this three-story museum puts together thematic exhibitions every month showcasing portions of their collection of 12,000 woodblock prints. Around half the prints on display any given month have...
[Open 9:30am-5:30pm (enter by 5pm). Closed Mondays.]
This lovely museum is devoted to the work of Katsushika Hokusai, Japan's most famous ukiyoe artist, who lived and worked for most of his life here in this traditional neighborhood. The wide-ranging permanent collection provides a good overview of...
Crafts
[Open 11am-7pm. Closed Wednesdays.]
Officially known as "2k540 Aki-Oka Artisan," this is a complex of galleries, boutiques and workshops for artisans of both traditional and modern crafts. Lined up under the JR railroad tracks are some two dozen shops selling (and often making...
[Open 10am-7pm. Closed Mondays.]
The main draw at this long-running folk craft store is probably their extensive selection of pottery - dishes, bowls and other tableware in various styles and price ranges - as well as a smaller selection of bamboo and lacquerware for the table. ...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
This ambitious design museum/gallery has the unusual mission of showcasing commercial, industrial and product design from all 47 Japanese prefectures. Products cover everything from pottery, lacquerware and kitchen utensils to stationery, fabrics,...
[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 11am-9pm daily.]
Unlike most prefectural antenna shops, this spacious, attractively appointed store specializes in local handicrafts more than food and drink, and it's well worth visiting just for its pottery selection. You'll also find beautiful glassware, paper...
[Open 10am-5pm (enter by 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
If you are looking for a tranquil relic of old Tokyo, the Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Nihon Mingei-kan) is for you. This tiny but enchanting museum, hidden away in peaceful Komaba, displays folk crafts (mingei) from all over Japan. The founder,...
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]
The Traditional Craft Center in Aoyama offers handy one-stop shopping for a range of Japanese crafts. It's all here and it's all for sale - from pottery, lacquerware and carving knives for your everyday needs to more esoteric washi (paper...
[Open 9:30am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
This small museum will mostly be of interest to Japanese sword enthusiasts and collectors. The facility is run by the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, and there are usually several dozen swords and other objects from their 190-piece...
[Open 9am-5pm. Closed weekends.]
Gorgeous soup and salad bowls, bento boxes, trays and other items for the table are sold at this lacquerware specialty shop. In addition to traditional styles they also offer modern interpretations of the classics, including lovely silver-colored...
[Open 9:30am-6pm. Closed Sundays.]
A combination retail store, gallery space and educational facility devoted to the Japanese art of paper folding. After being inspired by assorted origami works on the gallery floor you can see how origami paper is dyed and painted in the...
History and arts
[Open 9:30am-5pm (enter by 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Located on the banks of the Sumida River, this tiny museum is dedicated to the life and works of the poet Matsuo Basho, who elevated the haiku form to a major literary genre. Basho lived in a thatched cottage somewhere in the nearby area from 1680...
[Open 9:30am-5:30pm (enter by 5pm; Saturdays -7:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
[Update: The Tokyo-Edo Museum will reopen mid-2025] This excellent museum is devoted to the history of Tokyo, formerly known as Edo. Entering the museum via escalator from the third-floor plaza below is an inspiring experience - the massive...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]
Earthquakes. Landslides. Typhoons. Faulty wiring. Japan has its share of danger. But fear not: the fire department is here to help. To learn exactly how they help, visit Tokyo's Fire Museum, where the history of Fire and Rescue in Japan - from...
[Open 9:30am-5pm (enter by 4:30pm). Closed 2nd and 4th Mondays.]
Looking almost like a film set for a historical drama, the main exhibit here is a life-size reconstruction of an early nineteenth-century neighorhood on the banks of the Sumida River, filled with shops, warehouses, private houses, and even a canal...
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]
This repurposed former train station (Manseibashi, last used in 1943) has been beautifully transformed into a niche shopping complex, housing a handful of upscale interior and design stores, cafes, restaurants and other shops. Part of the original...
[Open sunrise to sunset daily.]
One of Tokyo's major tourist destinations, Meiji Shrine is especially popular at New Year's, drawing more than three million visitors during the first three days of January. (The main New Year's Day ritual is held at 7am on January 1.) Other...
This strikingly modern building is a venue for performances of Noh and Kyogen. The auditorium seats 591 people; there is also a reference library, exhibition area and cafeteria. The building was designed by architect Hiroshi Oe and completed in...
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 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 11am-5pm. Closed Sundays.]
A visit to Nihonbashi's Taimeiken Kite Museum feels a bit like stepping into the attic of an eccentric old man. The room is a tangled heap of color and string, requiring you to duck under and step around the hundreds of kites that couldn't fit...
[Open 9:30am-5pm (enter by 4:30pm). Closed 4th Monday.]
This historical museum run by the Tokyo Bureau of Waterworks has surprisingly interesting exhibitions on the history of the public water supply in the capital, spread out over two spacious floors. Upstairs you can get a glimpse into daily life...
[Open 10am-6pm. Closed Mondays.]
Tomo Kikuchi has assembled one of the best collections of contemporary Japanese ceramic art in the world, including works by many recognized master potters, and her collection is still growing with the addition of newly added pieces each year. ...
Japanese gardens
[Open 10am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Mondays, Tuesdays.]
Japanese and Chinese paintings, ceramics, calligraphy, tea ceremony implements, swords and mirrors - there are over 5,000 items making up the museum's impressive collection. Unfortunately, though, we'll probably only get to see most of these...
[Open 9am-5pm (enter by 4:30) daily.]
Sitting on the Tokyo Bay waterfront in the shadow of the skyscrapers of Shiodome, this massive garden was once part of a shogun's villa, with two ponds that were used for wild-duck hunting. It contains the only tidal pond in Tokyo, with a lock that...
[Open 7am-7pm (Oct-Mar: 8am-6pm) daily.]
Filled with lush greenery, this traditional Japanese garden is known for its seasonal flower displays. According to their garden calendar, over the course of the year you can look forward to seeing cherry blossoms (March-April), azaleas...
[Open 9:30am-5pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
Tokyo's largest botanical garden, Jindai is planted with 120,000 trees and bushes representing 4,500 different species. The 750 cherry trees in the cherry grove turn this into a major destination during hanami season, and the plum and rose gardens...
[Open 9am-5pm (enter by 4:30) daily.]
The garden area here is laid out around a large pond inhabited by turtles, carp and ducks and other birds. Kiyoumi Gardens is best known for its collection of exotic landscape stones gathered from around Japan, many of which are used to create...
[Open 9am-5pm (enter by 4:30) daily.]
Construction on this vast, 70,000-square-meter landscape garden began in 1629 by members of the Mito Tokugawa family. The garden presents visitors with a series of walks over bridges and ponds and artificially constructed hills, offering vistas of...
Kyodo no Mori Museum - Park/garden: Fuchu-shi
[Open 9am-5pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
An open-air folk-history museum, Kyodo no Mori houses a number of historical buildings including farmhouses, stores and a townhouse. The main building has exhibition rooms focusing on local history and a large planetarium. The park is also...
[Open 9am-4:30pm (-6pm June-August) daily.]
This lovely public park was once the grounds of a feudal lord's residence in the late seventeenth century, and it was restored in 1927 after being destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake. The pond at the center of the park was originally fed by the...
Sankeien Garden - Park/garden: Yokohama
[Open 9am-5pm (last entry 4:30) daily.]
This traditional Japanese-style garden, which first opened to the public in the early 1900s, is spread out over a massive 17.5-hectare site. Amid the various garden areas are seventeen reconstructed buildings of historical importance. Guided tours...
[Open 9am-4:30pm (enter by 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
The lovely gardens here include sections with three distinct styles - English landscape gardens, French formal gardens, and Japanese traditional gardens. There are several ponds, and a couple of teahouses where you can stop for green tea and sweets...
[Open 10am-6pm (last entry 5:30pm). Closed second and fourth Wednesdays.]
The lovely Art Deco building that houses the Teien Museum was completed in 1933, with interiors designed by Henri Rapin and decorative glass work by Rene Lalique. The beautifully decorated and well-preserved rooms serve as a unique backdrop for the...
Field trips
[Open 9am-4:30pm (Mar-Oct); 9am-4pm (Nov-Feb). Closed Thursdays.]
Omiya's Bonsai Village sprang into life just after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, when many bonsai artists from Tokyo relocated here and established a community. Bonsai fans can start their neighborhood tour at this small museum, then visit...
[Open April-Sept 9:30am-5:30pm; Oct-March 9:30am-4:30pm (last entry 30 min earlier). Closed Mondays (or Tues if Mon is natl holiday).]
This massive open-air museum features preserved and reconstructed examples of Tokyo's Edo-era architecture. Besides merchants' mansions and crowded shops, there's also a mausoleum and a bathhouse. The visitor's center was once a pavilion of the...
This major Shinto shrine was established in 473BC. It is located at the southern end of the massive Omiya Park, surrounded by a grove of Japanese elm trees.
[Open 9am-4:30pm (enter by 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
Exhibits at this rather large museum feature archeological finds from the area, including a pit dwelling from the Jomon period. There are also collections of swords and armor, pottery and metalware, and famous 16th-century scroll paintings depicting...