Museum sights in Northern Honshū
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Tsuruga-jō
The Aizu clan made Tsuruga-jō, their headquarters. The present building is a 1965 reconstruction, but parts of the daunting walls remain, as does the castle's moat. Inside, there's a museum with historical artefacts from battle and daily life. Displays are a bit sketchy, although the frequent martial-arts demonstrations, carried out by adepts in full warrior regalia, are engaging. The 5th storey affords a terrific view of the surrounding town and valley, including Iimori-yama.
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Aizu Sake Brewing Museum
The Aizu Sake Brewing Museum details the history of rice-wine brewing in the area. A fair number of English signs and an English pamphlet make it easy to get a basic sense of the brewing process. Life-size dioramas and old sake advertisements add to the charm. Naturally you can sample the famous tipple for the price of admission.
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Kunimisō
Kunimisō is one of Sado's most popular minshuku, due to its collection of bunya puppets, which the owner likes to demonstrate to guests. It's 15 minutes by bus from Ryōtsu to the Uryūya bus stop, then a long walk. Phone ahead for a pick-up.
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Sendai City Museum
At Sendai City Museum there's a scale model of Sendai castle, along with an exhaustive account of the Masamune era. Among some 13,000 artefacts loaned from the Date family is his distinctive armour.
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Sado Nōgaku-no-sato
Peruse this hi-tech museum of nō drama, with displays of masks and costumes and performances of nō enacted by a cast of animatronic actors.
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Fukushima Prefectural Museum
For nonfeudal glimpses into Aizu-Wakamatsu's history, try the Fukushima Prefectural Museum, with 400 displays ranging from prehistoric times to recent history.
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Aikawa Kyōdo Hakubutsukan
This folk museum has several exhibits from Aikawa's old gold mine, which reached its demise in 1989.
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Sado Rekishi Densetsukan
Tireless robots illustrate dioramas of Sado's history and festivals, as do various holograms
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Munakata Shikō Kinenkan
Situated 5km east of the station is this museum, which houses a collection of prints, paintings and calligraphy by Munakata Shikō (1903–1975), an Aomori native who won international fame in his lifetime. Buses bound for Nakatsutui leave from stop 2 outside the train station for the Munakata Shikō Kinenkan-dōri stop (¥190, 15 minutes).
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Kakunodate Rekishimura Aoyagi-ke
Each of the samurai mansions that make up this museum complex is impressive in its own right, but the highlight of the bukeyashiki is this agglomeration of mini- exhibits. Here you'll find everything from Aoyagi family heirlooms and folk art to valuable antiques including old-time cameras, gramophones and classic jazz records. There is also an impressive amount of samurai weaponry.
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Kakunodate Kabazaiku Denshōkan
Inside you'll find exhibits and demonstrations on kabazaiku, which is the craft of covering household or decorative items in fine strips of cherry bark. This pursuit was first taken up by lower-ranking and masterless samurai in times of hardship.
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Chidō Hakubutsukan
Founded in 1950 by the former Lord Shōnai in order to develop and preserve local culture, this museum features Sakai-family artefacts, a family residence, two Meiji-era buildings, a traditional storehouse and a kabuto-zukuri (a farmhouse with a thatched roof shaped like a samurai helmet).
The museum is on the southwest corner of Tsuruoka-kōen, the site of the former Sakai castle. You can either walk for about 15 minutes southwest from JR Tsuruoka Station, or take a bus from stop 1 – frequent buses bound for Yunohama Onsen pass by the Chidō Hakubutsukan-mae stop (¥200, 10 minutes).
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Aomori-ken Ritsu-bijyutsukan
Located approximately 1km west of the station, the Aomori Prefectural Museum of Art has a decent variety of works on display, including a large outdoor exhibition of Jōmon-era (10,000–400 BC) replica artefacts. There are clear English signs marking the path.
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Akarenga Kyōdokan
This Meiji-era, Renaissance-style, red-brick building now operates as a folk museum. Inside, you'll find wood-block prints of traditional Akita life by self-taught artist Katsuhira Tokushi. Head west from the park and continue south past the Akita New City department store to find the museum.
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