Museum sights in Tokyo
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A
National Film Center
Under the auspices of the National Museum of Modern Art, the National Film Centre is an archive of films, books, periodicals, posters and other ancillary materials related to Japanese film. There are two or three screenings almost every day of the year – most films are in Japanese only, but the ¥500 admission price can't be beaten. On the 7th floor you'll find a permanent exhibit dedicated to the history of Japanese cinema. Excellent English captions provide interesting historical insight, and the collection of retro posters and video clips offer at least an hour's worth of fun. If the location of this museum seems a bit random (lost in a modern business district), know…
reviewed
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B
National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation
Kids will love the engaging exhibits at this science museum, where most displays have excellent explanations in English and friendly staff can fill in the blanks. There are the spectacular planetarium (buy tickets for a show upon arrival), opportunities to interact with robots, and tonnes of exhibits about space, medicine and the environment.
reviewed
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Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan (National Science Museum)
This large, sprawling, multistorey museum dedicated to the pursuit of science is packed with delights, especially if you're travelling with the little ones. Displays (eg of the forest or animals of the savannah) are imaginatively presented, some allowing kids to climb up, down, around and even within.
Other displays explain concepts of physics and mechanics by showing just how mystical things like magnets do what they do. Also, don't miss the giant, life-sized replica of blue whale that soars over the entrance to the museum. And of course, there are dinosaurs, dinosaurs and more dinosaurs…
There is English signage throughout, though it's not nearly as extensive as the…
reviewed
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C
Kantō Earthquake Memorial Museum
This museum presents sombre exhibits about the 1923 earthquake that destroyed more than 70% of the city and killed more than 50,000 people. Maps chart the course of the devastating fires, while cases display glassware, eyeglasses, binoculars, tools and other objects convoluted by heat. There is also a harrowing collection of photographs and paintings of the aftermath. The museum has generalised to cover other disasters to strike Tokyo prefecture, including WWII air raids and the volcanic eruption on one of the prefecture’s southern islands. The museum sits in Yokoami-kōen (Yokoami Park), with other memorial buildings and a garden dedicated to quake victims. A pleasant…
reviewed
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D
Ukiyo-e Ōta Memorial Art Museum
This cosy museum, which asks that you trade your shoes for a pair of slippers at the door, has an excellent collection of ukiyo-e (wood-block prints). The original collector, Ōta Seizo, former head of the Toho Life Insurance Company, began to buy ukiyo-e when he realised that many important examples of Japanese wood-block prints belonged to foreign museums, making it impossible for Japanese to view many of the genre’s masterworks. The museum usually displays no more than a few dozen works at a time from its collection of over 10,000 prints, including those by masters of the art such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. Note that the museum closes between the 27th and the end of…
reviewed
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E
National Museum of Western Art (Kokuritsu Seiyō Bijutsukan)
This museum has its roots in French impressionism, but runs the gamut from medieval Madonna and Child images to 20th-century abstract expressionist painting. All the big names are here, particularly Manet, Rodin, Miró and the Dutch Masters. It also hosts wildly popular temporary exhibits on loan from such stalwarts as the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The main building was designed by Le Corbusier in the late 1950s and is now on UNESCO’s World Heritage list; a couple of additions have been made since. Much of the original collection was amassed by Matsukata Kōjiro (1865–1950), president of a shipbuilding company and later a politician. He would travel frequently to Europe on…
reviewed
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F
Tokyo National Museum (Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan)
If you visit only one museum in Tokyo, make it this one. The Tokyo National Museum’s grand buildings hold the world’s largest collection of Japanese art, and you could easily spend many hours perusing the galleries here. The building dates from 1939, and is in the imperial style, which fuses Western and Japanese architectural motifs. The museum has four galleries, the most important of which is the Honkan (Main Gallery). For an introduction to Japanese art history from Jōmon to Edo in one fell swoop, head to the 2nd floor. Other galleries include ancient pottery, religious sculpture, arms and armour, exquisite lacquerware and calligraphy. The Gallery of Hōryū-ji…
reviewed