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Sunshine 60 Observatory and Sky Deck
Sunshine 60 is an office tower and one of the tallest buildings in Japan (the 60 refers to the number of floors). What's billed as the world's second-fastest lift whisks you to the top floor where you can gaze out at the Lego blockesque buildings below or perhaps Tokyo's horizon beyond.
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Sunshine International Aquarium
On the top floor of the World Import Mart building is the Sunshine International Aquarium, home to more than 20,000 fish.
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Sunshine Starlight Dome
The planetarium here is a nice diversion for space heads (shows in Japanese only).
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Suntory Museum Of Art
Since its original opening in 1961, the Suntory Museum of Art has always subscribed to the underlying philosophy of 'Lifestyle Art'. Adhering to this mantra, rotating exhibits focus on Japanese ceramics, lacquerware, glass dyeing, weaving and other facets of lifestyle art as opposed to more traditional paintings and sculpture. One of the more innovative museums in the city, the Suntory Museum is likely to thrive in its brand new location at the heart of Tokyo Midtown. Note that the museum is subject to closure between exhibitions.
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Taiko-Kan (Taiko Drum Museum)
More than 600 drums make up this collection from around the world, though only about 200 are available at any one time in the splendidly interactive drum exhibit. You have free rein to touch or play any instrument with no mark - those with a blue dot should be handled carefully, while a red dot means 'off limits'. If you're inspired, you can buy a Japanese-style drum and lots of other festival products at Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten.
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Taikokan
It's tellingly human that the vast majority of us can't resist the temptation to bang a gong, given half the chance. Luckily for our percussive tendencies, this drum museum makes its instruments fair game unless they're marked with a red dot. From taiko (traditional Japanese drums) to African finger-harps, this museum displays examples of drums from around the world.
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Taka Ishii Gallery
Check for exhibitions and opening hours before setting out.
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Tepco Electric Energy Museum
Called Denryokukan, the Tepco Electric Energy Museum is the building on Jingū-dōri with the R2D2-shaped silver dome - it's clearly visible from the Hachikō statue. Operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company, it offers seven floors of knowledge about electricity production and consumption; if you're not fortunate enough to be invited to a Japanese home, the 4th-floor collection will give you a good idea of the state of the art. There are lots of hands-on exhibits, normally a hit with kids.
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Tobacco & Salt Museum
For years, smokers have found solace in Tokyo's cafés and bars, and for much of that time the government was in the business of supplying them through a tobacco monopoly. That company has since been privatised to Japan Tobacco Inc, which is the owner of this museum, a shrine to the bitter leaf, complete with pipes, paraphernalia and wood-block prints.
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Toguri Museum Of Art
A few minutes' walk from Bunkamura, the Toguri displays about 100 items at a time from its 7000-piece collection of fine Japanese, Korean and Chinese porcelain. The galleries are reasonably sized, there's a pretty garden and the residential neighbourhood is so quiet that you'd never guess you're just steps away from Shibuya's hustle and bustle.
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Tokyo Gallery
One of our favourite small galleries, the Tokyo Gallery collaborates with a large studio in Beijing, and shows challenging, often politically pointed works by Japanese and Chinese artists. The staff speaks English and are wonderfully friendly.
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Tokyo International Forum
Located between Tokyo and Yūrakuchō Stations, the Forum is truly one of Tokyo's architectural marvels. Architect Rafael Viñoly won Japan's first international architecture competition with his design that matches a building with this sort-of-trapezoidal lot, hemmed in by train tracks on the east side. Completed in 1996, the land had previously been the site of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Offices, which moved to their present location in Shinjuku .
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Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (Tokyo National Museum)
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 an entire day perusing the galleries here. The building dates from 1939, and is in the imperial style, which fuses Western and Japanese architectural motifs.
Read more about Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan (Tokyo National Museum)
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Tokyo Metropolitan Museum Of Art
Established in 1926, this museum hosts special exhibitions of everything from traditional Japanese arts, such as ink brush and ikebana, to avant-garde shows paid for by groups of artists who collaborate to rent gallery space. One annual event taking place in November, which consistently draws hundreds of thousands, is the exhibit of the Nitten.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Museum Of Photography
In a corner of Yebisu Garden Place, this five-storey museum chronicles the history and contemporary use of still and moving images, and holds 23,000 works, roughly 70% of them Japanese. Displays often comprise exceptional work by photographers from both Japan and abroad, and there's an extensive library of photographic literature from throughout the world.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum
Although this museum hosts art exhibitions (eg Meissen porcelain or pottery by important Japanese artists), its appeal lies principally in the building itself - it's an Art Deco structure built in 1933, designed by French architect Henri Rapin. The interior details remain alluring, including etched tile trim, light fixtures sculpted to look like peaches and pumpkins, and the 'perfume fountain', sort of an early day aromatherapy device.
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Tokyo Wonder Site
Operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Wonder Site comprises three floors of galleries with the aim of promoting new and emerging artists. There is a regularly changing programme of exhibitions, competitions and lectures in media ranging from painting to video art.
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Toyota Amlux
Toyota's Auto Salon features concept cars and virtual-reality driving experiences, which are only two aspects of this fascinating showroom for the mechanically minded. It's a six-storey multimedia extravaganza, with short movies, aerodynamic architecture and visions of vehicular beauty everywhere. There's an English-language floor guide available.
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Toyota Mega Web
In the Palette Town development, Mega Web was designed to display the wares of the Toyota corporation. Yes, it's a showroom, but against all odds it's actually also fun. Test drive vehicles (advance reservation required), try the Mega Theater motion simulator or poke around in the History Garage with cars from the Golden Age. Some facilities close earlier; call ahead to confirm.
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Ukiyo-E Ota 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, Ota 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.
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Watari-Um (Watari Museum Of Contemporary Art)
This progressive and often provocative museum was built in 1990 to a design by Swiss architect Mario Botta. Exhibits are always cutting-edge and sometimes arty-farty - think push-the-envelope photos by Larry Clark, or vacuum-cleaner ballets choreographed by visiting Scandinavians. There's an excellent art bookshop called On Sundays (03 3470 1424; hours vary) where you can browse through its enormous collection of obscure postcards.
Read more about Watari-Um (Watari Museum Of Contemporary Art)
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Yamatane Bijutsukan (Yamatane Museum Of Art)
This exceptional collection includes some 1800 Japanese paintings dating from the Meiji Restoration and onward, of which around 50 are on display at any one time; exhibits change approximately every two months. Some names to look for: Hayami Gyoshū (1894-1935), whose Dancing Flames is an important cultural property; and Okumura Togyū (1889-1990), whose Cherry Blossoms at Daigoji Temple is a masterpiece in pastel colours. The museum is located on the ground floor of the KS Building.
Read more about Yamatane Bijutsukan (Yamatane Museum Of Art)
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Yayoi Museum & Takehisa Yumeji Museum
These two charming brick museums focus mostly on illustrations from popular art, books and other precursors to Japan's manga tradition. The work represents graphic art from the Meiji, Taishō and Shōwa periods, including some Japanese-style Art Deco illustrations. The museums are on a side street facing the northeastern end of Tokyo University.
