Best Museums around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

A secret underground cavern! Enjoy seeing historical Oya Stone and panoramic views.

A unique art museum displaying future works and commanding a magnificent view of Lake Ashino-ko in Hakone.

A museum specializing in nihonga (Japanese paintings) with a collection of about 1,800 works consisting mainly of modern and contemporary Japanese paintings. It holds various special exhibitions as well.

Japan's first national art museum located next to the Imperial palace, and it houses more than 12,500 artworks.

A hall that holds rakugo (comic storytelling) performances throughout the year. It also holds a variety of other performances, such as manzai (a two-man comedy act), that are worth seeing.

A unique hexagon-shaped art museum that houses some 2,000 ceramics, Japanese lacquerwares, and tea kettles.

It is Japan's only national nature and science museum, which presents the history of nature and science; it is located in Tokyo. Its theater, in which a movie can be displayed in a panoramic 360 degrees, is worth seeing.

The Higashi-yamato Municipal Folk Museum has ”the Sayama Hills and life” as its theme. The museum has a planetarium equipped with a Megastar projector, which casts images of stars.

A building that is in itself a work of art. An art center where you can enjoy a variety of art exhibitions.

It has over 5,000 pieces of Japanese and Oriental antique art. The building in the shinden-zukuri aristocratic architectural style (developed between the late 7th to early 11th century) and the Japanese garden are worthy of a viewing.

An open-air museum where historical buildings having high cultural value are restored and displayed on a large site.

This is an admission-free art gallery opened in the Ginza district by Pola Group, which is expanding its cosmetics business, to make this facility the information-dissemination center for art and culture.

Saitama Midori-no-mori Museum is a field museum that presents the satoyama (traditional agricultural) landscapes of Sayama-kyuryo Hills, such as wooded areas and swamps.

This is the world's first museum dedicated to the classic novella ”The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It displays documentation and memorabilia from the author Saint-Exupéry, and visitors can fully enjoy the world of ”The Little Prince.”

This art museum has the longest history in the Hakone area. On the premises, there is a tea ceremony room from which you can enjoy the landscape of each season.

The Yokohama Archives of History is situated near Kaiko Plaza Park, where the Kanagawa Convention or the US-Japan Peace and Amity Treaty was signed. It is a house of archives where you can learn about the history of Yokohama City.

A technology gallery where you can experience Japanese high technology by looking, touching and operating. A guided tour is available, as well.

The museum houses 900 drums, including Japanese drums and others from all over the world. Visitors can touch and play the drums.

The Railway Museum displays 37 real railway cars and lets you try out rail car operations yourself.

Observe how sturdy silk fabrics are produced