Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
196
most user-friendly technology museums I've seen (avoid, however, weekends and school
holidays, when it's packed with families). A great place to get your brain cells up and
running whether you're 8 years old or 80, this museum deserves at least 3 hours.
2-41 Aomi, Koto-ku, Odaiba.
&
03/3570-9151.
www.miraikan.jst.go.jp. Admission ¥600 adults, ¥200
children. Wed-Mon 10am-5pm. Station: Telecom Center, on the Rinkai Line; or Fune-no-Kagakukan, on
the Yurikamome Line (5 min. from either).
Museum of Maritime Science (Fune-no-Kagakukan)
The building hous-
ing the Museum of Maritime Science is shaped like a ship, complete with an observation
tower atop its bridge. Appropriately enough, it's located on Odaiba, reclaimed land in
Tokyo Bay, and offers a good view of Tokyo's container port nearby. The museum, which
you can tour in about 3 hours, contains an excellent collection of model boats, including
wooden ships used during the Edo Period; warships (such as the 1898 battleship
Shiki-
shima
); submarines; ferries; supertankers (such as the
Nisseki Maru,
in use from 1971 to
1985 and the world's largest oil tanker at the time); and container ships. Technical expla-
nations, unfortunately, are mostly in Japanese only, so it's totally worth spending the
extra ¥500 for an audio guide. Children love the radio-controlled boats they can direct
in a rooftop pond. Moored nearby is the
Soya,
constructed in 1938 as a cargo icebreaker;
it served as Japan's first Antarctic observation ship and provides views of living quarters,
the galley, and machine rooms. Those with a lot of time on their hands can also visit the
Yotei Maru,
which once ferried the waters between Aomori and Hokkaido before the
opening of an underwater tunnel made its job obsolete. With the National Museum of
Emerging Science and Innovation nearby, and a public swimming pool (July-Aug) next
door, this area of Odaiba is a good destination for families.
3-1 Higashi-Yashio, Shinagawa-ku, Odaiba.
&
03/5500-1111.
www.funenokagakukan.or.jp. Admission
to Museum (including
Soya
and
Yotei Maru
) ¥700 adults, ¥400 children. Tues-Sun 10am-5pm. Station:
Fune-no-Kagakukan, on the Yurikamome Line from Shimbashi (1 min.).
7
National Museum of Nature and Science (Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsu-
kan)
Japan's largest science museum covers everything from the evolution of
life to Japanese inventions and technology, in expansive, imaginative displays, with
plenty of exhibits geared toward children. A highlight is an entire arena of 100-some
taxidermic animals from around the world, including a polar bear, camel, gorilla, tiger,
bear, and other creatures (some are animals that died at Ueno Zoo). Other highlights
include a dinosaur display; a hands-on discovery room for children exploring sound,
light, magnetism, and other scientific phenomena; re-created wood and marine habitats;
a Japanese mummy from the Edo Period curled up in a burial jar; Hachiko (stuffed, on
the second floor of the main building; there's a famous statue of the dog at Shibuya Sta-
tion); and an extensive exhibition that allows visitors to stroll through some 4 billion
years of evolutionary history. You'll want to spend about 2 hours here, more if you have
children in tow or if you opt for the audio guide (¥200 extra), recommended since
English-language explanations are limited.
Ueno Park, Taito-ku.
&
03/5777-8600.
www.kahaku.go.jp. Admission ¥600 adults, free for children.
Tues-Sun 9am-5pm (to 8pm Fri). Station: Ueno (5 min.). Tokyo Shitamachi Bus: Ueno Koen Yamashita/
Ueno Station.
Open-Air Folk House Museum (Nihon Minka-en)
Whereas the
Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en (see above) is an open-air museum of traditional and modern
Tokyo homes and buildings mostly dating from the late 1800s to the 1940s, this archi-
tectural museum concentrates on rural Japan from centuries past. Located in the
