National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo : Guide

One of the must do on our overseas trip is to visit the local museum. A visit to the museum is one of the ways to immerse oneself to the local history and culture. The gems of knowledge found within are always a pleasure to discover.

During our last trip to Tokyo, we decided to pay a visit to the National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo. Located at the serene Ueno Park, the museum is easily accessible via a 10 minute stroll from Ueno Station.

Ueno Park

Ueno Park is a fantastic place to visit in Tokyo. There are many museums located in its premises, so do note which museum you are visiting. Other than the National Museum of Nature and Science, National Museum for Western Art,  Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum are also found there.

It you wander around , you may end up in Ueno Zoo or even a temple or two.

National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo

Look our for either a large sperm whale replica or a locomotive and you would know that you have landed on the right spot.

The museum main exhibitions are free for kids under high school age. Adults only have to pay ¥620 for admission.

The Museum itself is separated into 2 wings. The Main building itself house the Japan Gallery while the other wing houses the Global Gallery.

The main building itself has interesting features. Look up to appreciate it's charm.

Look up !

We recommend to start at the Japan Gallery with a visit to the Theater 360. This is a mini imax theatre that offers 360 degree view of a movie aka Cerebo from Xmen. The movie is usually in Japanese, but the effect of being immerse in a movie transcend language barriers. A must do when you are at National Museum of Nature and Science.

The Japanese Gallery spans over 3 floors.

Starting from Japanese people and nature on the 1st floor to History of Japanese Island, there is something to learn from every floor.

Most of the exhibits involve Nature and Science... oh yeah, naturally since we are at the National Museum of Nature and Science.

One of the more impressive display is the A Pleslosaur found on the 3 F.

The whole 3 F should be covered in about 1-2 hours.

Japan Wing guide is available from the museum website

A Pleslosaur

Once you are done, save yourselves another 2 hours or so to visit the Global Gallery. 

The Global Gallery house an impressive collection of Dinosaurs bones and replicas.

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Here you learn about the evolution of life and get to see the many different human skulls of different eras.

The biodiversity found within the permanent exhibits is indeed a sight to behold. It makes you feel like you are in a mini Noah's Ark.

Check out the many bugs found in the Diversity of Terrestrial Life on the 1st floor.

There is even a giant squid found there. For size comparison from the photo below, the above is the size of a normal squid.

The Global Gallery comprises of 7 floors! 

The best floors in our opinion would be the basements B1- B3. 

The reason?

We think the pictures below says it all...

This is by far one of the largest collection of dinosaur bones we had seen in one museum. Truly impressive.

The second floor house the 'Progress in Science and Technology '

The exhibits are mostly Japanese origin with a few interactive stations . There are English translations of the exhibits to cater to international guests.

Minority Report.

On the third floor, the Noah Ark Theme is extended with a huge display of different mammals in Savanna.

For the full map of the exhibit, refer to the museum website.

A pleasant surprise awaited the boys as we discovered an indoor playground , Compass, on the same floor.

The indoor playground is build for children age 4-6. It encourages interactive plays between parent and child. Kids from age 0-12 are also welcome on the premises.

Admission is free, but you need to get a ticket on the 1st floor for admission. Each admission give you about 40 minutes of playtime within a fix time slot.

Occasionally , there are special exhibition on display, so do check with the Museum if you are keen to attend. Special exhibitions cost extra.

A proper visit to the museum would take about 3-5 hours. We think this would be a great way to spend a day in Tokyo. Combine this attraction with a visit to the Ueno Zoo and you would have a full day of fun at a cost of less than $30 for a family of 4. We reckon you would get more than your money's worth in a day of educational fun in Tokyo!

National Museum of Nature and Science

7-20 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8718

9am-5pm

Every Monday (If Monday is a national holiday, the Museum is open Monday and closed the following Tuesday.)
Year-end/New Year holiday (December 28 to January 1)

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