National Museum of Nature and Science
Education | Avg price: ¥620 | English Available: None (Unknown)
Reviews
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Gorgeous architecture and world-class exhibition
You can't miss this museum as there is a full-size model of a blue whale hovering in front of it. The building in the neo-Renaissance style was erected in 1931after the Great Kanto Earthquake and meets the rigorous earthquake standards of today. The interiors are beautiful with stained glass windows, atria with vaulted ceilings, and airy galleries. My favorite gallery in the north wing is the history of the Japanese people with life-size models, artifacts, and a lot of interpretation. For kids, the "touch and talk" wagons with volunteers let kids interact with objects and a play space. I recommend browsing the museum's website before you go - it's multilingual with some interactive elements. Search for "kahaku" to see the website.
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on Oct 29
Navigator for plain sailing
If you are in Ueno on a rainy day with kids, I recommend the National Museum of Nature and Science over the other museums in the area. It is a lot more engaging for children than the other neighboring museums. It is worth a visit no matter what the weather though. It is a huge museum packed with millions of specimen and many of the exhibits are interactive. You can rent an English (Basic Japanese / Mandarin / Korean) tablet navigator for 320 yen a day which introduces the must see exhibits and will guide you smoothly through the exhibits. It also has a guide on manners in a museum for children, which is pretty cool.
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on Dec 1
World-class museum
Ueno's National Museum of Nature and Science is a great place to visit if you're in the area, and a nice addition to a Ueno Park trip. I think it's especially wonderful if you have dinosaur-loving kiddos, as there are loads of fossils they can marvel at. One thing to note is that some - but not all - exhibits have English translations, so if you can't read Japanese confidently you may not be able to get all of the info about a certain topic. However, a lot of it is fairly self-explanatory just by looking, so I don't really think it's too much of a downside. Another great thing about the museum is it's super cost-effective. Adult admission is ¥630, but high school students and younger get free admission. A very reasonable "average" price per head if you're visiting with kids/teens!
TonetoEdo
on Mar 10