I am going to make a few different posts on here to remember my trip. Stay tuned for the others, I have no plan. Just rolling with it and preparing for an October drawing challenge at the same time. Living in America our museums are expensive and lacking in a lot. Not the case in Japan. Museums are affordable and well put together. Watch me attempt to rank all 8 museums I saw. This was difficult because they were all amazing in their own special way.

Kyoto Train Museum

This museum is LOADED with new and old trains, uniforms, signs, tickets, maps, and odd little trinkets given out by Japan Rail Group over the years. The ground floor walks you through the history of rail lines and trains in Japan. There are also a ton of trains you can walk through or walk and peek into. This museum also had interactive exhibits, which is fun for everyone. The 3rd floor leads to a balcony that overlooks the rail yard next to the museum. Don’t skip this! If you’re collecting the stamps, the last one is right by the balcony. Then you head down to see more trains outside, the service shop and the old train station that is now the gift shop. It was 1500 Yen (~$10) per person to get in. Bonus it was about a 3 minute walk from the Umekoji-Kyotonishi train station.

2. Osaka Aquarium

This aquarium is one of the highest ranked in the world. What was a last minute adventure to get a break from the sun and heat, turned into a fantastic decision. You start on the 8th floor of the aquarium and slowly circle around this massive tank in the middle themed around the Pacific Ocean. You have plenty of opportunities to see the whale sharks, don’t panic when you see the crowd blocking the view. There are tanks one the outside of the walkway down with even more creatures representing the Pacific Rim. Make sure you bring your stamp book, there were a bunch of good stamps here! A bit of a wait to buy tickets, but got in right away. Price depends on the day (aim for a weekday), but is around 2700 Yen (~$20). Whale Shark soft serve was enjoyed at the end.

3. Snoopy Museum Tokyo

Japan is crazy for Snoopy and the Peanuts gang. As soon as you get off the train for the Snoopy museum, you are greeted by a giant Snoopy statue. All you have to do is follow the Snoopy statues through the mall and you will be lead to the museum. About a 10 minute walk from the train station, it makes for a perfect day trip from Tokyo. Two floors of strips, artwork, and collectibles from over the years. There is even a balcony with Snoopy out so you can take a picture. Another museum with stamps! They even have exclusive Gachapon! Be warned they are way more than the usual 300-500 Yen Gachas you get out and about. I think this museum had the best gift shop. They had so many incredible exclusives. I wish I knew that you needed a reservation for the Snoopy cafe next door, because it would’ve been fun to have the full experience. Another museum worth the train ride from Tokyo. Tickets are 2,000 Yen (~$13) to get in.

4. Studio Ghibli Museum

A must see for any fan of Miyazaki’s work. Just walking up to the museum you feel like you have been transported into his mind. Every single square inch of this museum is themed around Ghibli. From the building itself, all the way down to the hot dogs they serve in the cafe. There are no pictures aloud inside the museum and they have people walking around enforcing that. It was amazing to see some framed pieces in person. The gift shop here was a mad house. They let everyone in and it’s shoulder to shoulder throughout the shop. Trying to get a Totoro keychain and a Catbus magnet was a battle. The cafe at the end lets you soak up a few more minutes of the Ghibli magic before heading to the train. It is just 1000 Yen (~$6) to get in, BUT you have to reserve a month ahead of time. There are plenty of Youtube videos on how to get tickets, because they sell out immediately. I had 7 screens sitting in line and got lucky.

5. Gekkeikan Okura Sake Museum

A hidden gem I found at the last minute (really working hard to get breaks from the sun at this point), that should be considered highway robbery. A small museum walks you through the history of Gekkeikan and Sake culture in general. After the museum is a Sake tasting, with 10 different varieties to try. The Sake cup and 3 coins to try 3 different Sakes are included in the…wait for it… 600 Yen (~$4) admission price. At the end they have all of the Sake varieties from the tasting for sale in the gift shop.

6. Kaleidoscope Museum of Kyoto

I think the biggest thing I learned while visiting Japan is leave some time to wander. You never know what you’ll find. The Kaleidoscope museum was one of those hidden golden nuggets. Tucked away on a side street in a simple building resides a large collection of kaleidoscopes. The main exhibit room also houses a projection show throughout the day. You get to try out every single kaleidoscope and there are about 50 in the collection. At just 500 Yen (~$3) to get in, you are obligated to make the trip. At the end you can make your own kaleidoscope or a kit to take home for a small fee.

This one is outside the front door! Free kaleidoscope! Apologies for the glare.

7. Cup Noodles Museum (Yokohama)

The actual museum part of this museum is very small. You can easily get around in 30-45 minutes. They definitely planned on the two factories and the Noodles Bazaar being the show runner here. You can sign up and do the chicken ramen factory (2 hours) or sign up for the CupNoodles factory (45-60 mins). I didn’t want to full blown make my ramen from scratch, but I did make my own CupNoodles and had fun with that. You even get a bag to carry your newly made ramen in. This is considered another day trip from Tokyo, well worth the walk/ride. It is 500 Yen to get into the museum and another 500 Yen to do the factory. For a total of ~$6, you can learn about the history of instant ramen and make your own.

8. Kyoto International Manga Museum

An adventure saved for the very last day of the trip and I was worried we might wreck our perfect museum experience with the mixed reviews. I was wrong! It was incredible and it is in an old elementary school they revamped. They did an incredible job organizing the museum and walking you through the origins and how Manga has evolved over the years. They even have a hall of hands. They make casts of the manga artists that come through and display them all in a large room. Very spooky. I wish I could read Japanese, because then I could’ve sat and read Manga for hours. Their collection is massive. They do have a small collection in English and from other countries. Everything in the museum is in Japanese and English. No worries about communicating! It is 1200 Yen (~$8) to get in.

These were difficult to rank because they were all put together so well and were enjoyable to walk through. Check back for some more Japan posts in the coming weeks!

Must Visit Museums in Japan

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