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Museums - Tokyo Hotels .com

As one of the world's major cities and the capitol of Japan, Tokyo has some of the best museums on earth. From tiny art galleries to huge spaces dedicated to ancient Japanese history, there are endless exhibits to explore in Tokyo.

Art is one of the best ways to familiarize yourself with a place. Japan boasts some of the world's most recognized art, from ancient carvings to groundbreaking modern installations. To view art in a tranquil, garden-like setting, head to the Asakura Choso Museum (7-18-10 Yanaka). This relatively small gallery was once the residence and studio of sculptor Asakura Fumio, who carved statues of statesmen, women, and cats.

A stop at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (1-13-3 Mita) is a must for any photography enthusiast. It has an impressive 18,000 works in its enormous library, many on the cutting edge of contemporary photography. Featuring renowned artists from the Meiji period on, the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art (3 Kitanomaru Koen Park) is the ideal gallery to experience all types of modern art. For glittering views of the bay and an outstanding animation collection, visit the Suntory Museum of Art located at Tokyo Midtown Gardenside in Akasaka-Roppongi.

Not only does Tokyo have a plethora of art galleries, there are plenty of museums dedicated to history, science, and culture. Travel back to the historic period when Tokyo was known as Edo at the Edo-Tokyo Museum (1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku). Tokyo's entire history, from the city's birth to today, is put on display at this museum with permanent exhibits that depict its culture, politics, and people.

To truly get a sense of Edo-period architecture, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum (3-7-1 Sakura-cho) has traditional Japanese residences on display in an open-air village setting. If modern science and technology appeal to you more than history, don't despair, this megacity has it all. The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (2-41, Aomi, Koto-ku) gives visitors a chance to explore science in unique ways with virtual reality rides, the Honda robot, and a model maglev train.

And if time is an issue, the Kite Museum (1-12-10 Nihombashi), Beer Museum Yebisu (4-20-1 Ebisu), and the Drum Museum (2-1-1 Nishi-Asakusa) can all be explored in about 30 minutes and are worth stopping into.