Museums in Tokyo's heart
Ueno Park, one of the most popular cherry blossom spots in Tokyo, is home to two massive and architecturally contrasting museums: the Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Nature and Science.
Tokyo National Museum
Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum was inaugurated in 1882 in a ceremony attended by Emperor Meiji.
It is the largest and oldest national museum in Japan, but it has its origins in a small collection exhibited at the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair.
It has six separate gallery buildings that house the world's greatest collection of Japanese and East Asian art, around 115,000 pieces that range from samurai swords, books, kimonos, sculptures, and technological artifacts.
These galleries are so large and architectonically different that they could be individual museums.
Tokyo National Museum (2018-03-29/2018-03-29) by Leodaphne
The Tokyo National Museum has undergone renovations in order to make it resistant to earthquakes.
The Toyokan, the Asian Gallery of the Tokyo National Museum, was designed in 1968 by Yoshiro Taniguchi, best known for his redesign of the MoMa in New York.
Did you know that the Tokyo National Museum receives more than 2 million visitors annually?
Tokyo Science Museum
National Museum of Nature and Science
The National Museum of Nature and Science has everything from anthropological to space pieces.
Its architecture is as eclectic as its exhibits a life-size statue of a blue whale receives the visitors to this neo-Renaissance building that reveals an airplane shape when seen from above.
It also contains interactive exhibitions and a domed 360-degree cinema.
National Museum of Nature and Science (2020-01-25/2020-01-25) by Kuremo
The motto of the National Museum of Nature and Science is “Explore the Power of Imagination”.
The largest fragment of the Nantan meteorite that fell in China in the 16th century is housed in the National Museum of Nature and Science.
Did you know that the stuffed body of Hachiko, Japan’s most famous dog, is displayed at the National Museum of Nature and Science?
The Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Nature and Science offer a comprehensive panorama of Japan’s artistic expression and development from prehistory to this day that appeal to different ages and help the public develop a better understanding of Japanese life.
