A full sized blue whale model outside the Museum
National Museum of Nature and Science
I whiled my time away waiting for my friend to return from her work in Singapore by spending the afternoon at the National Museum of Nature and Science located at 7-2 Ueno Park, Tokyo. This museum was reportedly one of the biggest science museum in Japan and home to over 25,000 exhibits from human evolutions, deep physics, dinosaurs, solar planetary and to almost everything on earth.
Admissions
Entry for adults cost about 630 yen, and closed on Monday, so plan your museum adventuring accordingly. No pre-booking was required, just be aware that the museum opens from 9-5pm, and the place was so huge with like 6 floors of exhibits, i reckon one could spend the whole day in there if they were to deep dive and understand each exhibit slowly.
Special Exhibits
They run special exhibitions throughout the year and it always changes. I was there during their special dinosaur exhibit but i didn’t realise i need to pre-book that online a few days before, therefore i couldn’t visit the special exhibit. The admission price will differ from the original admission to the museum. Prioritise your time properly as time can fly when one gets immersed in new discoveries, then you realise it’s 5pm :X
General guide to exhibits
Japan Gallery
The museum is spilt into Japan Gallery and Global gallery over 6 floors. In Japan gallery, you will delve deep into the history of the Japanese Islands, the ecology as well as the inhabitants of Japanese Island. While most people will probably skip this section due to lack of time or interest, i do recommend doing a quick tour of the space, you will be surprised at the discoveries and may you appreciate Japan and its land a little more after the tour.
Global Gallery
This is where the fun begins for most people like myself because there’s a whole floor dedicated to evolution of life where you get to explore the evolutions of the Dinosaurs. I love Dinosaurs exhibit, i can spend a few hours just ogling at the amazing fossils and structures of those giants, better if they have interactive panels to learn more about the species.
Fret not, there’s many other exhibits in this order according to floor levels. It covers 3 levels underground and 3 levels above ground.
- B3F – Exploring the structure of Nature (science, universe and matter)
- B2F – Evolution of Life ( earth’s origin through to human’s existence)
- B1F – Evolution of Life ( exploring mysteries of Dinosaur evolution)
- M2F – Great Japanese figures in Science & Tech
- 1F – Navigators on Earth (marine life, biodiversity)
- 2F – Progress in Science and Technology ( Japan progress EDO period and modernisation)
- 3F – Animals on Earth
- RF – Chill place to enjoy, has a herb garden and sky deck
Fancy a visit to the museum? You won’t be disappointed, i lost sense of time and missed the lunch hour. Besides, the aircon was a great welcome to the heat outside. It’s an ideal place for the families especially in the peak of summer, where it is hot outside, this place will keep everyone happy.
Bonus: Capy neko Cafe
Location: Japan, 〒180-0003 Tokyo, Musashino, Kichijoji Minamicho, 1 Chome−5−10 PLATANO 2階
Reservations required, you can translate the page into english for easy access.
Look hard or you could miss the cafe!
My friend has finally returned from her short urgent trip home and she’s back! We decided to wind down the remaining of the day at a Capyneko cafe. This concept was more of a cat cafe where they hope to find foster parents for the cat, but at the same time, they had a capybara named Kii-chan!
Capybara Kii-Chan & the cats
Costing 2800 yen per person for 60 minutes, this cafe allows you to relax with the cats (they are all quite friendly) and a resident capybara named Kii-Chan, who was huge at the point we visited. Capybara is a rodent and they do have sharp teeth, so do not get too rowdy with them, like cats, they can get annoyed too. Otherwise, they are happy to be petted, and chasing after the treats that the cafe helpers dished out from time to time.
Here are some videos and photos of our fun 60 minutes there, i would say its more than sufficient, there’s only that much energy level the cats are willing to shell out for you before they head back to their sweet spot to snooze.
Kichijoji
Kichijoji is a trendy neighbourhood located just outside of Central Tokyo. I came to know of this gem because the Capy Neko Cafe was here. When i first alighted from the train station, i saw how crowded and vibrant the neighbourhood was. Malls everywhere and street stalls with plenty of entertainment and food options.
Oh i could spend a whole day exploring this neighbourhood. Sadly i was there mainly for the Capy Neko Cafe but i would love to return some day to do some cafe hopping and visit some of their famous sights. They are apparently very well known for the Ghibli museum as well as the Inokashira Park which happens to be a very popular cherry blossom spot in April.
Another excuse to return next time 🙂
Next post, our last full day in Japan, where do you think we are headed next?