MUSEUM TOURS IN TOKYO · Japan
The good museum tours in Tokyo fill weeks ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 13 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
teamLab Planets Tokyo: walk-in digital art where your presence changes light, sound, and flowers, with barefoot water rooms up to knee height.
“Amazing! Highly recommended, incredible computer generated interactive installations. Our family (2 adults and 3 teenagers) all loved Teamlabs.”
Guided Samurai and Ninja Museum tour in Tokyo with an English guide, real armor exhibits, shuriken throwing, and samurai dress up for $27.
“Nami our guide was fantastic and shared lots of information on samurai and ninjas and life in japan. throwing shiruken and dressing as a samurai was an added bonus.”
Skip-the-line basic ticket to Samurai Ninja Museum Tokyo with an English guide, costume dress-up, tea ritual, and shuriken games.
“Formal Assessment of Activity Discrepancies During the recent visit, the scheduled activities and stated agenda were not fully executed. The only component of the "ninja experience" that was completed was shuriken throwing. FurthermorRead more”
A guided Tokyo day trip that bundles Studio Ghibli Museum tickets, Hotel Gajoen lunch, Edo open air streets, and smooth coach transport.
“you need maybe 2hrs or less for the Ghibli museum, it's not that big and you dont need to spend the whole day and add additonal activities the museum is great, there is a 15min movie and you can immerse yourself in the museum and buy merchandise”
Dress in a hakama, learn iaido with safe replicas, then tour the Samurai and Ninja Museum in Asakusa for a hands-on samurai feel.
“Ryo-sensei taught our group a kata and then had us fight each other with foam swords. Had a blast and would love to learn more about swordsmanship!”
Katana basics and ninja shuriken practice in Asakusa. Suit up in hakama and armor, tour the museum, and capture warrior photos.
“The space is a bit small but the guide was fantastic and walked us through the history of Samurai and Ninja cultures in Japan. We also met a 22nd generation Samurai who gave us an amazing hour long training routine. My son enjoyed it so much!”
Tokyo’s Art Aquarium Museum GINZA blends goldfish, lighting, music, and scent inside Ginza Mitsukoshi. Plan about 1 hour.
“the music playing in the background made you be in one with the Art”
Ninja training in Asakusa: dress up, throw shuriken, use a blowgun, and hunt for treasures in 75 minutes.
“This was cute. My 5 year old enjoyed it. I think it was a bit overpriced. Guide was great though.”
A 2-hour Tokyo National Museum private tour with an English-speaking guide, from Horyuji treasures and Ukiyo-e to Netsuke and optional archaeology.
“Yoko has been a great guide! Clear and patient has allowed us to make the best out of our 2 hours visit”
A one-day Hakone escape from Tokyo with the Open-Air Museum, Owakudani volcanic valley, and Lake Ashi views, plus shrine time.
“Everything was on time and the ride was smooth. We were able to hit all of the spots with no issues and our guide was really helpful every step of the way. Great way to see Hakone”
Private English-guided 150-minute tour of Tokyo National Museum and Ueno. See Kiyomizu Kannon, Ueno Toshogu, ukiyo-e and samurai artifacts.
“We had a lovely guide, Mister Hattori Yutaka, who gave us a tour of Ueno Park and the Tokyo National Museum. He explained a lot about the temples and shrines, took lots of pictures for us, and tried to make us as comfortable as possible. He was really sweet, and thanks to him and this tour, we had a great time! Thank you!”
Visit Ginza’s Art Aquarium, where goldfish art meets light, sound and fragrance. Timed e-ticket, 1 to 2 hours near Tokyo Station.
“This is a very interesting and unique aquarium. It is combination of an art museum and an aquarium. I found this to be wonderful experience.”
Private Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum tour with an English guide, Kunio Maekawa and Horiguchi houses, plus Shitamachi Ghibli-like scenes.
“The tour was excellent, our guide was very knowledgeable about the history and cultural context of the buildings we saw. Our guide, Yuichi, speaks excellent English and was very kind and considerate. I appreciate that this tour matches you with a guide based on your specific interests. For example I was really interested in traditional Japanese architecture and tea rooms/gardens, so we were matched with a guide who could speak to those. Also the museum has a wide range of buildings from different periods, so it’s really neat to see how Japanese architecture changed and developed from the end of the era of samurai, through the Meiji restoration and lastly…”
Pick the kind of day first. The tour comes second.
