Japan Explored: 24 Must-See historical museums to Add to Your Bucket List
Unveil the top 24 must-visit historical museums in Japan with our expertly curated list. Immerse yourself in 24 best historical museums to visit or discover the hidden treasures with our list of 24 must-visit historical museums. Don’t miss out on Japan’s best with 24 top-rated historical museums to experience.
Information about Japan
The Japanese Empire consists of almost three thousand islands, the largest of which are the islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and Hokkaidon. This wonderful island country is located in the far east, and it is a mountainous country, as mountains cover 70% of its total area. The capital of the country is the world-famous city of Tokyo. Japan is one of the most important Asian countries because it is one of the most important economic powers in the world, as it exports industries and special technology to many countries. Japan is one of the countries that managed, in the midst of the great development that is taking place in the world, to preserve its civilization and traditions. You will find the population following many customs and traditions that have existed for ages, such as sitting on pillows when eating, bowing to greet, and others. Although customs and traditions are an essential thing in Japan, they were able to create more and add to those customs, so the culture of animation or what is called “anime” has become one of the most prominent things that bring foreign tourists to this country, as this animation that Japan created has become its own. It has a global reputation, and many festivals and events specialized in anime are held in the country, and are frequented by visitors from all over the world. Moreover, Japan is also distinguished by its amazing nature, which is different from any other place in the world.
A list of the best Historical museums in Japan
Get ready to explore the ultimate historical museums destinations in Japan with our carefully crafted list of top-rated spots. We’ve done the research for you, scouring the reviews of countless visitors to bring you the most unforgettable experiences. Let us be your guide.
1- SAMURAI & NINJA MUSEUM with EXPERIENCE
SAMURAI & NINJA MUSEUM with EXPERIENCE – The Samurai and Ninja Museum offers a unique interactive experience between visitors and the museum, where they can wear traditional samurai costumes, and do a duel of blunt swords, similar to those used by samurai, and the museum includes many exhibits, including the war uniforms of samurai warriors, and their stone statues, In addition to the old ninja clothes.
Place address: 寺町詩の小路 2F, 292 Higashidaimonjichō, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8043, Japan
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2- Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall
Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall – The Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall, which aims to commemorate the victims of the atomic bomb, and introduce visitors from all over the world to the results and stories of this painful experience. victims, and others.
Place address: 1-6 Nakajimachō, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0811, Japan
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3- Kyoto Railway Museum
Kyoto Railway Museum – Kyoto Railway Museum, which includes many vehicles dating back to different periods of time, related to the railway and its history, with a total of 53 vehicles, from steam locomotives and express trains, and the fact that the museum is located inside the old train station, individuals can see the trains and take a tour on board, and watch What is known as the circular center, where there are 12 tracks for trains, was also used in the foot to stop trains.
Place address: Kankijicho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, 600-8835, Japan
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4- Kanazawa Phonograph Museum
Kanazawa Phonograph Museum – The Kanazawa Phonograph Museum, which includes a collection of antique phonographs, called the gramophone in the technical language, distributed over three floors of exhibits, and the collection includes more than 540 instruments, in addition to a section dedicated to displaying a group of musical and audio records, and many other exhibits that provide an in-depth look at The distinguished history of this instrument.
Place address: 2-chōme-11-21 Owarichō, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0902, Japan
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5- Costume Museum
Costume Museum – The Fashion Museum is a distinguished museum that includes a collection of costumes of the Japanese nobility, dating back to the period between 794 to 1185 AD. The museum also shows how to produce those costumes, the methods used, and the machines, in addition to a detailed explanation of the religious rituals and the general way of life, which are held thousands of years ago. years, and visitors can tour the museum and get to know this rich heritage closely, and the museum allows taking pictures of the exhibits.
Place address: Japan, 〒600-8468 Kyoto, Shimogyo Ward, Hanayachō, 下る 井筒佐女牛ビル 5階 新
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6- MAZDA Museum
MAZDA Museum – The Mazda Museum was established in the year 1920 AD, at the headquarters located in the city of Hiroshima, where individual visitors can wander inside the building and see the research and development laboratories, factories with their departments, and shipping places. The museum also includes a group of the most important unique cars that the company manufactured, and visitors must Make reservations for visits and tours in Japanese and English.
Place address: 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima 730-8670, Japan
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7- Kyoto National Museum
Kyoto National Museum – Kyoto National Museum, one of the oldest museums in Japan, dating back to 1897 AD, and it is one of the four main national museums in the country, and its main collection reflects cultural characteristics, including artifacts, sculptures, traditional porcelain, costumes and paintings, which are distributed in The wide halls in the museum, which enables visitors to view them freely.
Place address: 527 Chayachō, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0931, Japan
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8- Mishima Yukio Library Museum
Mishima Yukio Library Museum – The Mishima Yukio Library Museum contains a variety of publications from books and manuscripts belonging to the Japanese writer Mishima Yukio, in addition to a collection of personal belongings belonging to him, such as paintings, letters, personal photos, notebooks, etc. The museum is also surrounded by a beautiful garden where visitors can Sit by after they finish their tour of the place.
Place address: 506-296 Hirano, Yamanakako, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi 401-0502, Japan
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9- Kyoto International Manga Museum
Kyoto International Manga Museum – Kyoto International Manga Museum. The museum includes nearly 300,000 distinctive pieces, for the most famous characters, from Japanese manga books, which have spread on a global scale, and have gained fans from all over the world, and series and films that tell their stories have been produced, so visitors come to Museum to meet their favorite heroes from those characters.
Place address: 452 Kinbukichō, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-0846, Japan
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10- Kanazawa Noh Museum
Kanazawa Noh Museum – The Noh Kanazawa Museum displays many pieces dating back to one of Japan’s oldest theatrical arts, the art of Noh, which reflects the struggle of veterans on the stage, and the actors wear theatrical masks and special costumes, which are displayed on the glass shelves in the museum. For individual visitors, in order to get acquainted with them and the history of this distinctive art.
Place address: 1-chōme-2-25 Hirosaka, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0962, Japan
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11- Ryozen museum
Ryozen museum – The Ryozen Museum is a museum dedicated to black history in Japan, and the violent events that occurred during the Tokugawa regime in 1868 AD, historically known as Bakumatsu, meaning the end of the bakufu, where armed factions met in Kyoto to restore imperial rule. The museum includes many exhibits, including a wall painting Woodblock prints and models, with video presentations.
Place address: Japan, 〒605-0861 京都府京都市東山区清閑寺霊山町１
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12- Hiroshima Prefectural Museum
Hiroshima Prefectural Museum – The Hiroshima Prefectural Museum is a museum dedicated to art in the heart of the city. Exhibitions that include many precious pieces are distributed, with a total of 4,500 pieces, including works derived from Japanese handicrafts and Asian arts dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, which individuals can Watch it while walking around.
Place address: 2-22 Kaminoborichō, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0014, Japan
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13- Hakone Geo Museum
Hakone Geo Museum – The Hakone Geo Museum is the distinguished geographical museum in the city, as it displays many volcanic rocks, since the city is located close to one of the active volcanoes, in addition to a special section on the natural history of the city of Hakone, and there is also a dedicated section called the information area, where it is provided Miscellaneous information about volcanic gas, and measures to prevent it in emergency situations.
Place address: 1251-2 Sengokuhara, Hakone, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa 250-0631, Japan
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14- Japan Kanji Museum & Library
Japan Kanji Museum & Library – The Japanese Kanji Museum and Library aims to introduce visitors to the history of Japanese kanji, which is a culture of Japanese writing, through its exhibits located on the second floor. As for the first floor, it includes more than 50 thousand pieces of traditional crafts, in addition to temporary exhibitions and lectures. Tourists and locals wander inside the museum and explore its hidden treasures.
Place address: 551 Gionmachi Minamigawa, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0074, Japan
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15- Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design
Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design – The Kyoto Museum of Crafts and Design reflects many aspects of traditional Japanese culture, including tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, and folk theater, dating back thousands of years. , with many distinctive artifacts.
Place address: みやこめっせ, B1F, ９丁目-１ Okazaki Seishōjichō, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8343, Japan
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16- Diorama Kyoto JAPAN
Diorama Kyoto JAPAN – Diorama Museum of Kyoto Japan, with an area of 285 meters, the museum includes within it 2.7 kilometers of tracks dedicated to small train models, which are known among the locals, with the accuracy of their details and distinction, and being the closest they are to simulating real buildings on the ground, in addition to holding a night show every 30 minutes, where the ceiling lights up with a map of stars and constellations, making the place an exciting experience for adults and children.
Place address: Sagatenryuji Kurumamichicho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8373, Japan
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17- Numaji Transportation Museum
Numaji Transportation Museum – Nomaji Transport Museum, which includes collections of vehicles and vehicles that were used throughout historical eras, including land, air and sea, with a total of approximately 2000 vehicles, distributed over four floors, and in the outer yard, which contains one of the largest vehicles with a diameter of 20 meters, in addition to The peace train, which was present at the moment the bomb was dropped, has been preserved as it is in the museum.
Place address: 2-chōme-12-2 Chōrakuji, Asaminami Ward, Hiroshima, 731-0143, Japan
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18- Fujisan Museum
Fujisan Museum – The Fujisan Museum is an ancient museum established in 1990. It is a wonderful museum that shows the cultural, folkloric, and natural change in Japan through the ages, and it was established to preserve the folk history of the country. Among the exhibits, visitors will find huts, embroideries, home furnishings, sculptures, clothes and much more. The museum provides many guides who speak many languages so that everyone has the opportunity to get acquainted with the wonderful museum exhibits.
Place address: Japan, 〒403-0032 Yamanashi, Fujiyoshida, Kamiyoshidahigashi, 7-chōme−７−２７−１
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19- Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts
Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts – The Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts, located in Ojina Nishi Park in the city, is a museum that focuses on modern history and traditional local industries, by collecting their equipment, parts and machines, in addition to exhibits that explain the daily life of the general public, including river boats, poetry, and others. .
Place address: 2-chōme-6-20 Ujinamiyuki, Minami Ward, Hiroshima, 734-0015, Japan
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20- Miharashidai Archaeological Museum
Miharashidai Archaeological Museum – The Miharachidyai Archaeological Museum is one of the most beautiful museums in Nagoya, as it contains a variety of hand carvings, and archaeological materials found from the remains of the Pacific War, and there is also a small house of wood, and it also contains a wonderful garden with benches for rest, cherry blossoms and plum trees, There is an overlook that provides an amazing view from the hill.
Place address: Japan, 〒457-0026 Aichi, Nagoya, Minami Ward, Miharashicho, 47 名古屋市見晴台考古資料館
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21- Hakone Ekiden Museum
Hakone Ekiden Museum – The Hakone Ekiden Museum is a museum dedicated to one of the most important sporting events in the city, the annual mass relay marathon that was held in the year 92 in the city of Hakone. The museum aims to introduce this race through photographs, participating banners and flags, maps of the race tracks, and stone carvings that embody the winning moment for the participants, and others.
Place address: 167 Hakone, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa 250-0521, Japan
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22- Raisanyoshiseki Museum
Raisanyoshiseki Museum – The Rizewski Museum is a museum that includes many exhibitions that contain works and materials related to the Japanese writer and researcher, the thinker Ray Sanyo, along with a few of his personal belongings, which visitors can view and learn more about the writer’s life and his important works in Japanese literature, while touring the museum and picking up Distinctive images of his statue placed at the entrance.
Place address: 5-15 Fukuromachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima, 730-0036, Japan
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23- Kurashiki Archaeological Museum
Kurashiki Archaeological Museum – Despite the small size of this museum, it contains a unique collection of ancient Japanese artifacts, where you will find distinctive stone and ceramic pieces engraved and decorated, and there are many mirrors and iron tools from the historical Kofun period from about 300 AD-538 AD, besides that, There is an impressive collection of ancient weapons, wooden tools that were used in hunting, and many historical documents and important books. The museum seeks to cover important periods of Japanese history to provide visitors with an important knowledge richness.
Place address: Kurashiki Archaeological Museum, 1 Chome-3-13 Central, Kurashiki, Okayama 710-0046, Japan
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24- Moromi Art Museum
Moromi Art Museum – The Moromi Museum of Art includes many exhibits that reflect the various artistic aspects of the life of the ancient local population, so the pieces in the museum are considered artifacts or antiques, which are displayed on glass shelves, including decorative pots, bicycles, and stone statues, Religious statues, household equipment, clothing and many others.
Place address: 3-chōme-11-10 Moromizato, Okinawa, 904-0032, Japan
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Conclusion
We hope our guide has inspired you to explore the wonders of Japan. Whether you’re a local or a visitor, there’s always something new and exciting to discover in this amazing region. From stunning natural landscapes to rich cultural heritage, Japan has it all. So pack your bags, grab your camera, and get ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure. Don’t forget to share your experiences with us and tag us on social media using #ExploreJapan. We can’t wait to see where your journey takes you!