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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/Astei688 on 2024-10-27 09:23:15+00:00.
I’ve been really slacking on writing this post since my wife and I visited Japan back in the end of March but I wanted to highlight some of the activities we did and places we visited that aren’t all over every top 20 list of things to do in Japan.
Yokohama: Silk Museum. My wife is very into dying yarn/wool, spinning wool, knitting, etc that I thought she would really enjoy this museum and the history of silk in Japan. I was correct and scored major points. Even as someone who isn’t invested in textile hobbies, I still found the museum interesting. They had displays of live silk worms in different stages of life. One little issue we ran into was the museum opens at 10, but the gift shop doesn’t open until 12 so we wound up stopping back later. 90 minutes is a pretty decent estimate of time for this and it is kid friendly. Also, it is just a few blocks from Chinatown.
Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum: This museum is not too far from the Red brick warehouse. Is it Mitsubishi Heavy Manufacturing corporate propaganda? Probably. Do they have cool scale models of all the cool things they’ve built? Most definitely! It is also very kid friendly. My wife didn’t enjoy this one that much, but that’s why we visited the silk museum first. 90-120 minutes is reasonable here.
Yokohama Civic Art Gallery: This one is a little bit of a hike from Red Brick Warehouse area, and that hike is steeply uphill. The exhibit on display when we went was a calligraphy one and didn’t match our expectations based on what came to our American minds when we thought about calligraphy. That being said it was free and we had a lot of fun seeing how Google translated Chinese and Japanese poetry. I feel a lot was lost in the exchange. Good place to see/support local artistic endeavors but it is out of the way and not kid friendly.
One last thing about Yokohama, if you’re staying there for a night or two, I really recommend springing for the Yokohama Royal Park Hotel. If you’re on the correct side, you get wonderful views of Mt. Fuji when the weather is good.
Tokyo: Sumida Hokusai Museum. You might not immediately know the name, but you’ll know the painting: The Great Wave. Part of a series called the “36 Views of Mt Fuji” (I hope that’s right, should’ve written this in April). Anyway, this a fantastic museum for the works of Sumida Hokusai located relatively close to the Tokyo sky tower. 90 minutes here should let you see everything.
Japanese Sword Museum. A short walk from the Sumida Hokusai museum is the Japanese Sword Museum. If you’re hugely into swords and maybe Japanese history, you might be interested in this. My wife didn’t seem to be a fan, and I don’t blame her. Definitely recommend watching the presentation on how swords are made on the first floor before going to the second floor. Not a place I would recommend bringing children, it has a very solemm and quiet atmosphere.
Marukaku pottery store. This is a small Japanese pottery store a short walk from the scramble with pieces from local artisans. If you’re looking for some beautiful authentic Japanese pottery this is a great place to start. My wife bought a couple of pieces here that she really loves. Pottery is not my thing but even I could appreciate the work done here. I also didn’t break anything. It’s a tiny shop, so I had to be very mindful of my backpack.
Aki-Oka Artisan “mall”. This is a collection of retail establishments between the Akihabara and Okachimachi stops on the Yamanote line. The shops are literally under the raised rail lines and it can be a little confusing to find. Google maps took us to the Okachimachi stop and the we walked from there and when you come out the other side you are right at the end of Akihabara. Anyway, great way to support small businesses and spend locally.
NONA temari and dye experience. My wife took this 3 hour class on how to make temari balls (I spent that time shopping in Akihabara) and found it amazing and highly recommends it to crafty people who are interested in learning local arts.
Also, another hotel shout out. remm Akihabara. The hotel itself is fine and does everything a hotel should do but the location is unbeatable. To literally step outside and be at the train station is amazing plus there is a Lawson’s and a Starbucks right there as well.
We of course did the big tourist things as well (teamLabs, scramble, etc.) but there are so many things to do in Japan that I wanted to highlight some of the less frequented. Obviously everything I’ve posted about is not for everyone but even if you don’t do anything on this list, I do encourage you to dig in and find off the beaten path things that you will enjoy because I guarantee you those gems are out there.