Getting Techy in Tokyo: The Five Tech Museums You Don’t Want to Miss.
For many, Tokyo embodies the phrase ‘old meets new’.
Before boarding that 200 miles an hour bullet-train, slurp a bowl of noodles at a simple street-side ramen shop, prepared with a recipe unchanged for generations.
Walk behind the skyscrapers and neon to find hidden shrines untouched for
centuries where you can teleport yourself back to a simpler, spiritual time.
But what if the words ‘digital detox’ make you anxious?
Perhaps you’re an engineer who’d prefer to be checking out the latest gadgets or playing with multi-sensory VR technology?
Well fear not, HENNGE’s got you covered with this ultimate list of the top five tech museums to go nuts and bolts over when exploring the modern megacity that is Tokyo.
1. Get Friendly with Japan’s Best-Loved Humanoid
A short blast from Haneda airport and located on Tokyo’s own man-made island of Odaiba is the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan). Here you’ll find exhibitions on technology and space exploration, as well as get the chance to shake hands with ASIMO, Honda’s famously charming humanoid.
2. Get Your Brain in Gear
For those that believe science should be experienced, head on over to the Science Museum Tokyo in the leafy Kitanomaru Park, a short walk from the Imperial Palace. Interactive exhibits feature everything from cars of the future at the 2F Waku Eco Motor Land, human-AI interfacing at the 3F Electro Hall and lose yourself in scientific illusions at the 5F FOREST section.
3. Get Your Thumbs Ready for Battle
Next up is Panasonic Center Tokyo, located in the heart of Tokyo Bay and due to reopen on July 24 when the area hosts a number of sporting events for the Tokyo Olympics. The site will showcase the role of tech in sports and host the Nintendo Game Front where you can compete in your favorite computer games from old classics to latest releases.
4. Get Ready for the Robot Invasion
We can never get enough of robots — and where better to meet our friends of the future than Kawasaki Robostage Tokyo, where humans and robots live and work side-by-side. Watch demos of robots doing everything from welding to drawing pictures. Let’s hope there’s still something left for humans to do too!
5. Get Snapping in Tokyo’s Trendiest Digital Art Experience
If taking awesome shots for the ‘gram is more your thing then we have to wrap up our list with teamLab Borderless Tokyo. Resulting from the collective imagination of engineers, programmers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects this is truly where tech meets art. Book in advance to get lost in mind-bending interactive displays and become the envy of all your hashtagging friends.
So which one do you want to visit most? Let us know in the comments below.
And don’t forget, tech may be the future but life in Tokyo is all about the here and now — living in the moment to challenge yourself and create unforgettable memories.
So what are you waiting for?
Visit our HENNGE Global Internship Program page now to see if you’ve got what it takes to #InternAtHENNGE. Join our next round of internships and you could be experiencing these inspiring Tokyo tech hotspots for yourself!
You can also read our previous article, A Love Story: Japan, Spring and You, where we covered a range of events and activities you can enjoy in Japan during Spring.
