National Museum of Nature and Science

Japan's national museum of natural history and science stands at the northern edge of Ueno Park, a short walk from the Tokyo National Museum and the zoo. Founded in 1877 as the Education Museum, it is known to everyone in Tokyo simply as Kahaku, and it is the place where generations of Japanese children first met a dinosaur, a whale and the stuffed body of the loyal dog Hachiko.

The museum has two large buildings. The Japan Gallery, a handsome neo-Renaissance hall from 1931 shaped like an aeroplane when seen from above, is devoted to the nature and people of the Japanese islands: their geology, plants, animals, fossils and the history of Japanese science. The much larger Global Gallery behind it covers the story of life on Earth and the universe across six floors, from a hall of dinosaurs and a wall of mammals to hands on science exhibits and a domed cinema. Outside, a life size blue whale and a steam locomotive mark the entrance.

The permanent collection is enormous and the labels are in Japanese and English. Plan on three hours, more with children, and pick up the free floor map at the entrance, because the two buildings are linked underground and it is easy to lose your bearings.