The 10 Best Museums in Tohoku, Japan

Dating back over 200 years to the Edo Period, Somaro is a maiko teahouse and museum in the northern port city of Sakata. It is one of the very few places outside of Kyoto where geisha culture can be enjoyed. Originally called Soma-ya, Somaro's geisha culture was brought up to Northern Japan through the thriving trade ties that once existed between Kyoto and Sakata. During that time, Somaro served as an entertainment destination and exquisite restaurant for the many merchants and shipping agents who shuffled through this city. Beautifully restored in 2000, Somaro is a museum and maiko dance house that preserves and showcases the splendor of Sakata's geisha culture.

Misawa Aviation & Science Museum, Aomori will be a source of information on the role Aomori Prefecture has been playing in the history of aviation. While children enjoy the themes of aviation and the sky, this facility will cultivate their interests in science and technology, which the Prefecture will be facilitating. The construction site will be located in one corner of the "Misawa Sky Park" which is maintained by the City of Misawa, a city with a long history of developing in aeronautics. Construction will be underway from now till its opening in fiscal year 2003.

▼The first museum of photography in Japan Ken Domon is one of the representative photographers of postwar Japan. He took news photos grounded in realism, portraits and snapshots of famous and ordinary people, as well as photos of cultural assets such as temples and Buddhist statues. His lens captured moments that revealed truths in the turbulent Showa era. Ken Domon Museum of Photography was built in his hometown of Sakata in October 1983 as the first Japanese museum dedicated solely to photographs, and is said to be the only photography museum in the world built for an individual. Here, all 70,000 pieces of his photographic work, including his lifework, “A Pilgrimage through Old Temples,” “Muroji Temple,” “Hiroshima,” “The Children in Chikuho,” “Bunraku Puppets,” and “Features” are preserved and shown to the public in regular succession.

The Aoyagi Samurai Manor Museum is an impressive complex of buildings that depict the Samurai way of life from the 17th through 20th centuries. A wide variety of objects are on display including samurai swords, utensils, clothing, toys, hanging scrolls, pictures and documents.