Location: Shinjuku
Top Things to do in Shinjuku
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What to do and see in Shinjuku, Kanto: The Best Specialty Museums
In busy Shinjuku, you’ll find some of the tallest buildings in Toyko, as well as tons of shopping malls, bars and clubs. To escape the hustle and bustle, TripAdvisor travelers recommend visiting Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, a beautiful and peaceful park in the middle of the city.
Restaurants in Shinjuku
1. Hobby Center Kato Tokyo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By AndyinOmaha - Omaha, United States
The Kato Hobby Center in Shinjuku is a dream destination for any kid -- or dad -- who's loved playing with model trains at any time in his life. There are full-size displays of running model trains, in gauges (in the same layout) of HO through N. The detail is amazing, and the quality for modelers is top-notch. Upstairs are layouts where kids can bring their own trains in for test runs and play. The Hobby Center is also a retail outlet for full train "Starter Sets" [tracks, power packs, and engine with train cars] as well as individual train cars/engines....plus every imagninable replacement part in bins. Kato makes train cars of all types of Japan's railways, European railways, and the US as well. The coolest thing they make (quoting the TSA inspector who examined my carry-on luggage as I re-entered the USA) is the nifty N gauge starter set of the brand new N700 "Nozomi" series of the shinkansen [bullet train] that runs on the Tokyo to Hiroshima Tokaido route. A VERY cool souvenir for anyone who loves model trains. The Hobby Center is located beyond Shinjuku, which makes it a distant (and expensive) 5,000 yen cab ride if you're coming from the heart of Tokyo. I never could have found the place without a cabbie with GPS, so it's worth the extra yen to get there directly.
2. Samurai Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,906 reviews
Feel the real Samurai spirit.Samurai Museum is located in the KABUKICHO district of Shinjuku, which is one of the urban areas in Tokyo. It displays various kinds of authentic artifacts such as Samurai armor, helmets and weapons. The mission for the museum is to share true Samurai spirits with you so that you can have a better understanding of Samurai , including how they fought, who they were, what they believed. The museum offers an English guided tour that runs frequently for you to learn rich Samurai history at a deeper level. Many interesting facts about Samurai are covered in this tour.In addition, it has a photo booth where you are allowed to take pictures wearing Samurai outfits or Kimono. Also, the museum offers a special sword show at 2,3,4 and 5 pm everyday for you to watch two trained actors doing a sword fighting performance. The Museum shop is also worth visiting to buy cool gifts such as Katana.
Reviewed By jason3216
The museum has a private collection of some of the best samurai armor, swords and other accessories I have seen. There are guided tours in English that run about every hour (About 1hr duration). Tickets are reasonably priced and includes an informative guided tour, a chance to try on a samurai helmet with a sword as well as other garments such as kimonos. There is also a samurai sword-wielding demonstration that runs at set intervals during the day (You can return during the day to see the demonstration). Easy walking distance from Shinjuku station. A must see.
3. Fire Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 266 reviews
Reviewed By Valkyrie_108
I had this museum high on my list considering my father is a firefighter in Australia. The history levels and the static displays of the fire fighting equipment was fascinating, comparable to the Fire Museum in Penrith, Australia with the amount of displays of vehicles, in air sea and on the ground. The day I visited, the displays you could usually sit in where closed to the public; though you could still view them. It will be on my father's list to visit when he is able to.
4. Fumiko Hayashi Memorial Hall
5. Tokyo Toy Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 136 reviews
■OEPN:10:00-16:00 (Entry ~15:30) ■OFF DAY : Every Thursday
Reviewed By hb133 - London, United Kingdom
Really great place to go and visit. The 'tree room' was wonderful with lovely wooden toys and we all loved the room with the kitchen; garden etc - perfect to sparkle the imagination of a toddler and a unique place to visit. We were the only non-Japanese there and the staff really tried to engage with our toddler. Very pleased to have gone
6. Nikon Plaza Shinjuku
7. Min-on Music Museum
8. Kigumi Museum
9. Soseki Sanbo Memorial Museum
10. Tokyo Anime Center in DNP Plaza
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