Your dream trip to Japan probably includes stunning temples, neon-lit cityscapes, and incredible food. But what about a museum dedicated entirely to poop? Or one showcasing a nine-metre-long tapeworm?
While Japan has world-class traditional art and history museums, its “offbeat” attractions are also so fun and memorable. These unique museums celebrate the niche, the strange, and the wonderfully specific. So, why not consider dropping by one of them?
If you’re looking to add something truly unique to your itinerary, we’ve put together a guide to the 8 weirdest and most uniquely wonderful museums in Japan.
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1. Unko Museum (Tokyo)
Yes, “unko” means poop. So this is… the Poop Museum! But wait! Before you get all grossed out, it is not smelly or horrible at all. It’s the total opposite. It’s like walking into a colourful cartoon. Everything is pink, yellow, blue, and shaped like a “cute” little poop. It’s basically just a playground made for taking fun pictures.
This is not a boring “look but don’t touch” museum. You get to touch everything, starting with a row of colourful (fake!) toilets. After that, you can run around and even jump into a ball pit full of tiny plastic poops.
Our favourite part was a room where you can shout “UNKO!” into a microphone, and a giant light-up poop grows bigger depending on how loud you are. It’s completely ridiculous, makes no sense, and you will not stop laughing.
This is a super popular place, especially for families and people taking photos. Book your tickets online at least one day ahead, or you might not get in.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, Odaiba, Tokyo
- Price: ¥1,800 – ¥2,000 ($11 – $13 USD). It’s often cheaper to buy your ticket online before you go.
2. Meguro Parasitological Museum (Tokyo)
This one is pretty much the exact opposite of the cute Unko Museum. This is a real, serious science place. It feels a bit like an old library or a doctor’s office from a movie. It’s small, very quiet, and… fascinatingly creepy.
The two-storey building is packed with hundreds of jars. Inside those jars? Real parasites. I’m not going to lie, it’s not for the squeamish. If you get freaked out easily, maybe give this one a miss. But if you like weird science, it’s amazing.
All the writing is in Japanese. But, you can buy an official English guidebook at the counter for a few hundred yen. It’s a massive help. You only need about 45 minutes to an hour here.
The star of the show is on the second floor. You can’t miss it. It’s a 8.8-metre-long tapeworm that came from a real person. To help you understand just how long that is, they have a thick rope hanging next to the jar that is the exact same length. It will make your jaw drop (and maybe make you feel a bit ill).
After you’ve seen the tapeworm, check out the gift shop. It has to be the weirdest souvenir shop in the world. You can buy T-shirts, keychains, and phone charms of your favourite parasites. It’s the perfect, strange gift for your friends back home.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Meguro, Tokyo (about a 15-minute walk from Meguro Station)
- Price: Free! (They have a donation box, and it’s nice to drop some change in to support their research).
3. Hakone Open-Air Museum (Hakone)
In this unique museum, you get to walk around outside in the fresh mountain air, and the art is all around you! It’s a huge, beautiful park on the side of a mountain, filled with giant, strange, and wonderful sculptures. You don’t just look at art; you walk through it, climb on it, and see it with the mountains in the background.
There are dozens of amazing pieces, but the “must-see” is the “Symphonic Sculpture.” It’s a giant tower made of beautiful stained glass. You can walk inside and climb a spiral staircase all the way to the top, surrounded by the colours. It’s just incredible.
They also have a huge, colourful climbing net for kids (and adults who are kids at heart) and a whole building just for works by Picasso. It’s an easy and perfect day trip from Tokyo.
Wear good walking shoes! This place is massive and built on a slope. Give yourself at least 2-3 hours to see it all without rushing.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture (an easy day trip from Tokyo)
- Price: ¥1,600 (~$10.50 USD)
4. Miyoshi Mononoke Museum (Hiroshima)
If you love spooky stories and weird monsters, this place is a must-see. It’s a museum all about “Yokai” — the Japanese word for all the monsters, ghosts, spirits, and strange creatures from old folklore.
This museum is quite far from Tokyo or Osaka. It’s a real “off-the-beaten-path” destination, so it’s best to visit if you are already planning a deeper trip into the Hiroshima region. The Kansai-Hiroshima Area Pass could be your perfect wallet-friendly ticket for this trip:
The museum is super modern and a bit creepy (in a fun way!). It’s filled with creepy statues, weird old masks, and amazing picture scrolls showing what people hundreds of years ago thought these monsters looked like.
You’ll learn about creatures like the Ittan-momen (a haunted roll of cotton that flies around and attacks people) or the Akaname (a monster whose only job is to… well, lick bathrooms clean). It’s a fascinating look into the weird and wonderful world of Japanese myths and a great way to see something totally different.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture
- Price: ¥600 (approx. $4.00 USD)
5. CupNoodles Museum (Yokohama)
This place is so much fun and perfect for everyone, from kids to grandparents. It’s a big, bright, and colourful museum all about… you guessed it, instant ramen! It’s also very accessible from Tokyo, located in the lovely port area of Yokohama. The museum tells the story of Momofuku Ando, the man who invented instant noodles and changed how the world eats.
The best bit, and you absolutely must do this, is the “My CUPNOODLES Factory.” You get to buy a plain, empty cup, then you sit down at a huge art-and-craft station to draw all over it and design your own label.
After that, you take it to a “factory” counter, choose your own soup flavour, and pick four different toppings. They seal it up for you in a special bag to take home. It’s the best souvenir ever.
The second you get inside, go and get a timed ticket for the “My CUPNOODLES Factory.” They run out really fast, even on weekdays!
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Minato Mirai, Yokohama (an easy day trip from Tokyo)
- Price: ¥500 (~$3.50 USD) for adults. The “My CUPNOODLES Factory” workshop costs an extra ¥500.
6. Tottori Sand Museum (Tottori)
This museum is one of the most amazing things we have ever seen. Here, you get to see giant, building-sized sculptures made completely out of sand. It’s in a huge, special building right next to the famous Tottori Sand Dunes.
This is not a day trip from Tokyo. Tottori is in western Japan, so plan to visit this if you’re already travelling to places like Hiroshima, Okayama, or Kyoto. To save on train fare, look into using the Kansai Wide Area Pass:
Every year, they pick a new theme (like “Egypt” or “France” or “South America”) and invite the best sand artists from all over the world to come and create these masterpieces. The size and the tiny details are just mind-blowing.
Because the theme changes every year, you can go back again and again and see something totally new. It’s genuinely a world-class art gallery where everything just happens to be made of sand.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Tottori, Tottori Prefecture (right next to the Tottori Sand Dunes)
- Price: ¥800 (~$5.50 USD)
7. The teamLab Digital Art Museums (Tokyo, Kyoto, & more)
You have definitely seen these places all over your social media. They are maybe the most unique “museums” in the world right now. They’re not like normal, quiet halls. You don’t just look at the art—you become part of it.
Most people know the famous Tokyo ones. There’s teamLab Planets, which is the one where you take your shoes off (yes, really!) and walk barefoot through the art, even wading in knee-deep water while digital fish swim around you. But they are popping up all over Japan! There’s an amazing one in an Osaka botanical garden that lights up the whole forest at night, and another in Fukuoka.
But the one that has everyone talking right now is the brand-new museum in Kyoto. It’s called teamLab Biovortex, and it just opened! It’s now their largest museum in Japan, with over 50 artworks. It’s near Kyoto Station and mixes the “walk-in-the-water” style of Planets with all-new, exciting exhibits.
We were so excited about this new one that we wrote a whole separate guide on it. You can read all about it here:
You MUST book tickets online, often weeks or even months in advance. You cannot just show up and buy one! They sell out very, very fast.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Locations: Planets (Toyosu, Tokyo) | Borderless (Azabudai Hills, Tokyo) | Biovortex (near Kyoto Station)
- Price: The prices are all similar, around ¥3,800 – ¥4,200 (~$25 – $28 USD), but they can change based on the day.
8. Samurai Ninja Museum (Tokyo)
This museum is the perfect place to learn all about Japan’s most famous warriors: the noble Samurai and the sneaky Ninja. It’s a brilliant spot in Asakusa, packed with real, old suits of samurai armour, amazing-looking swords, and all the secret tools and weapons that ninjas used.
But this isn’t a “quietly-staring-at-things-behind-glass” kind of place. The best way to see the collection is by booking an “experience ticket,” which you can get right here.
With this ticket, you’ll get a guided tour (in great English!) where they tell you awesome stories and facts. After the tour, you get to be a warrior. You’ll try on a samurai helmet and armour, hold a heavy metal katana (perfect for photos!), and even learn how to throw real shuriken (ninja stars) at a target. It’s a super fun way to actually feel the history.
From our experience, this place is built for interaction. Go with friends or family, as the ninja star throwing and samurai photo-ops are much more fun as a group.
How to Visit (Practical Info):
- Location: Asakusa, Tokyo (a very short 2-minute walk from Tawaramachi Station)
- Price: Book through us for ~$80 USD.
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Japan Unique & Weird Museums FAQs
Do I really need to book tickets for these museums in advance?
For some, yes! You must book teamLab (all of them) and the Unko Museum online, often weeks ahead, or you won’t get in. For the CupNoodles Museum, just be sure to get your workshop ticket right as you walk in. The others are usually fine to buy at the door.
Are these weird Japan museums good for kids and families?
Yes and no! Kids LOVE: The CupNoodles Museum, Unko Museum, Samurai Ninja Museum, and the Hakone Open-Air Museum (lots of space to run!). However, maybe skip: The Meguro Parasite Museum. It’s real science and a bit creepy, so it might freak out little ones.
Are unique museums in Japan expensive?
It’s a mix! The Parasite Museum is totally free, and the CupNoodles Museum is a bargain at just ¥500. The most expensive are the teamLab museums (around ¥3,800), but you’re paying for a huge, high-tech experience.
What are the best unique museums if I’m only in Tokyo?
Sticking just to Tokyo? Your best bets are the Unko Museum (in Odaiba), teamLab Planets or Borderless, the Samurai Ninja Museum (in Asakusa), and the Parasite Museum (in Meguro).
