Space is one of those things that always has and always will fascinate humankind. Thankfully, Tokyo's Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation can answer certain questions for us. Thanks to their new planetarium and their very informative museum, you can discover space like you’ve never seen it before.
The Planetarium
One of the most popular and newest attractions in the Miraikan here in Japan is the Planetarium.
The Planetarium offers you the chance to see the starry sky from various moments in time and a lot of different locations in the world. Accompanying the images are little poetry descriptions of the various skies you see. All the texts are written by Shuntaro Tanikawa, the organizer and creator of the Planetarium.
The Planetarium is situated in the Dome Theatre of Miraikan which makes for a very comfortable viewing because you can lay almost horizontally in the adjustable seats and the screen goes all around you.
Overall the Planetarium is a good addition to the museum. It might not offer much information about space itself (other parts of the museum will take care of that), but it makes for a very relaxing time discovering the stars that surround our world.
The planetarium will not fail to please the heart of the stargazer in you.
Space Information in Miraikan
Japan is one of the most important countries when it comes to space studies and exploration. Which is probably why the part of Miraikan dedicated to space is very complete and interesting.
In a very interactive way, you can find out about satellites, space telescope, probes sent to planets and the moon and what the universe consists of. You can also visit a small reproduction of the International Space Station to see what it is like to spend time in space. You can even buy some space food in the museum’s shop!
This part is very good for your inner scientist who wants a bit more information than what the planetarium has to offer.
Youri Gagarin
Also noteworthy is the fact that, in association with the planetarium, starting on December 20th at Shinjuku Cinema Qualite, Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho and other cinemas nationwide, the 2013 Russian movie Gagarin about the first man to ever go to space will be shown in Japanese theatres.
The movie is shown in its Russian original version with Japanese subtitles only so it might be hard to understand for non-Japanese speakers, but it is still a very interesting story.
General Information
Miraikan is located in Odaiba, 3 minutes walk away from the Telecom Center station on the Yurikamome monorail. An entry to the museum costs ¥620 for adults and ¥210 for 18 years old and younger. The museum is opened between 10am and 5pm.
Please note that for the moment, you have to pay an extra ¥300 to enter the dome theatre and watch the stars of the planetarium.
