National Museum of Japanese History
| The Good | The Not-So Good |
| Fully featured museum | Tokyo History museum is more convenient |
| Reasonable entrance fee | Few attractions nearby |
How to get there
The National Museum of Japanese History is in Sakura City, which is to the east of Tokyo in Chiba prefecture, just over an hour away from Tokyo station. There are two train stations close to the museum; JR Sakura Station is run by JR so the JR pass is valid for unlimited travel, and Keisei Sakura Station is on the Keisei Main line, which is a private company and the JR pass is not valid, but is closer to the museum. Both train stations are on lines that run to Narita Airport.
Keisei Main line route direct to Museum from Tokyo Station
JR Only route to Sakura Station from Tokyo Station (via Samurai walk and residences)
If you take the JR route it is a 30 minute walk, but with a JR pass the journey will be free. You can also walk through the Hiyodori-Saka, which is an old samurai path lined with bamboo trees. More information can be found here. There are also a number of historical and cultural sites scattered throughout the park surrounding the history museum.
Travel details can be found on the official homepage for the museum, in the Access section. There is a special bus (leaves once in the morning from Tokyo Station at 9:55 and goes back to Tokyo station at 15:00) that takes 90 minutes and costs ¥1300. The train takes just over an hour and is free if you have a JR pass. The Keisei Main line will cost about ¥1200 and takes about 80 minutes. So JR is win-win here especially as the walk from the station will take you via a number of historical sites.
The museum is set in a park with the ruins of Sakura castle, although there are no ruins left so it is mainly just a commemorative park. There is also a small art museum nearby.
A suggested travel plan while in Chiba
Travel to the museum and Sakura City is much easier from nearby Chiba City. The Sobu Line from Chiba Station to JR Sakura Station is only 16 minutes. If you are in Chiba anyway then visiting Sakura City makes more sense. If you are spending time in and around Tokyo then a visit to Buzzsaw Mountain is highly recommended. The journey from Tokyo will take anywhere between 2-3 hours depends on the combination of buses and trains to take, which makes a day trip quite a challenge. A good strategy is to stop off in Chiba on the way back and stay the night, then move onto Sakura City the next day. You can also add a stop to the Umi-Hotaru rest stop which offers spectacular views from the middle of Tokyo Bay. A sample itinerary would be the following: –
Tokyo-wan Kannon 東京湾観音 https://goo.gl/maps/3BKdxVKG7HYU4vtf8
Buzzsaw Mountain
Sakura City
Umi-Hotaru
https://goo.gl/maps/MgTapcaNRJ3gp15R8 Kamogawa Sea World
TRavel on the Kominato and Isumi Railway https://goo.gl/maps/K5kcaq1x78hvGbZRA
Places nearby
Yorokeikoku – Hiking in Chiba
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National Museum of Japanese History
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Hondoji Temple
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Chiba city
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Buzz-saw Mountain
Buzz-saw mountain (Nokogiri-yama) is an out-of-the-way gem about two hours by train from Tokyo station that is (so far) unspoiled by hordes of tourists. Buzz-saw mountain boasts 360° views from the top of a 300m shear cliff face, the biggest stone Buddha in Japan, and an invigorating decent through the…
