Day 7: Japan Olympic Museum, Tokyo National Museum TNM and OPPAN Museum Theater

Today, we had a wondrous opportunity to tour around the Japan Olympic Museum located at Shinjuku, Tokyo. It recently opened around September of 2019, in time for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic. The museum is located across Jingu Baseball Stadium, and the Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium and the New National Stadium which will be the main venue for the games next year.

The admission on the ground floor is FREE to the public. Outside, you will be amazed by some statues and replicas of the cauldron used from previous Olympics and Paralympics from different countries. One of the displays include the statue of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee and regarded as the ‘Father of Olympics’ and the replica of the cauldron used from the 18th Olympic Winter Olympic Games at Nagano in 1998.

As you enter the museum, you will see the Welcome Wall which exhibits the Olympic symbol using different materials made by students from Tokyo and Hokkaido. Also displayed on the ground floor is the sakura-inspired torch that will be use for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

And that’s not all – more displays await us at the 2nd floor with interactive activities for a complete learning experience. Aside from the exhibit of replicas of torches used all throughout the Olympic and Paralympic history, there are also videos, touch-screen displays and interactive games where you can compare your record from some games with that of the finest and world-renowned athletes. Other displays at the museum include the evolution of Olympic posters, merchandises, mascots and torch from the different host countries. It also shows how Olympic and Paralympic started and the number of participating countries each year.

It also offers various interactive activities that will compare your stats from those of the leading athletes in the Olympic history. It actively promotes the idea of Olympism which teaches the spirit of solidarity and friendship through sports. It really has been enriching experience and I am excited for Tokyo hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games come 2020!

Afterwards, we had an enriching experience at the Tokyo National Museum TNM and OPPAN Museum Theater — probably one of the grandest museums we have been! It is located at Ueno Park at Tokyo Perfecture. It’s been such a privilege experience to be given the chance to explore the famous Tokyo National Museum which has the largest collection of artifacts and artworks in the world. It gave us a glimpse of the past, an insight on the rich history of Japan and its culture. The Tokyo National Museum has four major building that you could visit; the Honkan, the Heiseikan, the Toyokan and the Hyokeikan.

And since it’s really big and time is limited, we were only able to roam around and fully explore the Toyokan Asian Gallery, which houses the Asian artifacts and artworks. Below are some of the interesting display from their exhibit.

This statue depicts a powerfully-built lion. It might have originally been a pedestal of a Buddhist statue.

Seated Buddha with Legs Pendant. The realistic depiction of the body and thin robes reflects the degree of cultural maturity achieved during the Tand Dynasty of China

Standing Avalokitesvara. This particular sculpture represents one figure from an original triad. The central figure of this triad is held by the British Museum.

Honestly, there are so much more to share but we don’t want to spoil everything for you! If ever you visit Tokyo, don’t forget to include this in your itinerary a visit to the Tokyo National Museum. One more thing, allot at least half a day to give yourself a whole experience to explore and enjoy the whole museum.

We ended this day with some authentic Japanese street food. Luckily, across Tokyo National Museum, there was a food fair where you could find authentic Japanese food like Takoyaki and Okonomiyaki – and honestly, we were ecstatic to enjoy a simple food trip in the cool weather of Tokyo. Off to the next adventure, tomorrow.