Find the best ways to spend a rainy day in Tokyo! These free museums are perfect for anyone planning a trip to Japan on a budget, with lots to see and no costs involved.

Spend Your Rainy Day in Tokyo Exploring Japan’s Free Museums

These days Japan is a great budget travel destination. Affordable (and delicious) food can be found everywhere from ramen joints to convenience stores, public transportation is practical and prolific, and the weak yen gives foreign visitors a good deal on everything else. Many of Japan’s most economical attractions, however, are out in the open air. So what do you do when you’re taking pictures of Tokyo’s oldest temple, or exploring the city’s back alleys, and the rain starts to pour!? (If you happen to be visiting during rainy season, this is a very real risk!)

Fortunately, Tokyo also has some of the most unique museums around, and many of them are totally free! Recently, the Japankuru team has gathered a few of our favorite indoor destinations in Tokyo perfect for rainy days, so today we’re sharing our favorite free museums in Japan.

① World Bags & Luggage Museum (Asakusa)

With an impressive collection of materials gathered from all around the world and a uniquely Japanese perspective, the World Bags & Luggage Museum is just what you would imagine: exhibits on the history and manufacturing of bags, plus a substantial display of various items used to carry other items, showing off the broad spectrum of “bags.” The museum’s history goes back to the mid-20th century, when Ryusaku Shinkawa (founder of Japanese bag manufacturer ACE) visited Europe and found himself disappointed by the number of bags on display in museums, soon deciding he would just build his own museum instead. Now anyone else with an interest in bags can visit the World Bags & Luggage Museum located on the 7th and 8th floors of the ACE headquarters entirely for free, to see the museum Shinkawa created.

The World Bags & Luggage Museum might be free, but it’s incredibly well-outfitted. Visitors start by learning about how bags have been dreamed up and used throughout history, get a little dose of industrial design education focused on ACE’s modern suitcases, and then get to explore the collection of beautifully crafted trunks, briefcases, handbags, backpacks, and many other varieties of bag, collected from over 50 different countries – including quite a few Japanese bags, of course. If you’re interested in the curious character of Ryusaku Shinkawa, there’s even a memorial exhibition dedicated to his life’s story. But the best thing about this whole museum, for foreign visitors at least, is the thorough English signage. Most of the major signs include (mostly understandable) translations, so you can actually learn a lot without a lick of Japanese!

▶︎ Located next to Asakusa Station, the World Bags & Luggage Museum is the perfect escape from the rain for travelers exploring Asakusa’s traditional charms, from Sensoji Temple to the open-air street food hub of Nakamise. The museum is also easily accessible via the Ginza and Asakusa subway lines.

World Bags & Luggage Museum (世界のカバン博物館)
1-8-10 Komagata, Taito City, Tokyo
Hours: 10:00 – 16:30 (closed Sundays, holidays)
Admission: free!
Official Website (jp)

② Beni Museum (Omotesando/Aoyama)

These days modern Japanese fashion and cosmetics brands borrow a lot from global trends, but before this island country really opened to the world in the 20th century, things looked a little different. When people wanted to dress up, bodies were clothed in kimono, and lips were painted with a red pigment called “beni” (紅), made from the petals of the safflower plant. (Americans might be interested to hear that “benihana,” literally “beni flower,” is the word for safflower in Japanese.) This museum in Tokyo’s fashionable Aoyama/Omotesando area is focused on Japan’s traditional beni cosmetics, examining the lip color’s history from when it exploded in popularity during Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868) up until the modern day. The small museum is spread over just a couple of rooms, and signage is mostly in Japanese, but the collection of beautifully preserved historical cosmetics on display makes it worth a visit for anyone who loves cultural and material history! (And you can’t beat the admission price of “free.”) The museum is run by Isehan Honten, who have been making beni since 1825 and still sell it, so museum-goers are even offered a chance to try this traditional makeup for themselves. You can leave the museum with your head full of traditional Japanese culture, and your lips painted a lovely red.

▶︎ Located in Omotesando, the Beni Museum is the perfect escape from the rain for travelers shopping in Aoyama, those browsing Omotesando’s many high-end shops like Vivienne Westwood, or those who just like people watching to check out the area’s unique fashion. It’s even a good option for travelers diving deep into the trendy alleys of Harajuku. The museum is also accessible via a handful of train lines, mainly the Ginza, Chiyoda, and Hanzomon subway lines.

Beni Museum (紅ミュージアム)
6-6-20 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo
Hours: 10:00 – 17:00 (closed Sundays, Mondays)
Admission: free!
Official Website (en)

③ Meguro Parasitological Museum (Meguro)

This museum is not for the faint of heart or the queasy stomach, but if you have an interest in science (or can appreciate some good creepy crawlies) then you won’t want to miss this free attraction in Meguro. Established in 1953 by Dr. Satoru Kamegai with the mission of bolstering parasitology research, the Meguro Parasitological Museum is a resource for educating the public, armed with a collection of 300 parasite specimens on display (a small fraction of their 60,000 total) and some fascinating exhibits. The first floor presents the “Diversity of Parasites,” showing off the sheer variety of parasites living on earth, and the second floor “Human and Zoonotic Parasites” exhibition dives deeper into specifics, looking at how parasites survive, and how they affect us humans when they do. Signs and informational displays include English translations, so you’ll really learn a lot about parasites! Perhaps the highlight of the museum is the monstrously long tapeworm specimen, retrieved intact from a largely asymptomatic middle-aged man. While the museum is totally free to enter, as a private scientific research facility they rely on visitors’ support to keep things running. You can simply donate some cash if you want, but we recommend checking out their fabulous little gift shop, which helps to maintain the museum by selling original parasite-themed t-shirts, tote bags, keyrings, surprisingly elegant jewelry (!?), and more.

▶︎ Located near Meguro Station, the Meguro Parasitological Museum is the perfect escape from the rain for travelers enjoying the scenery along the Meguro River (especially during cherry blossom season), or checking out nearby Meguro Fudoson Ryusenji Temple. The museum is also easily accessible via a number of train lines, including the JR Yamanote Line, the Tokyu Meguro Line, and the Namboku or Mita subway line.

Meguro Parasitological Museum (目黒寄生虫館)
4-1-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro City, Tokyo
Hours: 10:00 – 17:00 (closed Mondays, Tuesdays)
Admission: free! donations/purchases appreciated
Official Website (en)

Find a Favorite Tokyo Spot to Run From the Rain

Whether you’re planning a trip during Japan’s rainy season, or you just want to have backup plans, it’s always good to have an idea or two ready for a rainy day! Fortunately for budget travelers and anyone with an interest in Japan’s more unusual attractions, these Tokyo institutions provide plenty of indoor entertainment, so you don’t have to worry about bad weather! From culture and history to high-quality gross-out entertainment, Tokyo’s free museums are built to entertain a wide variety of visitors – so when the rain starts to fall, just pick one that interests you (or one that’s conveniently nearby) and you’ll be ready to while away the hours!

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