Tsukuba Space Center
Tsukuba Space Center
4
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 5:00 PM
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4.0
287 reviews
Excellent
121
Very good
124
Average
35
Poor
6
Terrible
1
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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karapon
Fuchu, Japan2,025 contributions
Jan 2024 • Solo
This is a research and development facility in Tsukuba run by JAXA, which leads Japan's space development and research through training astronauts and launching satellites using domestic rockets.
The exhibition hall "Space Dome" is open to the public. This huge gymnasium-like facility is packed with exhibits that show the evolution of JAXA's space development projects, including life-size replicas of artificial satellites launched by Japan such as "Hayabusa" and "Daichi" and the Japanese laboratory module "Kibo" installed on the International Space Station, as well as scale models of the many rockets that have been launched so far. Through these exhibits, you can learn about Japan's space technology and the history of space development.
In addition, there is a tour that requires a reservation in advance (adults only, paid) that is held almost every day, including holidays, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. You can take a tour of the center in a special bus and visit the actual astronaut training facility that is often featured on TV in the "Astronaut Training Building," and you can also see the "Kibo" control center from the visitor's window. It's hard to make reservations on Saturdays, holidays, and school holidays (reservations open three months before the month you want to visit), but they're easy to get on weekdays. The course is about an hour long, and the adult fee is only 500 yen, so it's definitely worth a try.
The exhibition hall "Space Dome" is open to the public. This huge gymnasium-like facility is packed with exhibits that show the evolution of JAXA's space development projects, including life-size replicas of artificial satellites launched by Japan such as "Hayabusa" and "Daichi" and the Japanese laboratory module "Kibo" installed on the International Space Station, as well as scale models of the many rockets that have been launched so far. Through these exhibits, you can learn about Japan's space technology and the history of space development.
In addition, there is a tour that requires a reservation in advance (adults only, paid) that is held almost every day, including holidays, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. You can take a tour of the center in a special bus and visit the actual astronaut training facility that is often featured on TV in the "Astronaut Training Building," and you can also see the "Kibo" control center from the visitor's window. It's hard to make reservations on Saturdays, holidays, and school holidays (reservations open three months before the month you want to visit), but they're easy to get on weekdays. The course is about an hour long, and the adult fee is only 500 yen, so it's definitely worth a try.
Written 21 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
k_matsu132
Kushiro, Japan23,593 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Tsukuba Space Center. For space lovers, this is a dream facility.
Near the center's main gate, there was a courtyard-like area named "Rocket Square," where the real H-II rocket, a highly active pure domestic rocket, was displayed. The aircraft, which is about 50 meters long, was quite large.
Also, when you enter the exhibition hall "Space Dome," you can get up close and personal with life-size satellites, real rocket engines and life-size models of the "Kibo" Japanese Experimental Building. Space enthusiasts will love this facility.
Near the center's main gate, there was a courtyard-like area named "Rocket Square," where the real H-II rocket, a highly active pure domestic rocket, was displayed. The aircraft, which is about 50 meters long, was quite large.
Also, when you enter the exhibition hall "Space Dome," you can get up close and personal with life-size satellites, real rocket engines and life-size models of the "Kibo" Japanese Experimental Building. Space enthusiasts will love this facility.
Automatically translated
Written 29 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cielowatcher
Tsukuba, Japan35 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
One of the best spots to visit in Tsukuba. This is a museum on the site of JAXA (the Japanese equivalent of NASA). There is a lot to learn here. There is a decent cafe and a nice gift shop, too.
Written 12 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
みるく
Tokyo, Japan352 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
I've been interested in it for a while, and finally I was able to go. It seems that there was a guided tour with advance registration, but by the time I realized it, it was full. If you're interested, you need to make a reservation early. In the end, there was no guided tour, but there was a sufficient explanation for each area, so I was able to understand it well. It's indoors, so you can use it without worrying about the weather. It was fun.
Written 13 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RGB
24 contributions
Feb 2020
The space centre has free entry and is just a short bus ride away from the central bus station in Tskuba. There is a mobile app guide for English but we did not bother. There are signs in English albeit quite brief. What is good though is to be up and close to so much space hardware. You can walk into a section of the Skylab which was most interesting. Also fascinating to see the part Japan plays in the space programmes. If you are in TskubaTskuba I recommend to go.
Written 1 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Danielanalan
8 contributions
We visited the Space Centre a couple of times as our 6 year old is obsessed with science and loved the place.
There is a lot to learn and most exibits have some explanation in English. The photo opportunities are amazing. Our daughter loves her photos inside and outside the rockets, in an astronauts suit, eating space ice-cream etc. We visited during the summer holidays and the place gets incredibly busy with loads of organised visitors thought Tsukuba science tour and school children. So my advise is if you are visiting in the summer months is to go as early as you can.
Sadly, it was impossible to arrange an English tour, despite being in Japan for a long time. They wanted us to have booked more than 3 months in advance. It's a shame they don't tend to foreign visitors a bit better because it's really a great place to visit and Tsukuba is very international with scientists from all the world.
Anyway, I researched the Internet for information on JAXA's work etc and coupled with the Space Centre English brochure I was able to get the gist of most exhibits. Also my daughter quickly got to grips with the interactive exibits which were in English and was learning all about the different uses of satellites etc.
There is a cool but expensive gift shop at the Space Centre where among the rest you can buy astronaut food. So you can end your day eating space curry and space kimchee, followed by space chocolate mint ice cream and space shortbread. It's pretty cool! if you have kids with you it's an unforgettable day.
There is a lot to learn and most exibits have some explanation in English. The photo opportunities are amazing. Our daughter loves her photos inside and outside the rockets, in an astronauts suit, eating space ice-cream etc. We visited during the summer holidays and the place gets incredibly busy with loads of organised visitors thought Tsukuba science tour and school children. So my advise is if you are visiting in the summer months is to go as early as you can.
Sadly, it was impossible to arrange an English tour, despite being in Japan for a long time. They wanted us to have booked more than 3 months in advance. It's a shame they don't tend to foreign visitors a bit better because it's really a great place to visit and Tsukuba is very international with scientists from all the world.
Anyway, I researched the Internet for information on JAXA's work etc and coupled with the Space Centre English brochure I was able to get the gist of most exhibits. Also my daughter quickly got to grips with the interactive exibits which were in English and was learning all about the different uses of satellites etc.
There is a cool but expensive gift shop at the Space Centre where among the rest you can buy astronaut food. So you can end your day eating space curry and space kimchee, followed by space chocolate mint ice cream and space shortbread. It's pretty cool! if you have kids with you it's an unforgettable day.
Written 13 September 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rajesh T
Patan (Lalitpur), Nepal171 contributions
Apr 2015 • Family
A sleeping rocket in the Tsukuba Space Center yard and the space museum are very exciting for us. Also, we were lucky to see the control room of International Space Station. Must visit place! It may inspiring for kids to be future generation astronauts or space scientist.
Written 15 December 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JapanTess
Japan660 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
A space museum connecting to the JAXA facility in Tsukuba, which is free to enter and has many interesting exhibits of satellites and rockets. I couldn't see very much English explanation. Most exhibits are inside one large hangar, but there's also a gift shop in another building, some more information in another, and the big rocket outside. Takes an hour or less to see everything.
Definitely worth a visit if you're in Tsukuba. If you're walking from Tsukuba station, some signs in Center Park are misleading/confusing, showing the Space Center on the West side of the JAXA facility. The entrance is on the East side.
Definitely worth a visit if you're in Tsukuba. If you're walking from Tsukuba station, some signs in Center Park are misleading/confusing, showing the Space Center on the West side of the JAXA facility. The entrance is on the East side.
Written 11 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sandy B
260 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
Free car parking and free entrance.
Lots of interaction for children plenty of informative display cards .
We went independently but there are lots of organise tours.
Anyone interested in any thing to do with space this is a must . Nice coffee shop plenty of toilets
Would visit again
Lots of interaction for children plenty of informative display cards .
We went independently but there are lots of organise tours.
Anyone interested in any thing to do with space this is a must . Nice coffee shop plenty of toilets
Would visit again
Written 23 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Xymyz
UK124 contributions
Apr 2017 • Family
I though the exhibition was good as it has lot of different and life size satellites and replica of the Japanese section of the ISS. However, we were bit disappointed by the fact that interactivity was nearly zero. Best museuums nowadays have more interactivity to help you keep interest. Especially inside the ISS module or around the satellites it would have been good to have more interactive materials. However, as a free museuym I cannot complain abotu this too much.
Written 20 April 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We will visit Japan in June 2019 and will be in Tokyo June 16-17. We would like to visit the Tsukuba space Center on June 17. I have emailed JAXA twice, with no response. Any tips on how to reserve an English guided tour?
Written 13 January 2019
sent me inbox message so I can share the link with you as here links are not permitted
Written 12 February 2019
sent me inbox message so I can share the link with you as here links are not permitted
Written 12 February 2019
Bonjour, quelles langues sont proposées pour cette attraction ?
Written 12 February 2018
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