Below is a list of some of Mito's more interesting history and art museums:
The Tokugawa Museum
Hours: 10:00 to 17:00 (entry until 16:00) Closed: New Year holidays Admission: 2500 yen
A 15 minutes walk southwest of Kairakuen, The Tokugawa Museum exhibits treasures and personal items of the Mito Branch of the Tokugawa Clan, including paintings, photographs, maps, documents, sculptures, furniture and crafts.
Art Tower Mito
Tower Hours: 9:30 to 18:00 (until 19:00 on weekends and national holidays) Closed: Mondays (or next day if Mon is a national holiday), New Year holidays Admission: 200 yen
Art Tower Mito is a 100 meter tall, uniquely shaped tower in the city center that visitors can ascend by elevator. The observation deck is as unique as the tower itself, with only small round windows of different sizes to look down onto the city. The tower is part of a larger art complex that also includes a contemporary art gallery which hosts rotating temporary exhibitions, a concert hall and a theater stage.
The Museum of Modern Art, Ibaraki
Hours: 9:30 to 17:00 (entry until 16:30) Closed: Mondays (or next day if Monday is a national holiday), Dec 29 to Jan 1 Admission: 360 yen (permanent exhibition)
Located at the western end of Lake Senba, this museum hosts various temporary exhibitions, while focusing on artists from Ibaraki in its permanent exhibition.
Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History
Hours: 9:30 to 17:00 (entry until 16:30) Closed: Mondays (or following day if Monday is a holiday), Dec 29 to Jan 1 Admission: 390-690 yen (depending on the exhibition)
Located a five minute walk from Kairakuen's Omotemon entrance gate, this is your average prefectural history museum, covering the local history from prehistoric archeological relics to Mito's role during feudal times and common home appliances utilized in recent decades. The museum's spacious grounds also boast a pretty former school building that dates back to 1881 and is built in Western style.
Getting there and around
Mito's museums are mostly located to the west of the city center near Kairakuen Garden with the exception of Art Tower Mito, which stands in the city center, around a 20 minute walk from Mito Station.
