Getting lost in Tokyo (TenQ Space Museum)

- December 07, 2018

It has been more than a month since my visit to Japan and I can tell you that I can recall everything that happened there as clear as day. For this post, I wanna talk about my experience in a place called TenQ which can be seen in the Tokyo Dome. Not many people know this place but I came across this on the internet. My daughter is an avid fan of Astronomy and all things related to space so before going to Japan, I figured to check Museums or any place that has any connections with the said interest. While browsing the web, I saw a blog that featured TenQ but because it was in Japanese and not a lot of information was mentioned, I grew more curious about the place so I asked my guides in Japan if we could go to this place if I have a chance. And gratefully, they allowed us to go there and so the child in me became happy.

As I have mentioned, TenQ is a store located in Tokyo Dome and it is a shop dedicated to all things space. Visitors can enjoy watching different shows, go around its interactive museum, shop in the space store and take part in different activities (play games, do artsy stuff, watch features) in the place.

When we were there, an exhibit of "The Little Prince" was shown. If you have read and watched the movie, you'll be tickled with the excitement of all the things you can see and do here.

Entrance

Schedule of activities

A vixen telescope display

Schedule of programs

Visitors can instantly feel amazed even before entering the place. As you can see from the pictures below, space-related items are displayed on shelves and if you have an observant eye, you can easily notice that the lights are shaped like UFOs.

Entrance

Japanese Astronauts Takuya Onishi (left) and Kimiya Yui (right)

First, visitors will be watching an interactive show that features the evolution of science and space exploration. The show can be very overwhelming due to the flashing lights so if you have a history of Seizure and other related conditions, this show may not be the best for you. Also, very young kids may also find the show a bit scary. Unfortunately, the presentation is only in Japanese so foreigners who do not speak and understand Japanese may not completely appreciate this program. The show lasts for roughly 20 minutes.

After this, you'll be directed to another room to watch another video presentation but this time you'll be watching from below. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed here. But again, the show lasts for about 5-10 minutes.

The next spot is the interactive museum. Of course, as a museum, certain rules apply like "no flash photography" in certain places. There is one area here where taking photos are STRICTLY UNALLOWED. There is a real Space Research Center (Satellite office) in the museum. To know more about this, please check out this link I found.
Space Museum TenQ

There are many things you can do here. One interactive game I tried was the Space Self-diagnosis. Here, you'll be choosing to answer between 2 quizzes. One quiz will tell you your "Alien personality type" while the other will reveal your "Space mission type"

The questions are projected on the floor and you'll have to answer "Yes" or "No" or you'll be asked to choose between 2 answers. After completing the test, your score will again be projected on the floor and you'll have to look for the "number" from one of the shelves below.

Space Self-diagnosis

Interactive games

Astronaut

You can lounge and watch more videos here

As I have mentioned earlier, there is an exhibit of "The Little Prince" here.

The Little Prince books in different languages

The rose

At the end of the exhibit, there is a room wherein you can pose for some perspective photography. Here, you can try to be an astronaut, carry an asteroid, sit on the moon and hold hands with an alien. Of course, the place will not be complete without a souvenir shop.