Nagoya City Science Museum

A serious science museum spread over three buildings on the northern edge of Shirakawa Park, with strong displays on biology, the Earth sciences, mechanical engineering and astronomy. The exhibits are largely interactive and well-explained in English; the standout zones are the artificial tornado generator (a thirty-foot column of mist spun into shape every twenty minutes) and the deep-freeze lab, where visitors can step into a chamber chilled to minus 30°C to see the aurora-effect display.

The crown jewel is the giant silver planetarium globe lodged into the front of the building — its outer skin holds the world's largest dome. Shows run hourly and sell out, so book the day's ticket on arrival. Allow three hours minimum. Fushimi Station, a five-minute walk.

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A story
The museum's planetarium dome, at 35 metres across, was the largest in the world when it opened in 2011, holding the record until a slightly bigger Chinese venue overtook it in 2019. The projector blends six Carl Zeiss star machines with a fleet of laser projectors, producing what the Asahi Shimbun's science correspondent called "the most realistic night sky in any city in Japan".