Tsukuba

JAXA research center with free exhibits and guided tours five times daily. Facility includes exhibits on rockets, satellites, and Japan's involvement with the International Space Station. Guided tours in Japanese three times a day, reservations needed.

Science Square Tsukuba is a museum that highlights some of the exciting research that is happening at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). You might think that a museum about research would be boring, but that is not the case for Science Square Tsukuba. At this museum, you can get a sense of what life will be like in the near future. It's almost like going to a science fiction museum, but in this case, it is science fact—or soon to be fact! The best part about this museum is that you are allowed to touch and interact with some of the displays. 90-minute tours starting at 10:00 and 14:00.

Features a model of the H2 rocket and a planetarium as well as robots and undersea vehicles. There is also the famous organ-playing robot with a TV-camera in his head that was presented during the Expo.

Notable for a huge bell and Nikko-style carvings, this shrine lies at the foot of the hiking path/cable car.

There are several hiking paths up the mountain, the most direct of which will get you to the top in about an hour. However, the longest trail offers the most cultural sights, such as shrines and a large stone looking like Buddha. The huge trees and rocks make for a fantastic walk. The not-so-fit can take the cable car to the top. The terminus of the cable car features several restaurants, souvenir stores, and snack shops. The true summit of Nantai-san is a short additional hike. The twin summit of Nyotai-san boasts a dramatic granite formation, a small shrine, and the famous toad-shaped rock, Gama-ishi.