If you asked people outside of Japan what Mitsubishi makes, there is a good possibility they may just say, “cars.” However, they have whole other divisions dedicated to so much more than your automobile. Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum is a great opportunity to learn more about Mitsubishi’s other endeavors.
General Information
Established by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in June 1994, the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum was created to inspire youth to explore a future in Science and Technology (although there’s plenty here adults will find interesting). Exhibits detail the history of Mitsubishi technology from the past to some of today’s emerging science and technology. The museum is divided into different fields of science working in areas such as: Land, Sea, Sky, Space, and more. To add to the level of curiosity, Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum was designed with a hands-on approach with many interactive exhibits, display models, video, and audio features throughout.
The museum itself is on the first two floors of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Yokohama Building, the exhibits are nicely spaced with wide aisles. It has many very nice models including scale replicas of space rockets, jet engines, power plants, submarines, trains, planes, full-size tech examples, and more. It’s packed full of science and technology information available in multiple languages so that both young and old can learn something new. Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum isn’t a very big museum, only requiring about 1-2 hours to see everything.
Admission Cost is 500-yen for adults, 300-yen for Jr. High/High School students, 200-yen for Elementary school students. However, there’s free admission for Preschoolers, 65 or older, and people with physical impairments (disability certificate required) plus a helper. The hours of operation are weekdays from 10:00 to 15:00 (except closed every Tuesday and Wednesday), open weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 16:00.
Getting There
The Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum is in the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture on the futuristic waterfront area of Minatomirai. The closest station is Minatomirai Station, it is about a 6-minute stroll, or the more popular Sakuragicho Station, which is a 12-minute stroll from the museum. Both stations are wheelchair accessible.
Accessibility
The entrance, and the nearby walkways, to the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum is flat making it easy to enter. Its wide aisle makes it easy to get around in a motorized wheelchair and see all the available exhibits. There’s an elevator to the second-floor exhibits, but you must ask for assistance to use it. Various exhibits have interactive buttons or touch screens set low enough that people who use wheelchairs should be able to use them.
The museum isn’t too big, nevertheless for those who need to rest between walking there are a few seating areas on both floors.
A discount admission is available for those with physical disabilities; but a disability certificate is required.
There is a wheelchair accessible toilet available by the elevators on the first floor.
