Visitors

Inside Tokyo's Police Museum: Interactive Exhibits, Police Bikes, and Crime-Solving Fun

Brother & Sister dress as Police Officers as they experience the museum

Tokyo is often described as one of the safest cities in the world. Behind that reputation is a long history of policing and a strong sense of trust between law enforcement and the public. The Tokyo Police Museum (Keisatsu Hakubutsukan), operated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), offers visitors a chance to explore that story—while also getting a hands-on look at how policing works today.

Originally located in Ginza, the museum closed for about seven months as part of a planned redevelopment project and has since reopened in a new location on the third floor of the TOC building in Gotanda.

Address: 7 Chome-22-17 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa City, Tokyo 141-0031

A More Accessible and Family-Friendly Layout

The move has brought a noticeable change to the way the museum feels. While the former Ginza location was spread across six floors, the new space is laid out on a single, open level. It’s easier to move through and much more convenient, especially for families with young children or visitors who may have found the previous layout challenging to navigate.

Front entrance where displays immediately draw attention to themselves

The open design makes it simple to explore at your own pace, with exhibits naturally flowing from one to the next. Many displays are interactive, and most include English alongside Japanese, making it easy for a wider range of visitors to engage with the content while learning about safety and policing.

Interactive Experiences for All Ages

Right near the entrance, visitors are welcomed by a series of interactive exhibits that are especially popular with younger guests. You can try on a police uniform and helmet, sit on a modern white police motorcycle (白バイ), or even step inside a helicopter that was once used during the Showa era (1926–1989). These displays make for great photo opportunities and set a playful, approachable tone from the start. (That said, the uniforms are child-sized, so adults will have to leave the dress-up to the kids.)

Modern White Police Motorcycle

Showa-era Red Police Motorcycle

Retired Police Helicopter

Next to the white motorcycle is a vintage red model (赤バイ), offering a straightforward way to see how police equipment has evolved over time. Interestingly, the shift to white motorcycles wasn’t due to confusion with fire vehicles, as some might assume, but rather to improve visibility and safety.

Nearby exhibits take a more educational approach while keeping things engaging. One features a detailed miniature city, complete with tiny pedestrians and vehicles. By selecting different scenarios on a screen, visitors can watch animated traffic incidents unfold and compare them with the physical model, helping them better understand how accidents happen—and how to avoid them.

3D recreation to explore what and where accidents may occur.

Another highlight is the “110 emergency call experience,” 110 being the number used to call the police in Japan. In this simulation, you respond to an incident by picking up a phone and speaking through a realistic exchange with an emergency operator. It’s a simple but effective way to practice staying calm and clearly explaining a situation in an emergency.

110 (US 911) call practice display to sharpen communication skills

There are also quiz-style games that cover practical safety topics, such as what to do if a stranger comes to your door or how to respond to suspicious phone calls. The scoring system adds a bit of friendly competition, making the learning process feel more like play.

Trying Your Hand at Police Work

Beyond safety education, the museum also lets visitors step into the role of an investigator.

One activity challenges you to match shoe prints from a crime scene with the correct footwear. Place a shoe on a scanner, and the system checks whether it matches the evidence. While the instructions are in Japanese, the process is intuitive enough to follow just by watching.

Shoe prints needed to uncover the footwear of the suspect

Another exhibit takes the form of a small investigative game, where you guide a character through a town, collecting clues and tracking down a suspect. Once you get close, the suspect’s location is revealed and the case wraps up with an arrest. It’s a clever idea, though it can be a bit tricky if you don’t read Japanese, as the clues aren’t translated. Still, it can be a fun challenge if you’re willing to give it a try.

A fingerprint-detection activity rounds out the experience. Here, visitors scan everyday objects to generate a 3D model on-screen, then use a brush tool to uncover hidden fingerprints within a time limit. It’s a simple concept, but surprisingly satisfying.

Something for Adults as Well

While the museum clearly caters to children, there’s still plenty here for adult visitors.

One section introduces the many roles within the MPD, with displays of uniforms used by specialized units—from riot police (kidotai) to disaster response teams and marine units. It’s an easy way to get a sense of the wide range of responsibilities handled by the force.

There are also exhibits featuring historical investigative tools, including older cameras and equipment used to preserve evidence. In addition, several displays look at notable criminal cases in Japan through newspaper articles, summaries, and small-scale recreations of crime scenes. For those interested in true crime or investigative work, these sections offer a more detailed and reflective experience.

A Closer Look at the City Behind the Safety

Most visitors experience Tokyo’s safety firsthand but rarely get the chance to see what supports it behind the scenes. The Tokyo Police Museum helps fill that gap, presenting information in a way that is both easy to understand and genuinely engaging.

By combining interactive exhibits with more traditional displays, the museum offers a well-rounded look at how the MPD operates on a daily basis. The space is designed to be welcoming to everyone—families, students, and international visitors alike.

In the end, it’s an opportunity to better appreciate the systems, people, and history that contribute to the sense of safety many associate with Tokyo in fun and unique ways. If you’re curious to see it for yourself, the museum is well worth a visit.