A Trip to Experience Japan’s Cutting-Edge Technology in Tsukuba, a Science City

This model itinerary offers a one-day tour of three research facilities in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, a science city where Japan’s cutting-edge science and technology converge. Itinerary: 9:30 AM–11:30 AM JAXA Tsukuba Space Center → 11:40 AM–12:20 PM AIST-Cube → 12:50 PM Lunch (iias Tsukuba, large-scale commercial complex) → 1:45 PM–3:15 PM CYBERDYNE STUDIO (inside iias Tsukuba).
The facilities focus on themes of space, industry, and cutting-edge technology respectively, and help solve social issues. This is an ideal plan for STEM education, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Participants will surely have an interesting experience regardless of their field of study.

*Tour Overview
Tour group size: 20 to 40 people
Target audience: Groups that can arrange their own transportation, such as a chartered bus
Please refer to the individual facility sections for pricing, languages offered, and whether a passport is required.
Tour-related inquiries: Tsukuba Science Tour Office
The Science and Technology Promotion General Incorporated Foundation of Ibaraki
https://www.i-step.org/tour/english.html
*The Tsukuba Science Tour Office can also propose customized itineraries for each group based on the tour theme and number of participants.

JAXA Tsukuba Space Center

Learn about satellites, rockets , and the activities of astronauts visually and physically

Visitors are greeted by the actual H-II Launch Vehicle. With a diameter of around 4 meters and a total length of around 50 meters, it is Japan’s first entirely domestically produced launch vehicle, completed in 1994 after approximately 10 years of development.

The first stop is the Tsukuba Space Center, the home base for space development in Japan. Here, you can see not only satellites and rockets, but also engineers, astronauts, and mission controllers working together. It’s a place that will deepen your interest in space and broaden your imagination of the future of the Earth.
You will start with a bus tour of the facility grounds. After watching a video outlining the development and research conducted at the Tsukuba Space Center, you will enter the restricted security area. At the Astronaut Training Facility , you will be able to view through a glass panel the Isolation Chamber , which simulates the living quarters of the International Space Station (ISS), and the Hypobaric Chamber , which teaches the correct procedures to follow in the event of a critical drop in spacecraft pressure. In the Mission Control Room for the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo,” you can see the actual work of the controllers, who are experts on Kibo.
Next, you will visit the Space Dome, an exhibition hall that showcases Japan’s space technology and history. Directly ahead upon entering is the “Dream Port ,” a model of Earth at one-millionth scale. A white arc visible at an altitude of 100 kilometers indicates the boundary where space begins. Models of Japanese satellites such as “Michibiki,” “Daichi,” and “Ibuki,” as well as the ISS are displayed, helping you grasp the positioning of Earth and space. Further inside, you will find numerous models of satellites and rockets developed by Japan over the years, along with several full-scale test vehicles. You can even step inside a full-scale model of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo, currently in operation aboard the ISS. The ability to see the distance between yourself and space and its actual scale is part of the appeal of the Space Dome.

Dream Port at the Space Dome exhibition hall, a model of Earth at one-millionth scale.

A staff member from the Public Relations Department at the Tsukuba Space Center who guided the Space Dome tour that day. “You can also see real-time images from the Ibuki satellite,” she explained.

A full-scale model of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo in operation. It is about the size of a large bus.

Inside Kibo. Experiment kits surround it on all sides.

Isolation Chamber. Applicants who reached the final selection stage of the astronaut selection process spent several days inside this facility.

The Mission Control Room for the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo. Depending on the work schedule of astronauts, who live on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), it is sometimes the middle of the night in Japan. Controllers are on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, supporting the safety of Kibo and the astronauts.

  • ■Opening hours
    10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
    *Visitor registration is from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
  • ■Closed
    Closed on an irregular basis, year-end and New Years’ holidays (December 29 to January 3), facility maintenance dates, etc. (open on Saturdays and Sundays)
  • ■Admission
    *Admission only to the Space Dome exhibition hall is free of charge.
    There is a fee for the bus tour of the facility grounds (advance reservation required; fee applies to those aged 18 and over (excluding high school students)).
    *Passport is required for the bus tour of the facility grounds.
  • ■Languages offered
    The bus tour of the facility grounds offers explanations in English as well.
    *Check off “English guide required” when applying for the group tour
  • ■Important notes regarding reservations
    Group reservations can be made from the first day of the month three months prior to the desired visit date until one week before the visit date.
    (Example: Reservations for a January 15 visit open on October 1)
    *Dates shaded gray in the reservation system are unavailable
    *Advance reservations or provisional bookings before the reservation period start date are not accepted.
  • ■Website
    https://global.jaxa.jp/about/centers/tksc/

AIST-Cube

A place that takes visitors to the advanced society of the future

Exterior of AIST-Cube. It reopened on April 1, 2025, with completely redesigned exhibits.

The next stop, AIST-Cube, is a facility where you can see, touch, and experience some of the research achievements of The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Here, you can learn firsthand how the research achievements accumulated by scientists to solve social issues in industry and daily life are being utilized in our lives.
First, you will watch a video (with English subtitles) in the AIST VISION experience space, which is surrounded by synchronized images displayed on 12 monitors and exhibits detailing the institute’s history. This video will provide an overview of the institute’s history and its collaborations with numerous companies. Next, in the AIST INNOVATION exhibition space—the largest in the AIST-Cube—you will encounter the cutting-edge research achievements of scientists. This institute has a very broad range of research themes, including addressing energy, environmental, and resource constraints; responding to a society with a declining birthrate and aging population; and maintenance and management technologies for strengthening infrastructure resilience. Here, you will see how the institute contributes to society in solving pressing, everyday issues by building the foundational technologies needed to tackle them.
Finally, at the AIST DISCOVERY area, which features an overwhelming 11-meter-wide screen where visitors can fully experience the energy of the research sites and researchers, you can view the institute’s research facilities and images of their research activities. There are four video themes, such as “the process of creating semiconductor circuits,” which introduces areas that are normally off-limits such as Super Clean Room (SCR). The video shows the process of going into a SCR wearing clean suits and passing through air showers to prevent even the tiniest dust particles from entering during semiconductor manufacturing. Filmed from the perspective of the researchers, the video is incredibly vivid and immersive.

A staff member at AIST-Cube who guided the tour that day. “I hope visiting AIST-Cube sparks students’ interest in science and inspires them to dream of becoming researchers,” she shared.

At AIST VISION, visitors can get a broad overview of research achievements prior to 2001. For example, the first patent exported by the institute was for the development of enzymes enabling the production of isomerized sugar (fructose-glucose syrup), in the form of liquid sweenter in the 1960s. Isomerized sugar subsequently became widely used internationally as a natural sweetener in various foods and beverages.

In the AIST INNOVATION space, some maintenance and management technologies for strengthening infrastructure resilience are introduced. Visitors can learn various research achievements from the institute via tablets and exhibits. These achievements include devices for efficiently inspecting aging bridges and roads as well as equipment for the low-cost separation of rare metals from used electrical appliances.

Another research theme in AIST INNOVATION area is ‘response to a society with a declining birthrate and aging population’. There is a booth featuring an eye-catching poster of the Hatsune Miku “Magical Mirai” Programming Contest. Titled “Try lyric apps!,” it is particularly popular with junior high and high school students. The foundational technology for visual effects apps, known as lyric apps, was developed at the institute.

The giant screen in AIST DISCOVERY. Visitors can see researchers dedicated to their work with constant efforts in order to solve social issues.

  • ■Opening hours
    9:30 AM to 5:00 PM
    *Last admission at 4:30 PM
  • ■Closed
    Every Monday (or the next business day when a national holiday falls on a Monday), year-end and New Years’ holidays (December 28 to January 4)
  • ■Admission
    Free of charge
  • ■Important notes regarding reservations
    Reservation required
    *Time required for viewing is 30 to 60 minutes.
    (Groups)
    ・Reservations can be made from six months prior to the desired visit date.
    ・Groups (20 or more people) must complete reservations at least one week in advance.
    ・To avoid crowded conditions, the number of people in a group is limited to 40.
  • ■Languages offered
    ・English-speaking staff are always available (free of charge).
  • ■Website
    https://www.aist.go.jp/sc/cube/en/

CYBERDYNE STUDIO

Get a firsthand introduction to “HAL,” the wearable cyborg that moves with the intent of its user

CYBERDYNE STUDIO is located on the second floor of iias Tsukuba, a large-scale commercial complex where you eat lunch on this model itinerary.

The final stop is CYBERDYNE STUDIO, a showroom displaying the wearable cyborg HAL developed by CYBERDYNE. The highlight here is the opportunity to experience the motion principle of HAL firsthand. But what exactly is a cyborg? How is it different from a robot, and where and by whom is it used? A visit here will surely answer these questions and allow you to envision a future society where humans and technology coexist.
HAL is primarily used for physical function improvement and regenerative therapy, as well as for supporting heavy work. For example, in the case of hospital treatment, the appropriate HAL unit is worn on the area requiring function recovery, and sensors are attached to the skin. When the sensors connect to HAL, they detect the user’s intent to move and command HAL to respond. While “detecting intent” sounds mysterious, what HAL actually does is detect electrical signals (bio-electrical signals) that slightly leak out when electrical signals travel from the brain through the spinal cord and nerves to the muscles. This enables movements that follow the intent of its user. At CYBERDYNE STUDIO, you can not only see various types of HAL on display. You can also watch videos and see how people with disabilities caused by illness or injury wear HAL and repeatedly practice bending and extending joints, walking, and standing up. Wearing HAL and repeatedly performing intentional movements sends feedback to the brain that movement is possible, and through this repetition, function improvement occurs even when HAL is not worn.

A staff member at CYBERDYNE STUDIO who guided the tour that day. “HAL is built using Cybernics technology, which integrates various fields such as neuroscience, robotics, and physiology,” she explained.

HAL3 (right) was the first model where the battery could be carried in a backpack. HAL5 (left) is the full-body research model unveiled at the 2005 Aichi Expo.

The waist-type HAL reduces strain on the lower back when lifting heavy objects or standing up. It is utilized not only in caregiving but also in agriculture, aviation, construction, disaster sites, and many other fields.

Experiencing HAL’s motion principle. When you try to bend your arm, HAL bends too. When your arm is held in place and you think “bend,” only HAL moves. This demonstrates that HAL moves based on your own intent, not external force.

  • ■Opening hours
    10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
    Group tours and wearable experiences are available Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Reservations required.
    General groups: 1,400 yen (per person)
    School groups: 1,100 yen (per person)
  • ■Closed
    Open year-round (closed when iias Tsukuba is closed)
  • ■Admission
    Free of charge (exhibition area)
    *There is a fee for group tours and wearable experiences.
  • ■Languages offered
    Interpretation services are available at an additional cost (English only).
  • ■Website
    https://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/studio/