Omiya Bonsai Art Museum
 

Would really like to visit this museum but wondering if it's foolish to take a 3/4 of a 4 day visit to Tokyo to go there (it's located in Saitima - about 40 minutes away by train) Any thoughts? For what it's worth, I have not made a to-do-visit list for Tokyo yet so open to suggestion. Many, many Thanks!

There’s the Museum of Modern Art in Saitama, but if you are into bonsai, then I would have thought that the trip was well worth your time as the neighbourhood gardens and the commercial nurseries can be visited also.

If you have an interest in civil engineering, then you can enquire about a tour of the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel near Minami Sakura station. I’m looking to pay a visit when my kid is a bit older.

Anyway, that’s my “visit Omiya” itinerary. Haven’t managed to go yet, but my husband has worked at the Museum of Modern Art and recommends it highly.

There's also the railway museum
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I was going to suggest visiting the Takagi bonsai gallery in Ichigaya that I often used to walk past, but it appears that it closed in 2006. The collection is now at the museum in Saitama.
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Within Happo-en, near the Sheraton Miyako, there is a fine bonsai collection. That’s the best I remember seeing within Central Tokyo.

I went to Omiya a few years ago with my dad who is a lifelong plant guy. We enjoyed it quite a bit. You can see a _lot_ of bonsai, and some really gigantic and really interesting ones. I am actually not sure if we went to the museum or just looked around at all the nurseries in the area. We found it well worthwhile but I can't say whether you would!

Bonsai Museum

We visited last October - a very pleasant morning out. You can do it in half a day and be back in Tokyo by lunchtime. Take the train to Toro; you may be able to get a direct train (depending on where/what time you're starting - we left about 8.30 from Shinjuku) or you can change at Omiya (which is on the Shinkansen line to Kanazawa). Take the east exit at Toro station and follow the guide tiles embedded in the pavement to reach the museum. There are various information boards outside the station. The museum opens at 9 so perhaps time your Tokyo departure to maximise the morning.

There used to be 30 or so bonsai growers/nurseries in Saitama but now only half a dozen or so remain. The map on the home page of the museum (linked above) shows their location; you'll also find a map board outside the station and one or two map boards as you wander the village.

The museum itself has a large bonsai in the lobby, which you can photograph. There is then a display of a dozen or so (super-prime) bonsai (no photographs allowed), together with good explanations of the history and art form. There is then an art gallery, with various exhibits (woodblock prints etc.), all of which seemed to involve bonsai in one way or another - unfortunately, the labels were all in Japanese.... Outside, there is then a display of 25+ bonsai - photos allowed! Next, there is a courtyard with another 50+ bonsai - no photos allowed. However, you will see from the courtyard that there is a balcony overlooking it so, once you re-enter the building from the courtyard, you can sneak upstairs and take a (distant) photo or two. When we were there there were several parties of (youngish) school children - all well behaved (so not at all an issue). I guess they try to get them interested at an early age.

After the museum, work your way south through the village. A pleasant stroll and you can visit the other bonsai nurseries as you go. Some allow photos, some don't. At one, we obviously must have been the first arrivals of the day as, as soon as we appeared, the chap whipped out the large "no photos" sign. The last one of the day (I think # 3 on the map on the museum home page) had a large collection of all sorts of bonsai - and photos allowed.

You should end up by Omiya-koen station, where you can get a Tobu Noda line train two stops back to Omiya station; change there for a train to Ueno/Tokyo/Shinjuku etc. We stopped for an early lunch at a small restaurant near Omiya-koen station but, if you aim to be at the museum shortly after it opens, you can be back in Tokyo in time for lunch. All in all, a very pleasant morning out and, for us, well worth the effort.

I don't know anything about bonsai or this bonsai garden, but for what it's worth my Saitama guidebook says it's considered world-famous and I also remember seeing this place featured on an NHK program (lot of foreign visitors apparently, and they were being interviewed on the program). As tt7 says, it should not take up 3/4 day visiting from Tokyo. If you like bonsai, you should go.

If you decide you want a more leisurely day trip, there are a few other sights to see in Omiya, and you can do some of your general exploration of department stores and shopping arcades there while you're at it. The excellent Railway Museum was mentioned above, and the Museum of History and Folklore is also pretty interesting.

If you don't mind a bit of walking you can start at the Bonsai Museum, walk south and drop into a few bonsai nurseries, continue walking south through Omiya Park, where the museum and a small zoo (with free admission) are located, then stop to admire the beautiful Hikawa Shrine.

There's a long tree-lined promenade leading from the shrine to central Omiya, and near the station there's a very good cat cafe called Nekoya - it's less crowded and more comfortable than most Tokyo cat cafes I've been to, although it's crowded on Sundays. There's also a decent brewpub called Hikawa Brewery (although they're only open from 5:30 on weekdays).

Thanks everyone, this so very helpful!