Disaster learning centers in Japan you can visit: earthquake simulators, smoke mazes and fire extinguishers

Want to feel a magnitude-7-class earthquake, crawl through a smoke-filled corridor, or use a fire extinguisher before you ever need to? Japan has public disaster learning centers where you can, many of them free. They are a good half-day for families living in Japan, and an unusual stop for visitors. Opening days and booking rules change, so check each official page before you go (we checked on November 6, 2026). Note that guided tours are often in Japanese only.

Tokyo Fire Department life safety learning centers (free)

The Tokyo Fire Department runs three centers in Honjo (Sumida City), Ikebukuro (Toshima City) and Tachikawa. Admission is free. You can try earthquake shaking, smoke evacuation, fire extinguishers and first aid. Closing days differ by center (for example, Honjo closes on Wednesdays and the third Thursday; Ikebukuro on the first and third Tuesdays and the day after the third Tuesday; Tachikawa on Thursdays and the third Friday).

• Language: Honjo states that its disaster prevention experience tour "is available in Japanese only," and asks groups of non-Japanese speakers to bring an interpreter. Ikebukuro's instructors also guide in Japanese only, and it offers tours in "easy Japanese."
• Booking: Honjo's tour "is available by reservation only"; booking ahead is the safe choice at all three.
• Ikebukuro lets you feel five kinds of earthquake shaking, including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and long-period ground motion, and stays open until 9 p.m. on Fridays.

The Fire Museum in Shinjuku, also run by the Tokyo Fire Department, is free and needs no reservation for individuals.

Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukushima

• Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (Kobe): tells the story of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, including a theater recreating the moment it struck at 5:46 a.m. on January 17, 1995. Parts of the exhibits support English, Chinese and Korean. Adult admission is 650 yen; high school students and younger are free, and admission is free on the 17th of each month. It has an English website.
• Osaka City Abeno Disaster Prevention Center, "Abeno Tasukaru" (our translation of the Japanese name): free, tour-based, with fire, smoke, tsunami evacuation and rescue sections; phone booking is requested. Its magnitude-7 earthquake simulator is closed for equipment replacement from October 2025 to March 2027.
• Nagoya Municipal Minato Disaster Prevention Center: free, with an earthquake room and 3D theater; it publishes foreign-language guides and says experiences are available until 16:00.
• The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum (Futaba, Fukushima; our translation of the Japanese name): adult admission 600 yen, with storytellers and a multilingual commentary guide.

The Tohoku Regional Bureau of Japan's land ministry also runs the "3.11 Densho Road" site, with a map of facilities that pass on lessons from the 2011 disaster, in Japanese and English.

Related: Earthquakes in Japan, Finding a CPR and first aid class. Our Japanese edition has the same list for residents: 防災館・防災体験施設.