Paper Museum

Opened in 1950, the Paper Museum in Oji, Kita-ku, Tokyo—an area renowned as the birthplace of Western-style paper in Japan—is a specialized institution dedicated entirely to paper, boasting a collection of over 40,000 artifacts and 15,000 books.
The museum’s permanent exhibition highlights both traditional Japanese washi and modern Western-style paper, showcasing their historical, cultural, and industrial significance. Visitors can see actual paper-making machinery and a half-scale replica of the world’s first paper-making machine.

The interactive exhibition room, called Kami no Kyoshitsu ("Paper Classroom"), provides hands-on experiences, such as feeling different types of paper and participating in quizzes, to educate visitors about the fundamentals of paper and recycling. On the first floor, there's also a library where visitors can explore books and magazines related to paper.
Additionally, the museum actively organizes a variety of paper-related events, such as demonstrations of traditional Ukiyo-e woodblock printing techniques—an art handed down from the Edo period—and workshops on handmade paper-making using recycled milk cartons.