Tokyo's new transportation museum displays everything from antique bikes to modern cycling gear.

The Bicycle Culture Center in Tokyo is a clean and modern museum that features the culture’s love of cycling. It is located in Science Museum in Kitanomaru Park and was designed by Yuki Shibata + katosumiyoshi architects. The space features a new perspective on the two-wheeler.

Bicycling is a key mode of transportation in Tokyo. The 233 meters squared space is divided into two areas: the ground floor and a second floor accessible by stairs. The ground floor offers its visitors a collection of antique bikes to admire, even a three-wheeler, along with glass cases displaying equipment and reading material expressing the new advances in the sport.

The second floor walls are lined with shelves bursting with even more books, magazines, and technical data about the history of cycling for the avid reader. The wall space above the shelves is adorned with bright, multi-colored jerseys and hats. The museum really plays with earth tones in the décor as well. The atmosphere is calm and inviting, especially with the wood drawers along the second floor platform which double as storage bins.

The Culture Center hopes to attract lovers of the sport and new visitors who seek more knowledge about the history of bicycles and how the objects affect their daily lives.

Photography: Kenta Hasegawa OFP