Grutt pass

Today we finally got our act together and got a Grutt pass!

For those of you who haven't heard, Grutt pass (gurutto pasu, in Japanese) is a booklet with tickets and discount vouchers for loads and loads of museums, galleries, even zoos or aquariums...

I believe in past years it was for fewer attractions, but with the current Grutt pass you can access 70 venues... Just buy the booklet for 2,000 yen (for an adult ticket) at the ticket counter of any of the establishments which accept the Grutt pass, and hand it over when buying your ticket so they can tear the coupon in question out. In some cases (like in Ueno zoo) you can get in free; in others (like today's visit, the National Museum) you get a discount. Also, in the National Museum you can get two discount tickets - one for the permanent exhibition and one for the special exhibit. When you access the first museum, you have to have the expiry date stamped on the front of the booklet. Grutt pass is valid for 2 months. I would say it's almost impossible to visit 70 places in 60 days, but I figure if you visit 4 or 5 museums -depending on the price- you've probably got your money's worth.

The pass is not advertised as much as it probably would be in other countries, but it really is good value for money (and that's probably the reason why). We asked for it at the National Museum, but there wasn't even a sign... just some brochures hidden behind the desk! ;)

Check out some more information here http://www.museum.or.jp/grutto/english.html