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The Tokyo National Museum seen across Ueno Park

Museums

Museums in Tokyo

Tokyo has hundreds of museums, from national collections in Ueno Park to small private galleries with a garden attached. Start with Japanese art at the Tokyo National Museum.

49 places · 16 nationally protected

Ueno Park is Tokyo's museum quarter. The Tokyo National Museum, the oldest museum in Japan, holds the country's largest collection of Japanese art, from samurai armor to ink paintings and Buddhist statues. Across the park, the National Museum of Western Art sits in a building by Le Corbusier that is part of a UNESCO listing, with Rodin sculptures in the front courtyard.

Many of the city's best museums were built by collectors. The Nezu Museum in Aoyama shows Japanese and East Asian art beside a large garden, the Okura Museum of Art was Japan's first private museum, and the Gotoh and Mitsui Memorial museums hold national treasures shown in rotating exhibitions. Check what's on before you go: famous pieces appear only for a few weeks a year.

Good to know

  • The Tokyo National Museum and the National Museum of Western Art are closed on most Mondays; when Monday is a public holiday, they close on Tuesday instead.
  • Special exhibitions often sell timed tickets online, and popular ones sell out on weekends.
  • Ueno Park has several museums within a few minutes' walk, so plan one full day there.

Start with these

The ones worth planning a day around.

More Museums in Tokyo

Every place shows its Japanese name, so you can search it on a map or show it to a taxi driver.

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Museums in Tokyo on the map

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Questions

What is the best museum in Tokyo for Japanese art?

The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno, which has the largest collection of Japanese art in the country, from prehistoric pottery to samurai swords and painted screens.

Are Tokyo museums closed on Mondays?

Many are, including the national museums in Ueno. When Monday is a public holiday they usually open and close the next day instead. Always check the museum's calendar.

Why is the National Museum of Western Art a UNESCO site?

Its main building, designed by Le Corbusier, is part of the UNESCO listing of his architectural work across seven countries. It is his only building in East Asia.

Sources

We checked the facts on this page against these sources.

Museums elsewhere in Kanto

More to see in Tokyo