Best Museums around Tokyo Spot List

Daimyo Tokei Hakubutsu-kan, or Daimyo Clock Museum, is the museum of the Edo period's art and craftwork, daimyo clocks (Japanese clocks), and is located in the popular Yanaka area in the shitamachi (the geographically lower side) of Tokyo.

This is an art gallery established in 1926, located in the Meiji Jingu Gaien Park. About 80 masterpieces of Japanese and Western paintings are displayed in chronological order.

A museum located on the fourth floor of Panasonic Tokyo Shiodome Building. 230 pieces by Georges Rouault, a representative artist of the 20th century, are shown at this museum.

An art center open to all where you can enjoy exhibitions, workshops, and a variety of other events.

This museum is dedicated to ukiyo-e. It houses one of the largest collections in the world.

Currently under renovation, and plans to reopen in the autumn of 2016. One of the few museums worldwide focusing on photography and film.

Museum of Yebisu Beer will teach you the history and the way to enjoy Yebisu beer at the birthplace of Yebisu beer.

The museum has the ancient Orient as its theme. Visitors can learn about the hunting and gathering life of 5,000 years ago as well as the invention of writing.

The museum displays valuable handicrafts and folk crafts, mainly Japanese antique ceramics and dyed or woven textiles that were selected by Japanese philosopher Yanagi Muneyoshi, collected from Japan and overseas.

This is a museum where visitors can trace the changes in Chinese kanji characters and their shapes from the pre-Christian time to the present through its collection of valuable cultural properties.

A historic building representing the Showa era. Its location within one kilometer of Ginza makes it easily accessible before or after shopping.

This museum exhibits the history of Japanese advertisements from the Edo period to the present. In addition to the poster exhibits, they also have a TV commercial and AV area, so you will certainly be able to feel the thrill of experiencing Japan's past through its advertising. They have also established a library with a collection of advertisements and marketing-related materials.

This museum is linked to the Yotsuya Fire Department. Here you can see exhibits of actual equipment, including the first fire engine introduced to Japan in 1917, as well as the helitack first brought into the Tokyo Fire Department. In addition, you can sit in the helitack set up outside. Why not try considering some disaster prevention?

This museum was established in March 2003 with 3 designers, Issei Miyake (fashion designer), Taku Sato (graphic designer), and Naoto Fukazawa (product designer) as its directors and Noriko Kawakami, a journalist and editor, as its associate director. Not only does it offer exhibitions, but it also offers various programs such as talks and workshops with a concept of ”becoming a venue where day-to-day perspectives and views can be proposed.” The building with a symbolic roof created with an image of ”one sheet of fabric” was designed by Tadao Ando, an architect.

This museum conserves and exhibits arts collected by the Sumitomo family, with its main building located in Shishiga-tani, Kyoto. The collection is composed of various and diverse items, such as modern Japanese and Western paintings, modern pottery and chinaware, tea utensils, and Noh masks and costumes collected from the middle of the Meiji era to Taisho era. Despite being in the middle of Roppongi, it is surrounded by greenery and is a quiet environment, which lets you forget about time and appreciate the arts to your heart's content.