Best Museums around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

This is an admission-free art gallery opened in the Ginza district by Pola Group, which is expanding its cosmetics business, to make this facility the information-dissemination center for art and culture.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum is in Ueno Park. Special exhibitions of domestic and foreign famous paintings, variety of planned exhibitions, and exhibitions of works by the general public are held there.

Sannomaru Shozokan is a public art gallery exhibiting works such as paintings, calligraphy and crafts handed down to the Imperial Family.

This is a museum where you can learn the aesthetics of the samurai spirit. You can experience being a samurai warrior wearing kabuto (a helmet) and yoroi (an armor) and take commemorative photos as well.

Walk around the extensive grounds covering 70,000 square meters while enjoying the spectacular sculptures surrounded by magnificent greenery.

The Meguro Parasitological Museum exhibits 300 specimens of tapeworms and related material from inside and outside Japan. This is a research facility and museum devoted to parasites.

A place connected to Matsuo Basho. A garden with flowers and trees associated with his haiku and Shiseki Tembo Teien with a waterside view are the highlights.

This museum owns over 38,000 artifacts relating to the culture and history of tobacco and salt both from Japan and overseas.

Directly connected to Mitsukoshimae Station, the Mitsui Memorial Museum features masterpieces of Japanese and Eastern art acquired by members of the Mitsui family over 350 years. There is no permanent exhibition.

A technology gallery where you can experience Japanese high technology by looking, touching and operating. A guided tour is available, as well.

A museum specializing in Japanese swords. Some 190 items including swords, mountings and fittings, armor, and information on metalwork.

In addition to the museum's various themed exhibitions and displays of Japanese modern and contemporary artworks, the location is also attractive due to the scenery that has made the place known as the museum with a superb view and rich natural environment.

The National Film Center is the only national institution devoted to cinematography. It keeps movie films as well as many valuable materials related to movies. They are shown on the screens or displayed in the exhibition hall.

Lalique Museum, Hakone exhibits about 230 pieces of French artist, René Lalique (1860-1945) who created precious jewelry in Art Nouveau style, and beautiful objects in glass during Art Deco period.

This art museum has the longest history in the Hakone area. On the premises, there is a tea ceremony room from which you can enjoy the landscape of each season.

This is the world's first museum dedicated to the classic novella ”The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It displays documentation and memorabilia from the author Saint-Exupéry, and visitors can fully enjoy the world of ”The Little Prince.”

A museum were you can enjoy the modern works painted by the illustrators such as Takabatake Kasho who swept through the art publication world.

At Japan Sake and Shochu Information Center , you can look, touch, and experience Japanese sake, authentic shochu, awamori and so on.

A unique hexagon-shaped art museum that houses some 2,000 ceramics, Japanese lacquerwares, and tea kettles.

This museum offers both beauty and healing surrounded by the nature of Hakone. A giant mural of wind god Fujin and thunder god Raijin can be appreciated while soaking your feet in an ashi-yu footbath.