Best Museums around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

Amuse Museum is an art complex where a museum of the textile culture and ukiyoe (paintings of everyday life in the Edo period 1603 – 1868), a select shop of Japanese-style products, and an event hall are combined.

This is an art museum that houses and exhibits modern and contemporary Japanese art. It hosts special exhibitions on a wide range of themes.

A thought-provoking museum about the history, culture and social role of currency.

A facility where you can experience the nature and history of remote wilderness of Oku-Nikko

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.

It has over 5,000 pieces of Japanese and Oriental antique art. The building in the shinden-zukuri aristocratic architectural style (developed between the late 7th to early 11th century) and the Japanese garden are worthy of a viewing.

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.

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.”

Founded by Kunio Kobayashi, the notable bonsai (potted plant) creator. Artistic bonsai are in line with each other at the Japanese garden. You can also purchase some of them.

Reproduces the streets of Fukagawa Saga-cho in the Edo Period so visitors can see the scene and lifestyle of that period.

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.

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

The Sogo Museum of Art is located inside a department store that is directly connected with Yokohama Station. You can enjoy both shopping and art at the same time.

This is one of the three greatest commemorative ships in the world. It has been preserved as a symbol of the nation’s pride that attained the victory in the naval battle for defending national independence.

Pola Museum of Art, built in the forests of Hakone, is a glass-encased space where you can enjoy art and nature together.

This is a museum built on the site where the Kawagoe Castle used to stand. Through various exhibitions, the museum explains how the people in the castle town lived.

It is a historical museum where you can learn about the Chiba clan, who made the foundation and historical contribution to Chiba City. From the observation deck, you can see a magnificent view of Chiba City.

This art museum, which opened its doors in 1983, is out of ordinary among other museums in Tokyo. Located in the middle of the city, the museum harmonizes its art exhibitions, which utilize the former official residence of Asaka-no-miya (a branch of the Japanese Imperial Family) constructed in the early Showa period employing an Art Deco style, and the lushly green garden. After improvement of the old building, and an extension for a gallery and a cafe was added, the museum was re-opened in November 2014. In front of the art museum, there is a wide spread of lawn. You can put down a mat and eat your meal on this lawn.

*Currently closed

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.