Best Art Museums around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

Step into an enchanting art museum where graceful goldfish dance amid a mesmerizing world of light, sound, and fragrance are woven together.

You can experience the world of Mitsuo Aida, a poet and calligrapher who emphasized the preciousness of life with his own phrases and unique styles of calligraphy.

A unique art museum displaying future works and commanding a magnificent view of Lake Ashino-ko in Hakone.

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.

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.”

This is Japan's only national art museum, where you can view various Western artworks, including the Matsukata collection, which mainly consists of French artworks.

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.

Hakone Garasunomori Museum, or the Venetian Glass Museum in Hakone, is the first museum of this kind in Japan. The glass exhibitions that change each season are worth seeing.

A museum specializing in nihonga (Japanese paintings) with a collection of about 1,800 works consisting mainly of modern and contemporary Japanese paintings. It holds various special exhibitions as well.

It is an art museum in Marunouchi that holds Japanese contemporary art oriented exhibitions.

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.

Museum to appreciate the works of painter and poet Yumeji Takehisa.

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.

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

A museum where you can relax surrounded by rich greenery. It positions art as a ”sustenance of mental health.”

It is a toy museum designed to attract people of all ages, from babies to the elderly. Visitors can see, touch, play, and learn while having fun.

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.

A museum inside the building of Tokyo University of the Arts, the best out of all the art universities in Japan. It stores approximately 29,000 items of mainly Japanese modern arts.

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.