Best Art Museums around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

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 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.

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

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

A museum located in Ueno Park. Visitors can enjoy a variety of artworks including ones designated as Important Cultural Properties.

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.

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

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

Yokohama Museum of Art is considered a symbol of the Minato Mirai 21 area. It consists of seven exhibition rooms and has a collection of over 110,000 books. It is one of the largest museums in Japan.

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.

This memorial museum used to be the art studio and residence of Taro Okamoto, who was a representative artist of Japan. His passion and energy still fill the museum.

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

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.

Museum with vast premises covering some 30 hectares. Nature that makes you the feel the season, rooms that match the exhibitions, and the buildings themselves are all worth checking out.

Established in accordance with the wishes of the business tycoon, Kaichiro Nezu, after his death. Antique works of art from Japan and the rest of Asia can be enjoyed here. It also has a Japanese garden with tea houses.

A museum where you can enjoy contemporary sculpture in the sleek, hexagonal main building and the four outdoor exhibition areas.

This art museum houses many pieces of artwork, mainly paintings, woodblock prints, sculptures, and others that were created by the hands of artists who have a tie with Kawagoe.

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.

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