Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Best
Galleries & Museums
Tokyo is a city enamored with museums. Not only does it have many excellent es-
tablished institutions, it is constantly building new ones. These include both grand
repositories of art and antiquities, and tiny centres of devotion to one particular
thing. Tokyo is also the centre of Japan's contemporary art scene and has numer-
ous galleries to show for it.
Contemporary Art Scene
Tokyo's contemporary art scene is broad, dynamic and scattered - much like the
city itself. Ginza is Tokyo's original gallery district, and a good place to get started.
In the last decade, Roppongi, with its three big museums - Mori Art Museum
(
Click here
)
, National Art Center Tokyo (
Click here
)
and Suntory Museum of Art
(
Click here
)
- has emerged as an art centre. As a result, many galleries, such as
those in the Piramide Building (
Click here
) have moved into the neighbourhood.
Yanaka, with its proximity to the city's top art school, Geidai, has long been an
artist's neighbourhood and there are galleries and studios there, too.
Access & Admission
Many museums close one day a week, often on Mondays (or, if Monday is a na-
tional holiday, then the following Tuesday). Museums in Tokyo tend to close early,
around 5pm or 6pm, and last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Take ad-
vantage of the free lockers (¥100 deposit) to stow your coat and bag. Permanent
exhibits at national museums are the most economical; expect to pay more for ad-
mission to temporary exhibits or private museums. Commercial galleries are free
to enter.
