10 Cool Museums You Have To Check Out When In Tokyo
If you thought museums were boring, Tokyo’s about to change your mind.
By JAMES WONG and SARAH ADRIANA,
In Tokyo, museums aren’t just about staring at things in silence, they’re portals. One moment you’re submerged in digital waterfalls at teamLab Borderless, the next you’re tracing brushstrokes from a 12th-century scroll at Seikado Bunko. This city doesn't do art halfway. It’s immersive, unexpected, and often tucked away in places you’d never think to look, from skyscrapers to repurposed palaces. Whether you're chasing Van Gogh, vintage photography, or a full sensory overload. Here are the 10 best museums in the city that you should visit.
Studio Ghibli is often dubbed ‘Disney of the East’, having brought to a global audience animated classics such as Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away. Fans will marvel at this beautiful museum in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, which features character-themed stained glass windows, colourful plants and flowers and forest animal sculptures. Popular character Totoro in the form of a mascot welcomes visitors at the entrance. Inside, expect to find a wonderland of characters, a theatre showing exclusive short films, a rooftop garden, a themed cafe and a bookstore. There is also a replica of the Catbus from the movie My Neighbour Totoro. Tickets are known to be snapped up fast and can be purchased as early as the month before your intended visit.
Nearest station: Mikata (you can take a community bus to the museum from the south exit of the station for a small fee)
If you’ve ever spotted a sea of dots on a canvas or a pumpkin and thought, “That’s Kusama,” you’re not alone. As Japan’s most internationally recognisable contemporary artist, Yayoi Kusama’s psychedelic polka-dotted universe has made her a global icon, and the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo is where it all converges. Tucked away in the Waseda district, the museum is a compact but powerful tribute to her avant-garde world: immersive installations, archival works, and rotating exhibitions that reflect her obsessions with repetition, self-obliteration, and infinity.
Getting in, though, takes planning. Visits are ticketed by timed entry only, with online reservations released in advance, and often snapped up within days, especially on weekends. The museum is typically open four to five days a week from 11am to 5:30pm, and yes, you’ll want to book early.
Nearest station: Waseda Station
Step into teamLab Borderless, and the first thing you’ll notice is how the walls don't just hold art, they become it. This is Tokyo’s original permanent digital art museum, where over 50 immersive installations spread across 10,000 m² of space in the Azabudai Hills complex, merging light, sound, movement, and the human body into one continuously evolving experience.
Walking through rooms like Universe of Water Particles, where a digital waterfall cascades and shifts with your presence and the mirrored Crystal World, suspended with LED lights, feels less like visiting an exhibit and more like entering a living dream pursuit of art. Every projection reacts to your movements and even your touch; the art doesn’t just envelop you, it invites you to participate .
Open daily from 8 AM to 9 PM, tickets are sold in 30-minute sessions, available in advance and sometimes same-day, though they vanish fast . A typical visit lasts 2–3 hours, though once captivated, most linger far longer, there’s a reason Borderless is often described as “Tokyo’s most Instagrammable spot,” but it’s worth unplugging to experience its full effect.
Nearest station: Kamiyacho
Situated in Roppongi Hills, the Mori Art Museum is a grand gallery on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower. The museum houses modern art exhibitions in a variety of genres, including fashion, architecture, design, photography and video, with a focus on contemporary Asian art. Spectacular art aside, we love that the museum has a stunning indoor observatory and rooftop observation deck that’s open till late. It’s a beautiful place to take in the city skyline.
Nearest station: Roppongi
If you prefer your art still and cinematic, the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, better known as TOP, deserves a quiet afternoon on your itinerary. Tucked into the sleek Yebisu Garden Place complex, this underrated gem is Japan’s first museum dedicated entirely to photography and moving images. Think: three floors of rotating exhibitions that span from pre-war Japanese street photography to experimental short films and contemporary photojournalism. No two visits are ever the same, and that’s the point.
Don’t expect tourist-packed chaos here. The space is calm, contemplative, and beautifully curated—with film screenings, curated bookshops, and a rooftop terrace that offers a breather between galleries. It’s open most days from 10am to 6pm (8pm on Thursdays and Fridays) and tickets vary depending on the exhibitions. Whether you're a casual observer or someone who still insists on shooting film, this museum is a quiet reminder that Tokyo knows how to do cool without trying too hard.
Nearest station: Ebisu Station
A world away from Tokyo’s neon dazzle, the Seikado Bunko Art Museum offers a slower, more meditative kind of wonder. Housed in the stately Meiji Seimei Kan near the Imperial Palace, this recently reopened museum feels like a secret passed down through generations. Originally founded by the Iwasaki family of Mitsubishi fame, it holds one of Japan’s most refined private collections, over 6,500 art objects and 200,000 classical texts, including several designated National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.
Inside, expect minimalist rooms that let the pieces speak for themselves: Song-dynasty ceramics with glazes that look like moonlight, centuries-old calligraphy, tea ceremony utensils, samurai swords, and paintings pulled from dynastic scrolls. With rotating exhibitions every few months, you’ll never see the same lineup twice, but the curation is always pristine, designed to slow your pace and sharpen your attention.
Nearest station: Nijubashimae Station
You wouldn’t expect to find a Van Gogh masterpiece in a Tokyo skyscraper, but that’s exactly what makes the Sompo Museum of Art feel so unexpected. Tucked into a sleek, steel-clad building in Nishi-Shinjuku, this low-key gem houses one of the world’s most iconic paintings, Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, alongside a rotating collection of Japanese and Western works that span impressionism, surrealism, and post-war modernism. Formerly perched on the 42nd floor of the Sompo Japan HQ, the museum got a major glow-up in 2020, reopening in a purpose-built space that feels more gallery than corporate archive.
Inside, the experience is intimate and thoughtfully paced. Five exhibitions are held annually, ranging from Cezanne and Gauguin to homegrown artists like Seiji Togo, whose works make up a large part of the permanent collection. Clean lines, curved walls, and natural light set the mood for a quiet kind of viewing, you won’t find crowds with selfie sticks here. There’s also a museum shop for design-forward souvenirs and a small café that opens on weekends.
Nearest station: Shinjuku Station or Nishi-Shinjuku Station
The Railway Museum provides an insight into the history of railways in Japan and around the world. Visitors can learn about railway systems and the latest technologies (including future plans) through models, simulation, and play equipment. In addition to old train cars that belonged to steam and diesel locomotives to peruse, there are also many simulators for those who harbour dreams of being a train driver.
Nearest station: Tetsudo-Hakubutsukan
Ueno Park is a hub for museums and galleries and the standout attraction is the Tokyo National Museum. The gigantic space features artworks and antiquities from Japan and other Asian countries. The Honkan (Japanese) Gallery within the museum covers Japanese art from Jomon (Japanese prehistory) through to the Edo period, with rooms displaying ceramics, swords, lacquerware, sculptures and modern decorative arts. The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures is a hidden gem containing treasures donated to the Imperial Household by Horyuji Temple in 1878. Other galleries cover Asian art, Meiji-era architecture, Imperial treasures and crafts.
Nearest station: Ueno or Uguisudani
Housed in a uniquely styled building in the Ryogoku district, the Edo-Tokyo Museum explores the history and culture of old Tokyo (known as the Edo period from 1603 till 1868). There is a range of original objects and replicas, miniature villages (above) and war scenes, and a life-sized Japanese village including a grand Kabuki theatre that visitors can enter.
Nearest station: Ryogoku
This story first appeared on www.silverkris.com