Tokyo · Ueno and Yanaka
National Museum of Western Art
The National Museum of Western Art was founded in 1959 around the Matsukata Collection: Impressionist works and Rodin sculptures that Kojiro Matsukata, a Japanese shipping magnate, collected in Europe at the start of the 20th century. After the Second World War the French government seized the collection as enemy property, and returned it in 1959 on condition that Japan build a museum for it. The building is the only one in Japan designed by Le Corbusier, and since 2016 it has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing that includes his buildings in several countries.
In the entrance courtyard, before the ticket gate, stand the Rodin sculptures: The Gates of Hell, The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais. You can see them for free from outside without buying a ticket. The permanent collection inside has Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and more sculptures by Rodin and Bourdelle.
Good to know
- The Rodin sculptures in the courtyard, including The Gates of Hell and The Thinker, can be seen for free from the street without an admission ticket.
- The permanent collection is ¥500 for an adult, and ¥1,000 from 20 March 2027. Visitors under 18, over 65, and people with disabilities enter free.
- Special exhibitions are charged separately from the permanent collection, and change a few times a year. Check what is on before you buy a ticket for both.
- The permanent collection is closed for building work from 12 January to 19 March 2027 (as planned).
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of National Museum of Western Art.
- HereNational Museum of Western Art
- ~3 min
Starbucks Coffee Ueno Onshi Koen Cafe
A branch in a low wooden building inside the park, between the museums. A place to sit on a rainy day without leaving the park.
- ~5 min
Ueno Seiyoken Landaulet Food
A French and Western restaurant from 1876 on the edge of Shinobazu Pond. Lunch menu from ¥3,000.
- ~6 min
Anmitsu Mihashi Ueno Honten Cafe
A long-established Japanese sweets shop near Ameyoko. Cream anmitsu, ¥890.
- ~6 min
Yamashiroya Toy Store Shopping
A toy and model shop on eight floors, next to the Hirokoji Exit of Ueno Station.
- ~8 min
Ueno Toshogu Shrine More to see
A Shinto shrine from 1651, dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, with a gold-covered hall. ¥500 for the inner courtyard.
- ~8 min
Ameyoko Shopping Street Street
A market that rose after the war under the railway tracks in Ueno: street snacks, dried seafood and cheap clothes.