Tokyo · Ueno and Yanaka
Tokyo National Museum
Tokyo National Museum was founded in 1872 and is the oldest museum in Japan. Today's main building (Honkan) was built in 1938 to a design by the architect Jin Watanabe, a Western concrete building with a traditional Japanese roof, in place of a Victorian building that was designed by the British architect Josiah Conder and collapsed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
The museum holds 89 National Treasures, the largest collection in any single institution in Japan, about a tenth of the 902 National Treasures in the whole country. The National Treasure room on the second floor of the Honkan shows only one treasure at a time, and it changes every few weeks.
Behind the Honkan there is a garden with several historic teahouses that were moved here. The garden is open to the public only in spring and autumn, at no extra charge on top of the entrance ticket.
Good to know
- For a short visit the Honkan, the main building with the Japanese art, is enough, in an hour and a half. The Toyokan (Asian art) and the Heiseikan (changing exhibitions and archaeology) need more time.
- The National Treasure room on floor 2 of the Honkan shows one work at a time. Check the website to see what is on display, because it changes.
- The garden behind the Honkan is open only in spring (roughly mid-March to mid-May) and in autumn (mid-October to early December), at no extra cost.
- Room 4 in the Honkan is closed from 26 October 2026 to 25 April 2027. From 14 December 2026 to 26 April 2027, rooms 2-3 as well in the Honkan will be closed for maintenance of the display conditions. If you come on these dates, check what is shown instead.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Tokyo National Museum.
- HereTokyo National Museum
- ~5 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
Ueno Seiyoken Landaulet Food
A French and Western restaurant from 1876 on the edge of Shinobazu Pond. Lunch menu from ¥3,000.
- ~10 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.
- ~13 min
Anmitsu Mihashi Ueno Honten Cafe
A long-established Japanese sweets shop near Ameyoko. Cream anmitsu, ¥890.
- ~15 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.
- ~15 min
Nikino Kashi Ameyoko Shopping
The big sweets shop of Ameyoko, about 4,500 kinds of snacks and cookies at wholesale prices.
More in Ueno and Yanaka
Appears in: Asakusa, Ueno and Skytree: old Tokyo in one day