Museums in Japan
From samurai armor to manga, Japan’s museums trace centuries of art, craft, science, and urban culture.
Updated
675 museums with visitor guides on Mooseum
Top museums in Japan
Most visited first (annual visitors from Wikipedia), then the museums with audio tours and indoor maps on Mooseum.
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
Art museum · 2,787,770 visitors a year
Japan's first public art museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum opened in Ueno Park in 1926, funded by a donation from the Kyushu coal merchant Keitaro Sato. Its present building, designed by...
Tokyo National Museum
2,684,754 visitors a year
Nestled in the heart of Ueno Park, the Tokyo National Museum is a treasure trove of Japanese art and history, inviting visitors to embark on a journey through time and culture. As Japan's oldest and...
National Museum of Western Art
Art museum · 1,368,703 visitors a year
Welcome to the National Museum of Western Art, a cultural gem nestled in the heart of Tokyo, Japan. Renowned for its remarkable collection of Western art, this museum invites visitors to embark on a...
Zoorasia
Zoo or aquarium · 1,220,000 visitors a year
Zoorasia arranges its animals by the world's climate zones and regions rather than by species. Visitors walk a long loop through landscaped habitats representing tropical Asian forest, subarctic...
Kyoto City Zoo
Zoo or aquarium · 1,200,000 visitors a year
Opened in 1903, Kyoto City Zoo is the second-oldest zoo in Japan after Tokyo's Ueno Zoo. It was founded with donations raised to mark the wedding of Crown Prince Yoshihito, the future Emperor Taisho....
National Art Center, Tokyo
Art museum · 881,733 visitors a year
The National Art Center, Tokyo has no permanent collection. It is instead one of the largest exhibition spaces in Japan, signed as Kokuritsu Shin-Bijutsukan (国立新美術館). Its building, by Kisho Kurokawa,...
Kyoto National Museum
539,134 visitors a year
Nestled in the heart of Kyoto, the Kyoto National Museum invites visitors to embark on a captivating journey through Japan's rich cultural heritage. Established in 1897, this remarkable institution...
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Art museum · 307,202 visitors a year
Japan's first national art museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (東京国立近代美術館, often called MOMAT) traces the development of Japanese art from the Meiji era to the present day. It opened in...
Sakamoto Ryōma Memorial Museum
Historic house, palace or castle · 146,278 visitors a year
Gifu City Science Museum
Science and technology museum · 102,908 visitors a year
Meguro Parasitological Museum
Science and technology museum · 57,300 visitors a year
Parasites, and parasitology, the science that studies them, are the entire focus of the Meguro Parasitological Museum (目黒寄生虫館, Meguro kiseichūkan), a small science museum in Tokyo's Meguro Ward. Dr....
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
Art museum · 326 visitors a year
MoMAK, as the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto is known in English, occupies a building designed by the architect Fumihiko Maki. It is one of Japan's national museums, and its Japanese name is...
21 21 DESIGN SIGHT
Art museum
A hand-sanded steel roof inspired by Issey Miyake's A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) concept tops 21_21 Design Sight, the design museum that Miyake and architect Tadao Ando created together in Roppongi,...
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
Art museum
Nestled in the heart of Kanazawa, Japan, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art stands as a beacon of creativity and innovation. Renowned for its striking architecture, designed by the acclaimed...
Abeno Harukas Art Museum
Art museum
Sixteen floors up inside the Abeno Harukas skyscraper, the Abeno Harukas Art Museum (あべのハルカス美術館) specializes in temporary exhibitions. The tower takes its name from Osaka's Abeno ward and the...
Amuse Museum
Art museum
Everyday clothing and household textiles collected by the folklorist Chūzaburō Tanaka formed the core of the Amuse Museum, a private museum devoted to Japanese textile culture and ukiyo-e, the...
Artizon Museum
Art museum
Founded in 1952 by Ishibashi Shojiro, the founder of Bridgestone Tire Co., the Artizon Museum (アーティゾン美術館) was known as the Bridgestone Museum of Art until 2018. Its current name joins the words art...
Asakura Museum of Sculpture
Art museum
Fumio Asakura, often called the father of modern Japanese sculpture, designed the building that now houses his life's work. The Asakura Museum of Sculpture (朝倉彫塑館, Asakura Chōsokan) is a historic...
Bunkamura
Art museum
When Bunkamura opened on September 3, 1989, it was the first large-scale cultural complex in Japan. Its name, written 文化村 on signs, means "cultural enclave" in Japanese, and it brings a concert hall,...
Bunkyo Museum
History museum
The history of Tokyo's Bunkyō area is the sole focus of Bunkyo Museum, whose Japanese name is 文京ふるさと歴史館 (Bunkyō Furusato Rekishikan), with furusato meaning "hometown." As the area's public local...
Museums by city in Japan
- Tokyo102 museums
- Kyoto22 museums
- Nagoya19 museums
- Osaka16 museums
- Yokohama15 museums
- Hiroshima12 museums
- Sapporo9 museums
- Kobe8 museums
- Nara8 museums
- Nonoichi8 museums
- Nagasaki7 museums
- Aomori6 museums
- Fukuoka6 museums
- Gifu6 museums
- Kagoshima6 museums
- Kochi6 museums
- Sendai6 museums
- Asahikawa5 museums
- Nishinomiya5 museums
- Okayama5 museums
- Tokushima5 museums
Japan’s museum landscape spans major urban centers and regional cultural hubs, from Tokyo’s dense cluster of national institutions to Kyoto’s temple-area collections and craft museums. Visitors can move between archaeological finds, Buddhist sculpture, samurai-era objects, modern design, and contemporary art in a single trip. On Mooseum, you can explore 675 museums in Japan with interactive tools that make it easier to compare venues, plan routes, and understand what each collection focuses on.
Tokyo is a natural starting point, with places such as the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, the National Art Center, Tokyo, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum offering different approaches to Japanese and international art. Kyoto adds a distinct perspective through court culture, religious heritage, and traditional craftsmanship, with the Kyoto National Museum and the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto among key stops. Other regions highlight industrial history, local folklore, ceramics, maritime culture, and natural science.
Japan also has a strong tradition of specialized museums and living collections. Railway museums, manga museums, science centers, open-air folk museums, aquariums, and zoos such as Zoorasia and Kyoto City Zoo broaden the experience beyond gallery spaces. Seasonal travel can shape what you see, from cherry blossom outings to indoor museum days during the rainy season. Mooseum helps visitors navigate these varied spaces with practical museum discovery features designed for exploring both famous institutions and lesser-known local collections.
Japan Travel
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
JNTO is the national tourism organization; japan.travel is the official multilingual portal.
Map of museums in Japan
Museums in Japan: questions
- How many museums are there in Japan?
- Mooseum lists 675 museums in Japan. Tokyo has the most, with 102.
- Which cities in Japan have the most museums?
- Tokyo (102), Kyoto (22), Nagoya (19), Osaka (16) and Yokohama (15).
- What are the most visited museums in Japan?
- By annual visitors reported on Wikipedia: Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (2,787,770), Tokyo National Museum (2,684,754) and National Museum of Western Art (1,368,703).
- What kinds of museums are in Japan?
- Of the 589 whose type we know, the most common are art museums (247), history museums (74), ethnographic and open-air museums (33) and zoos and aquariums (33).
- National museums in Tokyo and Kyoto cover archaeology, Buddhist art, samurai material culture, painting, calligraphy, and decorative arts
- Modern and contemporary art is well represented in cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kanazawa, with rotating exhibitions common throughout the year
- Regional museums often focus on local identity, including Ainu culture in Hokkaido, ceramics in Kyushu, and maritime history in port cities
- Japan’s museum scene includes highly specialized venues devoted to railways, manga, science, industry, architecture, and traditional crafts
- Zoos, aquariums, and open-air museums add family-friendly ways to explore wildlife, vernacular buildings, and environmental education
- Check closing days carefully: many Japanese museums close on Mondays or the following weekday after a national holiday, and some galleries rotate exhibits frequently.
- Timed-entry tickets are common for major special exhibitions in Tokyo and Kyoto, so booking ahead online can save time during busy travel periods.
- Use trains and subways for museum visits in large cities; many major institutions are within walking distance of stations or located inside park areas like Ueno.
- Plan indoor museum days during June’s rainy season or summer heat, and look for seasonal exhibition schedules around Golden Week, autumn culture events, and New Year closures.
All museums in Japan
Every museum in Japan listed on Mooseum. Search by name or type.
| Name | Type | Website | Links | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
21 21 DESIGN SIGHTA hand-sanded steel roof inspired by Issey Miyake's A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) concept tops 21_21 Design Sight, the design museum that Miyake and architect Tadao Ando created together in Roppongi,... | Art museum | www.2121designsight.jp/en |  | — |
21st Century Museum of Contemporary ArtNestled in the heart of Kanazawa, Japan, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art stands as a beacon of creativity and innovation. Renowned for its striking architecture, designed by the acclaimed... | Art museum | www.kanazawa21.jp | | — |
Ethnographic or open-air museum | www.city.abashiri.hokkaido.jp/270kyoiku/050kyoudo | | — | |
Art museum | www.city.abashiri.hokkaido.jp/270kyoiku/040bizyutukan | | — | |
Abeno Harukas Art MuseumSixteen floors up inside the Abeno Harukas skyscraper, the Abeno Harukas Art Museum (あべのハルカス美術館) specializes in temporary exhibitions. The tower takes its name from Osaka's Abeno ward and the... | Art museum | www.aham.jp | | — |
— | www.admt.jp | | — | |
Art museum | www.adachi-museum.or.jp | | — | |
Zoo or aquarium | www.aws-s.com | | — | |
Transport museum | aichi-mof.com | | — | |
Art museum | www.pref.aichi.jp/touji | | — | |
Ethnographic or open-air museum | www.ainu-museum.or.jp | | — | |
Art museum | www.town.tokushima-naka.lg.jp/aioi-art | | — | |
Zoo or aquarium | www.city.akita.lg.jp/zoo | | — | |
Art museum | www.akita-museum-of-art.jp | | — | |
Art museum | akita-kinbi.jp | | — | |
— | www.akihaku.jp | | — | |
Art museum | www.city.akita.lg.jp/kanko/kanrenshisetsu/1003643 | | — | |
Maritime museum | edu.town.akkeshi.hokkaido.jp/kaiji | | — | |
History museum | edu.town.akkeshi.hokkaido.jp/kaiji/kyodo | | — | |
— | edu.town.akkeshi.hokkaido.jp/kaiji/tonden | | — | |
Art museum | www.archaic.or.jp | | — | |
Religious museum | hp.amakusa-web.jp/a0905 | | — | |
Amuse MuseumEveryday clothing and household textiles collected by the folklorist Chūzaburō Tanaka formed the core of the Amuse Museum, a private museum devoted to Japanese textile culture and ukiyo-e, the... | Art museum | www.amusemuseum.com | | — |
Archaeology museum | aom-tokyo.com | | — | |
Natural history museum | www.aomori-shi.shinrinhakubutsukan.jp | | — |