Free museum days at Tokyo museums

When it was originally built, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan was the first western-style office building in the Marunouchi area. Completed in 1894, the building was designed by British architect Josiah Conder on an invitation from the Japanese government, still newly formed after Japan’s opening to the West. At the time it bustled with activity, containing, among other things, the banking division of the Mitsubishi Company. By 1968, however, it had become dilapidated and was demolished. In 2010, after more than 40 years of silence, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan was reborn on the same site as a major new museum, rebuilt according to Conder’s original plans.

FREE general admission for junior high and primary school students or younger

Reduced admission after 5pm on the 2nd Wed of every month (10am-9pm); this special ticket has to be purchased in advance and the price varies by exhibition

10am-6pm, Fri and 2nd Wed 10am-9pm, closed Mon

Tickets can be purchased in advance (in Japanese only).

Upon entering, you'll be greeted by a huge globe 6.5m (22ft) in diameter above the lobby, with 851,000 LEDs on its surface showing real-time global climatic changes. The museum holds interactive displays on robots, genetic discoveries, space and astronomy and, perhaps most bizarre of all, a model using springs and ball bearings to explain the operating principle of the internet. There are ample explanations in English, and a good gift shop.

FREE on Jul 9, Nov 5 (2022)

FREE on May 5 for children aged 18 or younger

FREE on Sep 19 (2022) for people aged 65 or older

FREE on Sat for children aged 18 or younger

10am-5pm, closed Tue

Tickets can be purchased in advance (in Japanese only).

It’s easy to spend an entire day at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno Park. The two large permanent exhibitions spread out over two buildings are equally enjoyable for both children and adults due to their engaging, hands-on exhibits. Start your adventure at the ‘Japan Gallery’ which focuses on the country’s formation, its indigenous flora and fauna and the island’s first inhabitants.

The ‘Global Gallery’, meanwhile, concerns itself with everything from science and astronomy to the evolution of life dating back more than four billion years–expect to ogle at fossils of extinct species and life-size dinosaur skeletons, which were partially assembled from actual bones. You can also trace the progress of modern technology by studying the many Japanese inventions developed since the Edoperiod (1603-1868). The large souvenir shop offers everything from cookies to dinosaur books and stuffed animals.

FREE on May 18 and Nov 3 (permanent collection only)

FREE general admission for high school students and younger, as well as people aged 65 and older

9am-5pm (until 6pm between Aug 5-14), closed Mon

Note: due to Covid-19, tickets have to be reserved in advance (in Japanese only) also for free admission days and for those with free general admission.

Dedicated to the history and techniques of printing while displaying an interesting collection of vintage posters, flyers, books and more, this museum is located inside the Toppan Printing company's headquarters. It also hosts a virtual reality theatre, gift shop, library and restaurant.

FREE on May 5 and Nov 3

FREE general admission for junior high school students and younger, as well as people aged 70 and older

10am-6pm, closed Mon

Note: due to Covid-19, tickets have to be purchased in advance (in Japanese only).

This museum is actually just two rooms displaying a small collection of objects from ancient Egypt. Some of them are replicas, but still good enough for getting a sense for this mystical and fascinating culture. Occasionally, the exhibitions aren't related to ancient Egypt at all, so make sure to check the website beforehand. 

FREE on Saturday and Sunday for elementary, junior high and high school students

10am-4.30pm, closed Sep 12-22 (2022) & Nov 28-Dec 9 (2022)

This is an alternative-history MoMA, one consisting mostly of Japanese art from the turn of the 20th century and onwards. Noteworthy features of the permanent collection are portraits by early Japanese modernist Ryusei Kishida and wartime paintings. The 1969 building, designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi (father of architect Yoshio Taniguchi) was renovated in 2001. Its location next to the moat and walls of the Imperial Palace makes it a prime stop for viewing springtime cherry blossoms and autumn foliage. Nearby is the Crafts Gallery, an impressive 1910 European-style brick building, once the base for the legions of guards who patrolled the Imperial Palace.

FREE on May 18

FREE general admission for high school students or younger, and people aged 65 or older

10am-5pm; Fri & Sat 10am-8pm, closed Mon

Tickets can be purchased in advance.

The core collection housed in this 1959 Le Corbusier-designed building, Japan’s only national museum devoted to Western art, was assembled by Kawasaki shipping magnate Matsukata Kojiro in the early 1900s. Considering that the collection started rather recently (in relation to art's long history), it is surprisingly good, ranging from 15th-century icons to Monet to Pollock.

FREE on May 18 and Nov 3 (permanent collection only)

FREE general admission for high school students and younger, and people aged 65 or older

9.30am-5.30pm, Fri & Sat until 8pm, closed Mon

Tickets can be purchased in advance (in Japanese only).

Located next to Hachioji's Soka University, the Fuji Museum opened in 1983 and boasts a huge, sprawling collection that must have cost a fortune to put together. Then again, the museum was founded by Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda and relies on the organisation's bottomless coffers for support.

FREE on Sat for junior high and primary school students

10am-5pm, closed Mon

FREE on Oct 1 (2022) to the Finn Juhl and Danish Chairs exhibition

FREE general admission for junior high school students and younger

9.30am-5.30pm (until 8pm on Fri during Special Exhibitions), closed every 1st and 3rd Mon

Tickets can be purchased in advance, check each individual exhibition for details.

If you have just one day to devote to museum-going in Tokyo and are interested in Japanese art and artefacts, this is the place to visit. Japan’s oldest and largest museum houses over 110,000 items.

Past the ornate gateway, there’s a wide courtyard and pond surrounded by three main buildings. Directly in front is the Honkan (main gallery, dating from 1938), which displays the permanent collection of Japanese arts and antiquities. The 25 rooms regularly rotate their exhibitions of paintings, ceramics, swords, kimono, sculptures and the like.

The Toyokan building to the right features five floors of artworks from other parts of Asia. The Gallery of Horyu-ji Treasures, on the other hand, houses some of Japanese Buddhism’s most important and ancient artefacts from the seventh-century Horyu-ji temple in Nara.

FREE admission on May 18, the 3rd Mon of Sep and Nov 3 (regular exhibitions only)

FREE general admission for high school students or younger, and people aged 70 or older

9.30am-5pm, closed Mon