The Best Museums in Tokyo, Neighborhood by Neighborhood

JAL SKY MUSEUM Free, booking required

At JAL's maintenance base in Haneda, the visit starts with exhibits on the people behind a flight (pilots, cabin crew, engineers), with uniforms you can try on. Then you walk out onto the hangar floor, a few meters from aircraft being serviced. Admission is free, but you have to book in advance on JAL's reservation site. Tours run in two sessions (about 10:30–12:20 and 14:30–16:20) on set days of the week, and popular dates go quickly.

ANA Blue Hangar Tour Booking required

ANA runs its own tour at its Haneda maintenance center nearby, a guided walk past aircraft under maintenance. Reservations open on a fixed schedule and are hard to get in school holidays, so check ANA's tour page for the booking window and age rules.

Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館) Give it half a day

Founded in 1872, Japan's oldest museum holds the country's largest collection of Japanese and Asian art: samurai armor and swords, Buddhist sculpture, ceramics, kimono, screens and scrolls, with National Treasures shown in rotation. The main Honkan building walks you through Japanese art from prehistory to the 19th century. Repeat visitors often rate the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, a quiet modern building at the back, as the real highlight. Special exhibitions are ticketed separately and can draw queues.

National Museum of Western Art (国立西洋美術館) A second museum, same park

This is the only Le Corbusier building in Japan, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of his work. The permanent collection grew from the Matsukata Collection and runs from Renaissance painting to Monet, with Rodin's sculptures standing in the forecourt. After a morning of Japanese art, it makes a satisfying contrast.

National Museum of Nature and Science (国立科学博物館) Best with children

Dinosaur skeletons, a stuffed Hachiko, and Japan's natural history and science collections. It's big, so pick one building rather than trying to see it all.

Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館) Reopened March 2026

If you want to understand how the shogun's capital turned into the city outside, start here. Full-size reconstructions and detailed scale models of Edo streets sit alongside exhibits on earthquakes, war and rebuilding. The museum reopened on 31 March 2026 after about four years of renovation, with redesigned galleries and more to see. Allow at least two hours.

Sumida Hokusai Museum (すみだ北斎美術館) A short walk away

Katsushika Hokusai, the artist behind The Great Wave, was born in this part of Tokyo. This small museum, in a striking aluminum-clad building, introduces his life and work, and it pairs naturally with the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Ryogoku is also home to the national sumo arena, so on tournament days the streets fill with wrestlers and fans.

Mori Art Museum (森美術館) Open late most nights

High up on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Hills, the Mori Art Museum stages major contemporary art exhibitions, often with tickets that include the Tokyo City View observation deck. It usually stays open until 22:00 (earlier on Tuesdays), so it's one of the few museums you can visit after dinner.

National Art Center Tokyo and Suntory Museum of Art Check what's on

The National Art Center Tokyo (国立新美術館), a vast building behind a rippling glass facade, has no permanent collection; it exists for large temporary exhibitions. The Suntory Museum of Art (サントリー美術館) in Tokyo Midtown shows Japanese decorative arts, from lacquer and glass to textiles, in changing exhibitions. With the Mori, they make up Roppongi's "art triangle", all within walking distance.

Nezu Museum (根津美術館) Timed entry, garden included

A private collection of East Asian art in a calm building by Kengo Kuma, with a large garden of paths, stone lanterns and teahouses sloping away behind it. Its most famous work, Ogata Korin's Irises screens, a National Treasure, usually goes on show in spring. Admission includes the garden. Entry is by date-and-time booking on the museum's site, with same-day tickets only when there's space.

teamLab Planets and teamLab Borderless Date-specific tickets

You go through teamLab Planets in Toyosu barefoot, wading through knee-deep water and crossing soft floors and mirrored rooms of light. Wear trousers you can roll above the knee, and skip skirts because of the mirrored floors. It runs until the end of 2027, with adult tickets from 4,200 yen depending on the date, and it's next to Shin-Toyosu Station on the Yurikamome line.

teamLab Borderless in Azabudai Hills stays dry: a maze of connected rooms where the artworks drift from one space to the next, with no set route. Choose Planets for the physical experience and Borderless for wandering. Book either one online in advance.

Miraikan (日本科学未来館) Odaiba

Japan's National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation covers robotics, space, the human body and the planet, with hands-on exhibits and a dome theater. Curious teenagers get the most out of it. It's usually closed on Tuesdays. Odaiba is about 40–60 minutes from Haneda, so combine it with the rest of the waterfront.

Ghibli Museum, Mitaka (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館) Advance only

Hayao Miyazaki designed this playful building himself: spiral staircases, a rooftop garden, rooms recreating an animator's workshop, and a short film you can only see here. Tickets are sold in advance only, for a set date and entry time. They go on sale at 10:00 on the 10th of each month for the following month through Lawson Ticket, and overseas visitors can also book through JTB. Nothing is sold at the door. Adults pay 1,000 yen, and the museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, Kawasaki (藤子・F・不二雄ミュージアム) For Doraemon fans

The museum of the creator of Doraemon, with original drawings, a rooftop park and a café. Entry is by date-and-time ticket bought in advance; there are no tickets on site. A paid shuttle bus runs from Noborito Station on the Odakyu and JR Nambu lines. Check the museum's calendar for closing days.