Picks - architecture and design
[Open April-Sept 9:30am-5:30pm; Oct-March 9:30am-4:30pm (last entry 30 min earlier). Closed Mondays (or Tues if Mon is natl holiday).]
This massive open-air museum features preserved and reconstructed examples of Tokyo's Edo-era architecture. Besides merchants' mansions and crowded shops, there's also a mausoleum and a bathhouse. The visitor's center was once a pavilion of the...
[Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm; Sat -6pm. Closed Sundays.]
Monthly exhibitions focus on contemporary graphic design, showcasing the work of prominent designers from Japan and abroad. The gallery is run by Dai Nippon Printing, one of Japan's largest printing companies.
[Open 10am-4pm. Closed Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon.]
Traditional Japanese wooden architecture is the focus of this fascinating mini-museum, with a particular emphasis on the technique of wood joinery - the art of constructing wooden buildings with interlocking wooden joints instead of nails and...
[Open 9:30am-8pm (last entry 7:30pm) daily.]
Small Worlds Tokyo is an essential destination for anyone who loves elaborate dioramas, massive European-style model-train layouts, airports, spaceports, or the Sailor Moon or Evangelion anime franchises. Open since June 2020, it's advertised as...
Architecture galleries
[Open noon-6:30pm daily.]
Despite their compact gallery space, the Global Architecture Gallery puts on some excellent exhibitions focusing on contemporary Japanese and international architecture. They also publish books and magazines, and run a very well stocked architecture...
[Open 11am-6pm (Fri -7pm). Closed Sun, Mon.]
Established by Toto, the manufacturer of bathroom appliances, Gallery Ma is a small two-story gallery located above a Nogizaka showroom. They specialize in modern architecture and contemporary design, with frequent exhibitions devoted to...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Mondays.]
Occupying a one-room gallery space across from Aoyama Cemetery, this intimate gallery puts together correspondingly small-scale exhibitions, focusing on the works of up-and-coming architects and landscape designers.
Graphic arts, product design
[Open 11am-6pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays.]
Graphic artists, designers, and anyone interested in the evolution of Japanese graphic design through the ages will find a lot to see at this compact advertising museum. The museum was renovated and reopened in December 2017, and we were pleasantly...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed weekends.]
This quirky little mini-museum is devoted to meishi and other paper products, and is run by a long-established meishi-printing company. If the exhibition area is closed (as it usually is), just pop your head into the second-floor office and ask to...
[Open 9am-5pm. Closed weekends.]
Tokyo has more than its share of quirky company mini-museums, but this facility devoted to "Package Culture" still stands out. Run by Japanese packaging company Toyo Seikan Group, the museum focuses on the history of the canning and packaging...
[Open 9:30am-6pm (weekends -7pm) daily.]
In the early twentieth century Japan exported huge numbers of tin-plate toys to countries around the world, and this charming little musuem traces that history, displaying some 3,000 antique toys made between the 1890s and the 1960s. Shelf after...
[Open 10am-5pm. Closed Sundays, Mondays.]
It's an entire museum devoted to old cellphones! The history and culture of mobile communication is the theme here, and visitors with an interest in Japanese industrial design can trace the evolution of mobile-phone fashions through the years. ...
[Open 10am-5:30pm (enter by 5pm). Closed Mondays.]
Life in Japan during and after World War II - the period from 1935 to 1955 to be exact - is the focus at this small historical museum. Completely renovated in January 2013, the museum offers a unique glimpse into everyday life during this turbulent...
[Open 10am-6pm (enter by 5:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Run by cigarette conglomerate Japan Tobacco, this oddly specialized museum focuses on the history of tobacco use around the world and the history of the Japanese salt industry. Graphic design historians can draw inspiration from a huge wall display...
[Open 11am-7pm (Fri, Sat -8pm). Closed Mondays.]
In addition to contemporary fine arts, the gallery also presents diverse and well-put-together shows covering fashion, architecture and design. Attached is an interesting museum shop called Gallery 5, run by Nadiff art bookstore.
[Open 10am-5:30pm (Sat, Sun -6pm). Closed Mondays.]
Aimed primarily at school-aged children, this science and technology museum covers a broad range of topics, including image-recognition technology, paper recycling, geothermal generation, smart buildings, and nanotechnology. Many of the exhibits...
Resources for architecture and design
[Open 10am-3am (LO) daily.]
Do you love looking at architectural models, but simply can't spare enough time during the day? If so, then this late-night architecture-model cafe might be just the place for you. Wander around the spacious interior and draw inspiration from...
[Open 10am-9pm. Closed holidays.]
Equipped with laser cutters, a 3D printer and similar machinery, Fab Cafe encourages its patrons to turn their stylish ideas into stylish physical objects. The bright and convivial space feels like a beehive of creative activity - lone patrons peck...
[Open 11am-6pm (Fri -7pm). Closed Sun, Mon.]
Established by Toto, the manufacturer of bathroom appliances, Gallery Ma is a small two-story gallery located above a Nogizaka showroom. They specialize in modern architecture and contemporary design, with frequent exhibitions devoted to...
[Open 11am-8pm. Closed Mondays, Thursdays.]
Tokyo's most gorgeous art supply store, designed by architect Kengo Kuma, may tempt you to pick up a paintbrush, just for an excuse to shop here. The wall of pigments took a full week of chromatic coordination to get right, and they stock more than...
[Open 11:30am-7pm. Closed weekdays.]
Although they started out providing 1/100th-scale cut-out figures to be used in architectural models, Terada has greatly expanded their line-up to cater to scale-model hobbyists, offering kits that feature miniature animals, sports settings,...
[Most shops open 10am-6pm; closed Wednesdays.]
Designed by Italian architect Mario Bellini, the Tokyo Design Center was completed in 1991. The most prominent feature is a galleria passageway that cuts upward through the building diagonally, leading to a garden area sitting on a steep hill behind...
Selected design shops
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Fumihiko Maki designed this Aoyama landmark, which was completed in 1985. There is an excellent design shop on the second floor.
[Open 11am-9pm (Sun -8pm) daily.]
Stationery enthusiasts will marvel at the breadth of offerings at this gorgeous little shop - everything from vintage fountain pens and artisanal ink to deluxe planners and notebooks from Japan and abroad. There are tasteful knickknacks and...
[Open 10am-8pm daily.]
Clearly someone with excellent taste has curated the cool merchandise for sale at this stylish little design shop. The eclectic wares are all over the place, with area rugs and clothing, desk lamps and audio equipment, cosmetics and plants all...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
This ambitious design museum/gallery has the unusual mission of showcasing commercial, industrial and product design from all 47 Japanese prefectures. Products cover everything from pottery, lacquerware and kitchen utensils to stationery, fabrics,...
[Open 11am-9pm (Sun -8pm) daily.]
All the goods on display here have been past winners of Japan's Good Design Award for noteworthy industrial design, so browsing the shelves is a bit like visiting a design museum. The collection is incredibly diverse but often quite mundane,...
[Open 10am-9pm daily.]
Visiting the Good Design Store is like a trip to a design museum, except everything here is for sale. This specialty design shop carries a diverse array of household goods, stationery supplies, toys and random products, all of them past winners of...
[Open 11:30am-8pm.]
Run by the well-known US furniture manufacturer, the Herman Miller Store offers ergonomically designed chairs and office furniture, lighting equipment and stationery.
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]
The Traditional Craft Center in Aoyama offers handy one-stop shopping for a range of Japanese crafts. It's all here and it's all for sale - from pottery, lacquerware and carving knives for your everyday needs to more esoteric washi (paper...
[Open 11am-7pm daily.]
With its inspiring collection of housewares, stationery and assorted knickknacks from up-and-coming designers, Koncent is a fun shop to browse even if you don't need anything. You'll find colorful tote bags, beautiful pastel crayons and stylish...
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]
This repurposed former train station (Manseibashi, last used in 1943) has been beautifully transformed into a niche shopping complex, housing a handful of upscale interior and design stores, cafes, restaurants and other shops. Part of the original...
[Open 11am-8pm daily.]
More than 1800 very tasteful items are stocked at this museum shop from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Everything from stylish lamps to clever wristwatches to stationery and kitchenware. The selection also includes a number of items...
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]
Dedicated to the crafts and local foods of Niigata Prefecture, Niigata Ichi-Maru-Maru feels like a cross between an upscale design shop and a prefectural antenna shop. The shelves are filled with beautifully crafted glassware and pottery,...
[Open 11am-8pm. Closed Mondays.]
Located next to the Watarium Museum's exhibition space, the museum bookstore has an impressive selection of imported art books, nicely printed art postcards, and various items notable for their design. There's a small cafe space downstairs.
[Open 10am-6pm (Fri -8pm). Closed Tuesdays.]
The name of this shop really doesn't do it justice - more than just a souvenir shop or museum shop, it's actually one of the best design shops in Tokyo. You'll find excellent selections of pottery, glassware, fabrics, paper goods and many other...
[Open 11am-9pm (Sun -8pm) daily.]
One of the many design and lifestyle stores in the Kitte complex, this tiny branch of Spiral Market focuses on housewares and casual gifts, and it seems like a good place to find a tasteful housewarming present or a party gift. The main branch is...
Preserved buildings
[Open 9:30am-4:30pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays, Thursdays.]
The former home and studio of sculptor Fumio Asakura (1883-1964) now houses a surprisingly large museum dedicated to his work. The sprawling building was designed by Asakura himself, and consists of a European-style studio wing, where he ran an art...
[Open 10am-4:30pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
The popular twentieth-century writer Fumiko Hayashi (1903-1951) was best known for her autobiographical novel "Vagabond's Song" and "Floating Clouds." Her tastefully appointed home, where she lived with her husband (the painter Rokubin Tezuka) and...
[Open 10am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Built in Yokohama as a state-of-the-art luxury liner, the Hikaru Maru was launched in 1930 as a passenger ship traveling the route between Kobe and Seattle-Vancouver. Nowadays it's docked permanently in Yokohama Bay, where you can explore the ship...
Kyodo no Mori Museum - Park/garden: Fuchu-shi
[Open 9am-5pm (last entry 4pm). Closed Mondays.]
An open-air folk-history museum, Kyodo no Mori houses a number of historical buildings including farmhouses, stores and a townhouse. The main building has exhibition rooms focusing on local history and a large planetarium. The park is also...
Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden - Museum: Yushima
[Open 9am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm) daily.]
The former estate of the founder of the Mitsubishi Group, this property is made up of three buildings - a European-style residence and a Swiss-style billiard room designed by British architect Josiah Conder, and a Japanese house designed by master...
[Open 11am-9pm daily.]
This repurposed former train station (Manseibashi, last used in 1943) has been beautifully transformed into a niche shopping complex, housing a handful of upscale interior and design stores, cafes, restaurants and other shops. Part of the original...
Nihon Minka-en - Museum: Mukogaoka Yuen
[Open 9:30am-5pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Mondays.]
Also known as the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum, this sprawling park is home to two dozen old houses that were built between the 17th and 19th centuries. The buildings were transported from various parts of Japan and reconstructed here, and they...
Sankeien Garden - Park/garden: Yokohama
[Open 9am-5pm (last entry 4:30) daily.]
This traditional Japanese-style garden, which first opened to the public in the early 1900s, is spread out over a massive 17.5-hectare site. Amid the various garden areas are seventeen reconstructed buildings of historical importance. Guided tours...
[Open 1-7pm. Closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays.]
Nakagin Capsule Tower, architect Kisho Kurokawa's Metabolist masterpiece, was demolished in 2022, but two of its component capsules have been preserved in this tiny rental gallery. One of them has been restored to its original 1972 splendor,...
[Open 10am-6pm (last entry 5:30pm). Closed second and fourth Wednesdays.]
The lovely Art Deco building that houses the Teien Museum was completed in 1933, with interiors designed by Henri Rapin and decorative glass work by Rene Lalique. The beautifully decorated and well-preserved rooms serve as a unique backdrop for the...
See also our section on notable buildings around Tokyo.