National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: A Visitor's Guide

What Is the National Museum of Western Art?

The National Museum of Western Art (NMWA) is Japan's national museum for European art, in Ueno Park, with paintings from the Renaissance to the early 20th century and a large group of Rodin sculptures. Its main building is the only work by Le Corbusier in Japan, and since 2016 it has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing.

For a family, the appeal is that it is cheap, central and quick. The permanent collection costs ¥500 for adults and nothing for children, and you can see the highlights in about an hour.

Even if you do not go in, the sculptures in the forecourt are free to walk around.

The museum opened on 10 June 1959. It was founded to house the Matsukata Collection, Impressionist paintings and Rodin sculptures bought in Europe by the businessman Kojiro Matsukata in the 1910s and 1920s.

Part of the collection ended up in France during the Second World War, and the French government returned several hundred works on the condition that Japan build a museum to show them. That museum is this one.

Tickets and Free Days

Permanent collection tickets cost ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for university students, and under-18s and visitors 65 and over enter free. Special exhibitions are priced separately, and a special exhibition ticket also gets you into the permanent collection on the same day.

Visitor	Permanent collection	Turner exhibition (from 24 Oct 2026)
Adult	¥500	¥2,400 (¥2,200 in advance)
University student	¥250	¥1,500 (¥1,300 in advance)
High school student	Free	¥1,100 (¥900 in advance)
Junior high and under	Free	Free

The permanent collection is also free for everyone on these days.

• The second Sunday of every month
• International Museum Day (18 May) and Culture Day (3 November)

Visitors with a disability, plus one companion, are free. On free days, special exhibitions still charge as normal.

Opening Hours and Closures

The museum opens 9:30 to 17:30, and until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.

It is closed on Mondays (or the next day when Monday is a public holiday) and from 28 December to 1 January. It also closes on extra days around exhibition changes.

In October 2026 the calendar shows closures on 5, 13, 19, 23 and 26 October. Check the official calendar for the day you plan to go.

Winter visitors should note one date. The Collection Galleries close from 12 January to 21 February 2027. During that time only the Turner exhibition is open, so if you want the Monets and the Rodins indoors, go before 12 January.

What's On, from the Turner Exhibition to the Collection

From 24 October 2026 to 21 February 2027, the special exhibition wing shows Turner. Painting the Sublime, in Dialogue with Contemporary Art, organised with Tate in London.

It sets J.M.W. Turner's storms, seas and light beside work by contemporary artists. It will be the busiest show in Ueno this winter, so buy an advance ticket and go early on a weekday.

Until 11 January 2027, the permanent collection also has two small feature displays, one on the museum's volunteer staff and one marking the centenary of the Showa era.

The Collection itself, on display all year, is what most first-time visitors come for.

Paintings

The galleries run roughly in date order, from religious paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque through 18th-century portraits to the 19th century. The highlight for most people is the room of Monet, including water lilies, alongside Renoir, Manet, Courbet, Cézanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh.

The 20th century ends with Picasso and Miró.

Sculpture

Rodin's sculptures fill the forecourt and the central hall. Indoors, the bronzes set in Le Corbusier's top-lit hall are one of the reasons to go in rather than only look from the garden.

The Le Corbusier Building and World Heritage

The main building, completed in 1959, is Le Corbusier's design for a "museum of unlimited growth". It is a square box raised on concrete columns, with galleries spiralling out from a central hall so that it could, in theory, keep growing.

In 2016 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of "The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier", 17 buildings in seven countries.

Look for these as you go round.

• The central hall, called the 19th Century Hall, lit from a triangular skylight, with sculpture on the floor.
• The ramp that takes you up from the hall to the painting galleries, so the building reveals itself as you walk.
• The concrete columns (pilotis) holding the galleries above the entrance.

The newer wing behind the main building was designed by Kunio Maekawa, one of Le Corbusier's Japanese apprentices, and opened in 1979. You do not need to know any of this to enjoy the paintings, but it explains why the building feels so different from the glass and steel museums elsewhere in Tokyo, and why architecture students come here as much as art lovers.

The Rodin Forecourt, Free to Visit

The forecourt in front of the museum is open without a ticket, and five minutes is enough to see it. You can walk up to The Thinker, The Gates of Hell and The Burghers of Calais on your way through Ueno Park.

Children usually recognise The Thinker, and The Gates of Hell is worth pointing out, because The Thinker began life as the figure sitting at the top of it. In late autumn the trees around it turn gold, as in the photo above.

Visiting with Kids

The museum is an easy stop with children. Under-18s enter free, the collection is a manageable size, and photos are allowed in most of the permanent collection.

The average visit to the collection takes about 1 to 1.5 hours.

These points come from the museum's own rules.

• Strollers are allowed, and the museum has two strollers to lend at the information desk. On very crowded days you may be asked to leave yours outside.
• There is no nursing room. Baby changing tables are in the ground-floor toilets of the main building and on the second basement floor of the special exhibition wing.
• Photos are allowed in the permanent collection, without flash or tripods, except for works on loan and when the galleries are crowded. Special exhibitions usually ban photography.
• Wheelchairs can be borrowed at the information desk.

A simple way to keep small children interested is to give them a task. Find the water lilies, count the Rodins in the forecourt, or spot The Thinker on the Gates of Hell.

Our guide to things to do in Tokyo with kids has more places by age.

Café Suiren

Café Suiren ("water lily") looks out on the inner courtyard and can be used without an admission ticket. It serves light meals, cake and drinks, and it is a calm place to sit down in a busy park.

On Turner weekends expect a wait at lunchtime. Eating earlier or after 14:00 is easier.

How to Get There

The museum is about 1 minute from the Park Exit of JR Ueno Station. Cross the road, and it is on your right at the park entrance.

From	Time
JR Ueno Station, Park Exit	About 1 min
Keisei Ueno Station	About 7 min
Ueno Station (Ginza and Hibiya subway lines)	About 8 min

The address is 7-7 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku. With a stroller, the Park Exit is the simplest way in. It opens straight onto the park, with no road crossing under the tracks.

What to Pair It with in Ueno

The NMWA works best as one stop in a half day in Ueno Park, where the big museums, the zoo and the temples are all within a 10-minute walk.

• Tokyo National Museum. Japanese art, samurai armour and swords, at the far end of the park. See our Tokyo National Museum guide.
• National Museum of Nature and Science. Next door, with dinosaurs and a hands-on area for small children. See our museum guide.
• Ueno Park itself, with the pond, shrines and cherry trees. See our Ueno Park guide.
• Ameyoko market and the streets around the station. See our Ueno area guide.

If you would like a Ueno day planned around your children, with the museum, lunch and the stroller routes worked out, our private Tokyo tour with kids can include it. You can see all our tours in Tokyo as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the National Museum of Western Art?

The permanent collection costs ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for university students. Under-18s and visitors 65 and over are free. Special exhibitions cost extra. The Turner exhibition is ¥2,400 for adults at the door.

How long do you need?

About 1 to 1.5 hours for the permanent collection, and 2.5 to 3 hours if you also see a special exhibition. With young children, an hour indoors plus the forecourt is usually enough.

Can you take photos inside?

Yes, in most of the permanent collection, without flash or a tripod. Loaned works, crowded galleries and most special exhibitions are off limits.

Is the museum free on certain days?

Yes. The permanent collection is free on the second Sunday of each month, on 18 May and on 3 November. Special exhibitions still charge on those days.

Is it open on Mondays?

Usually not. It closes on Mondays, or on Tuesday when Monday is a public holiday, and on some extra days around exhibition changes.

Sources

https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/visit/
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/visit/calendar.html
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/visit/faqs.html
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/visit/map.html
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/about/
https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/exhibitions/2026turner.html
https://turner2026-27.exhibit.jp/english/index.html