Tokyo National Museum

東京国立博物館（トーハク）

Japan's biggest museum: samurai armour, swords and Buddhas at the end of Ueno Park

⚠ Closed Mondays

Hours

9:30–17:00; Fridays, Saturdays (and Sundays before a Monday holiday) until 20:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing. Closed Mondays (or the next day after a holiday) and 26–31 Dec — official site

Tickets

Permanent collection ¥1,000 for adults (special exhibitions extra). Kiosk or online; cards and IC transit cards accepted

Address

13-9 Uenokoen, Taito-ku

Past the fountain plaza of Ueno Park, the Honkan, a Western-style stone building wearing a Japanese tiled roof, fills your view. Upstairs, Japanese art runs in date order, and the crowds bunch up in the sword room, where you can get close to the gleaming blades, and in front of the samurai armour. The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures by the pond is a different world: a dark, hushed space with rows of small gilt-bronze Buddhas. The Asian gallery is on the same ticket.