Tokyo: Tokyo National Museum is huge, and you can spend whole day long!

Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館) is the biggest National Museums in Japan. In Ueno Park, aka museum park, there are other national museums, like Science Museum and Western Art Museum, what I talking now is “Tokyo National Museum”.

There are four buildings in this museum.

Contents

Tickets
Hyokeikan（表慶館）
Horyuji Houmotsukan （法隆寺宝物館）
Heiseikan（平成館）
Garden
Others
1. The Black Gate（黒門）
2. Onigawara (鬼瓦）

Tickets

You can buy the tickets at the gate of this Tokyo National Museum area, but I often buy tickets in the JR Ueno station, where is less line, and convenient if you want to see some museums. You can buy on one point.

In this time (May 2018), I bought the ticket for Tokyo National Museum (Special Exhibition for Saudi Arabia) and The National Museum for Western Art in JR Ueno Station. On that museum ticket shop for Ueno museum park, there are neither discount nor extra fee, and they accept credit cards.

On the other hand, in Oct 2018, I bought a ticket at the museum gate. I could also be able to use my credit card.

Hyokeikan（表慶館）

In May 2018, I went to small building, Hyokeikan.

Typical Meiji Era “Western” buildings in Japan, the designer, Tokuma Katayama is one of the students of Josiah Conder. I guess when this building is opened for the exhibition when you are in Tokyo, it is must see beautiful building.

So lovely. I show you this one only, and please visit there to see the beauty by yourself.

And the exhibition, “Road to Arabia” was also great.

(You see the person wearing red in the reflection, it is me.)

Note: I took photos in there, it was because they allowed to take shots in this exhibition of “Road to Arabia” (without flash), but regularly Japanese museums rarely allow to take photos.

In Autumn, this Hyokeikan looks a little bit different look.

Horyuji Houmotsukan （法隆寺宝物館）

Horyuji is one of my favourite temples, and located in Nara, one of the ancient capital of Japan, settled in AD607. That temple is famous as the oldest wooden buildings in the world. They had donated some treasures to the Imperial Family, and the treasures are managed by this Tokyo National Museum.

They are in this building, this building itself is not bad, but it does not look like temples build in 607.

As I remember they do not allow to take photos.

Heiseikan（平成館）

On that time, I went to Heiseikan to see some Japanese treasures.

As I remember they do not allow to take photos too.

There were “Beautiful” lady welcomed me. I do not promise you can see her when you visit.

You can see also her in below of the link.

・http://www.emuseum.jp/detail/100577/000/000

Bento

It was lunch time, I needed to eat something, but not quite hungry.

I found canteen is selling lunch pack of Tankumakita.

That’s good size of my appetite. As I remember it was less than JPY1000 in May 2018.

Main building (本館)

I just walked to see and buying something in the Main Building.

On that time, what I wanted to show you is the roof.

It is the very blending Japanese and Western style building, designed by Hitoshi WATANABE in 1929.

This Main Building is linked to Heiseikan.

I could take photos (photo taking is allowed for that exhibition), I show you one.

Beautiful fan used by a high class lady in Kyoto, and Japan is origin for this style is of fan.

Toyokan (東洋館), For the Eastern exhibitions

On Oct 2018, I went to Toyokan too. There are nice Chinese/ Korean and other Asian treasures are in here.

Garden

In Oct 2018, I walked the Japanese Garden behind of the Main Building.

It was not fantastic like Japanese gardens in Kyoto, but it is in Tokyo.

The most funniest for me was, there was full of non-Japanese, and look this shot.

Kitchen car was in the back yard of the Main building, and you can see the Japanese Garden with seeing the pond. I just reminded something University of Michigan, I was in there as an Exchange Student.

Others

There are other buildings in this National Museum, but in May 2018, I walked the area of the Museum.

The Black Gate（黒門）

Originally, this gate is for the residence of the feudal family of Ikeda, rulers over the Inshu country (present-day Okayama prefecture), located in the Marunouchi Daimyokoji lane (present-day Marunouchi 3 Chome).