Tour Details
Duration
2 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
Tokyo National Museum
Photos & Highlights
- Learn about Japan's rich culture in Tokyo National Museum tour
- Led by an expert in Japanese art and history
Select a date
Tour Description
This two-hour guided tour of Tokyo's National Museum, led by a Japanese art expert or historian, provides a deep dive into Japanese culture and history. Located in the beautiful Ueno Park, the 1872 National Museum houses one of the largest and most impressive collections of objects, sculptures, and paintings related to Asian art and archeology, with a particular focus on Japan. From samurai swords to kimonos, this fine collection tells the story of the history of Japan through its art. Together, we'll explore and discuss a number of the national treasures, touching on some of the 110,000 individual items dating from the earliest years of civilization on the Japanese islands, all the way through to the Edo period and modern day.
Experts
While Tokyo National Museum is split into numerous collections, the majority of our focus on this Tokyo National Museum guided tour will be on the Japanese Gallery. We will use the museum’s Meiji paintings, splendid screens, ancient scrolls, and intricately carved woodblocks to cover themes that range from the importance of visual arts in daily life to tea ceremonies and religious traditions.
Our course through the museums can take many forms, depending on the specific interests of the group: we let the itinerary be shaped by which eras and styles of Japanese art the group is most interested in, as well as the specialization and proclivity of our guide. We'll dig deeply into a number of art forms that are foreign to the West but hold great significance in Japan, in the process developing a context for deeper appreciation.
At the end, we'll emerge from our time together with a better understanding of Japanese art and its relation to the larger sphere of both Japanese and Asian culture and history. For a look at Japanese aesthetics in a more contemporary context, try our Introduction to Tokyo tour.
For more information about Context tours, please visit our FAQs.
Is it okay to tip my guide in Japan?
Yes. Context clients generally tip anywhere from 10-25% of the purchase price of a personal service such as this, depending on the quality of the experience and their tipping habits.
Do exhibits change over time?
The exhibits change once a month, so each experience is different, as is the main theme of the visit. Due to the fragile nature of most Japanese art, the museum cannot leave it out for longer periods.
Do exhibits change over time?
The exhibits change once a month, so each experience is different, as is the main theme of the visit. Due to the fragile nature of most Japanese art, the museum cannot leave it out for longer periods.
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.
Where You'll Start
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159 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Mayumi-san is an excellent guide. She is friendly and knowledgeable about Japanese art and gave me insight into Japanese art history and artworks. I'm a guide and I wanted to know how to effectively introduce Japanese artworks at the Museum. She gave me the key points for guiding the Japanese artworks, and it was informative.
Kumiko
Reviewed on:
Jan 28, 2025
Mayumi was a fantastic guide to the Tokyo National Museum, and we recommend her highly We were particularly interested in the Chinese influence on Japanese art, and Mayumi deftly focused her tour on that facet. Truly an exceptional tour and all due to Mayumi and her expertise and her warmth. The tour was a real treat, and I would encourage everyone interested in Japanese art to ask for Mayumi. Spectacular!
Jim
Reviewed on:
Jan 27, 2025
We thoroughly enjoyed our guided tour today with Anna, she was really friendly, extremely knowledgeable and successfully communicated some of the more important elements of Japanese history to us in an accessible way. She responded to our brief and pitched the tour just right for us all. We would not hesitate to recommend Anna, she was a brilliant guide and made our visit to the National Museum special.
Stephen
Reviewed on:
Jan 10, 2025
