Tokyo / Ryogoku & Kiyosumi / Museum

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT)

東京都現代美術館 とうきょうとげんだいびじゅつかん

Japan's largest contemporary art museum, in a park east of the river, with a collection that starts in 1945 and a library of art books.

Worth itArt · Modern · Rainy day · Architecture

MOT holds five thousand works of Japanese and international art since the war and shows them in rotation in wide, top-lit galleries, alongside two or three special exhibitions at a time — the museum that gives Japanese artists their first major survey, and international ones their Tokyo debut. The building by Takahiko Yanagisawa is long and low in Kiba Park, with a sunken garden, a sculpture terrace and an art library open to all. It is ten minutes' walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa station through the roasters' district, and the walk is part of the visit.

Don't miss

Map of central Tokyo Tokyo Ueno Akihabara Shinjuku Shibuya Shinagawa Ikebukuro Shimbashi Kabukiza Theatre Chuo-dori and the Sunday promenade Ginza Six Ginza Itoya Hama-rikyu Gardens The Ginza gallery walk Tsukiji Hongwanji The Ginza bar streets Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building Imperial Palace East Gardens Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum Marunouchi Naka-dori KITTE and the rooftop garden Idemitsu Museum of Arts Nihonbashi Bridge Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store The old shops of Nihonbashi Artizon Museum Fukutoku Shrine and the Coredo lanes Nihonbashi river cruise Sensoji Temple Kappabashi kitchen street Sumida river water bus The craft and coffee streets west of the temple A kimono day in Asakusa Tokyo Skytree Asakusa Shrine and Sanja Matsuri Tokyo National Museum National Museum of Western Art Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond Yanaka Ginza and the Yanesen lanes Nezu Shrine Ameyoko market street Asakura Museum of Sculpture Akihabara Electric Town Jimbocho book town Kanda Myojin Shrine Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikolai-do) Kanda's old noodle houses Yushima Seido and the Confucian hall Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View The National Art Center, Tokyo Tokyo Midtown and the Suntory Museum of Art Azabu-Juban shopping street Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple Roppongi after dark Nezu Museum The Omotesando architecture walk Aoyama Cemetery Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue The Aoyama and Minami-Aoyama back streets Meiji Jingu Yoyogi Park Takeshita Street and Cat Street Ota Memorial Museum of Art Togo Shrine Shibuya scramble crossing and Hachiko Shibuya Sky Nonbei Yokocho and the Shibuya alleys Udagawacho record shops and Shibuya vintage Tomigaya and Kamiyamacho Live music in Shibuya Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories Golden Gai Omoide Yokocho The Isetan food hall Hanazono Shrine Tsukiji Outer Market Toyosu Market and the tuna auction teamLab Planets The Tsukiji-to-Ginza walk The Meguro River cherry trees Daikanyama T-Site Daikanyama's low-rise streets Ebisu Garden Place and the Ebisu restaurant streets Nakameguro's back streets Kagurazaka's stone lanes Akagi Shrine Dining in Kagurazaka Zenkokuji Bishamonten Ryogoku Kokugikan and sumo Edo-Tokyo Museum Kiyosumi Garden Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) The Kiyosumi-Shirakawa roasters Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT)
A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
The collection ticket alone is enough for a first visit; check the special exhibitions, which sometimes queue.
Best time
Weekday afternoon.
Allow
120 min
Station
Kiyosumi-shirakawa (Hanzomon / Oedo lines), exit B2, 9 minutes
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.mot-art-museum.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Ryogoku & Kiyosumi

Theatre Essential

Ryogoku Kokugikan and sumo両国国技館と相撲

Sumo's home stadium — three fifteen-day tournaments a year, a museum, and the stables where practice starts at dawn.

180 min · Ryogoku (JR), west exit, 1 minute; Ryogoku (Oedo line), 5 minutes
Museum Worth it

Edo-Tokyo Museum江戸東京博物館

A life-size Nihonbashi bridge, a kabuki theatre and a merchant's house inside a museum shaped like a warehouse on stilts.

120 min · Ryogoku (Oedo line), exit A4, direct; Ryogoku (JR), 3 minutes
Garden Essential

Kiyosumi Garden清澄庭園

A Meiji stroll garden of stepping stones across a carp pond, built by the founder of Mitsubishi with stones from every province.

50 min · Kiyosumi-shirakawa (Hanzomon / Oedo lines), exit A3, 3 minutes

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