Originally established in 1972 at Yushima Seido Shrine, the Tokyo National Museum now stands in Ueno Park, along with the National Museum of Modern Art, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the National Museum of Nature and Science. I had initially expected one museum, but it was a space encompassing six buildings in total, with the added bonus of a Japanese garden. My friend and I were able to visit five of the six buildings as the Hyokeikan (the oldest building, having been built in 1909) was undergoing renovations at the time. The other five buildings housed exhibits from Japanese artwork to Chinese artifacts to religious works from Nara's Horyuji temple. The museum shop is also a decently big size with the white counter tops making one whisper softly as if in a high-end store. Overall, a worthwhile and well-spent 2.5 hours.

Tokyo National Museum is the largest art museum in Japan and one of the largest in the world. It is also the oldest museum in Japan and as such has accumulated a very large collection of artwork and artefacts.

The main building, the ‘Honkan’, consists of a large number of “National Treasures of Japan”, “Horyuji treasures”, and “Important Cultural Properties”. Most exhibits have an English description accompanying the Japanese text, making the museum a great place to learn more about Japan’s rich culture. I was particularly interested in the Samurai history of which there was many artefacts.

The ‘Toyokan’ building hosts art and artefacts from other countries across Asia and at the time of my visit, there was a special Ancient Egyptian exhibit on. The museum’s website frequently updates information about current special exhibitions so I'd recommend checking it before visiting.

Outside of the buildings, there is a traditional Japanese garden with a pond which is nice to relax in.

I spent about 1.5 hours at the museum but for those more interested in art, more time may be needed.