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About this spot
The National Art Center, Tokyo is a national art institution in Roppongi 7-chome, Minato Ward. It opened on January 21, 2007 as the fifth facility of the National Museums of Art. It was the first new national art museum in about 30 years, since the National Museum of Art, Osaka opened in 1977. It stands on the former site of the University of Tokyo's Institute of Industrial Science and has four floors above ground and one below, with a total floor area of about 49,830 square meters, among the largest in Japan. Its defining feature is that it has no permanent collection. It is the only national art museum that does not collect works, and it uses the English name Art Center rather than Museum. It focuses on special exhibitions and open-call exhibitions by art associations. Admission fees differ for each exhibition. The building was designed by Kisho Kurokawa with Nihon Sekkei and is said to be his last museum. Under the concept of a museum in a forest, its facade is a rippling glass curtain wall. The atrium holds cafes, a restaurant in an inverted cone shape and a museum shop. Six exhibition rooms, A to F, each 1,000 square meters with an 8-meter ceiling, lie on the first and second floors. Exhibitions change often, so check the official site before visiting. Allow two to three hours for one exhibition and a cafe stop. The Mori Art Museum at Roppongi Hills, the Suntory Museum of Art at Tokyo Midtown and 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT are nearby.
Last updated October 22, 2026