Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

Next to the special exhibitions that have an entrance fee, a good part of the museum shows pieces from art collectives, undergraduate and graduate art students. Hence, there is a great variety of art forms on display (paintings, fashion, sculptures, performances, etc.) for free. Besides galleries, this is probably one of the best addresses in Tokyo to get a glimpse into the young, contemporary art scene.

A very nice museum at a walking distance from the JR Ueno station and Tokyo National museum. I saw the 'Rome: The Eternal City' exhibition which was pretty amazing. There are 3 restaurants and some vending machines in the premises. Also, you can use the 100¥ lockers after the entrance, if you don't want to lug around your bags throughout the exhibition.

I love this museum so much and love this exhibition that I just went, It's so confortable and all staffs are so kind and polite, Thank you so much, お疲れさまでした

Tokyo Metropoliton Art Museum has started its journey in 1926 and as such is the first art museum in Japan. It is shifted to its present position in 1975 after famous modernist Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa designed the beautiful museum in Ueno Park of Tokyo. It is friendly to the physically challenged people. It has a souvenir shop and a cafe. I found Norwegian painter Edvard Munk's work here. In addition, it also has works of Japanese masters like Taro Okamoto and Isamu Noguchi. I was impressed seeing its huge umbrella rack.

Perhaps one of Tokyo’s most visually impressive older museum buildings, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum opened in 1975.

The building was designed by renowned Japanese architect Kunio Maekawa—a key figure in Japanese postwar modernism.

Kunio Maekawa (May 14, 1905 – June 26, 1986) was known for blending traditional Japanese design elements with those from European modernism.

If you make your way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum via the Park Exit of JR Ueno Station, you’ll pass another building designed by Kunio Maekawa, the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan—opened in April 1961 commemorating Tokyo’s 500th anniversary.

Anyway, getting back on topic:
Perhaps it’s because this is a public-supported museum, but there seem to be a lot more rules here than at other museums in Tokyo and stricter enforcement.

Definitely check the website for rules and guidelines beforehand.
Museum staff must inspect you before you can enter exhibitions.

There are a lot of personal lockers for storing personal things you’re not allowed to carry in with you.

However, as the museum staff are quite strict, these lockers tend to fill up fast during popular events, so get there early and store your belongings before attempting to enter the exhibition.

Using the public lockers requires a 100-yen coin, but the coin is automatically returned to you when you insert the key to remove your belongings.

So using these public lockers is essentially free, but you must have a 100 yen coin to use them.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum is a great place to spend your day, with many exhibits of wonderful art. This museum also has an open-space courtyard There are multiple buildings, each with different pieces of artwork. For some exhibits, you will need to buy buy special tickets online in advance.

Great spot to learn more about art from the community and escape the hustle bustle of the city.

Was fortunate enough to visit while Mr Matsumura was there with his wonderful paintings.

Ueno Park has an incredible assortment of museums. The 東京都美術館 Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum is large! There is generally a featured exhibit and these are expertly curated although, depending on the day of the week and the popularity of the current show, the venue can be crowded.
As I was leaving the last time after viewing “Vilhelm Hammershøi and Danish Painting of the 19th Century”, my eye was caught by an exhibit in one of the Citizen's Galleries. The artwork on display were carved wood calligraphy panels curated by the 日本刻字協会 (Nihon Kokuji Kyoukai) [Japan Carving Association].
The artists on view included Japanese and other Asian countries and the calligraphy was in kanji, kana, Korean Hangul characters, Chinese and even a couple with English. Photography was permitted and I took many. I actually returned the following day to spend more time in the exhibit which had hundreds of articles. Some has won prizes and there were even a couple that included paper drafts with the finished artwork.
The exhibit I visited in January 2020 was the 39th such show. I was informed that it was held annually at the end of January. (Note: 2021 was different because of the pandemic.) This is a show that I will make travel plans around. I will endeavor to curb my enthusiasm and post only a score or so photographs.
Photography is permitted in this exhibit and most of the artwork did not have glass covering it.
The 1985 sculpture in the entrance courtyard (my sky hole 85-2 光と影 by Inoue Bukichi) is kept nicely polished for selfies.

Whenever have trouble finding a place to go on holiday, my first stop is Ueno, and the routine is always to go to this museum. Science and history are encompassed in two large buildings, and great effort is put into exhibiting specimens and measuring instruments.

Great place to visit in Tokyo. Just only 10 minutes walk through the park from Ueno train station. When I was there also have an exhibition of Gustav Klimt but the ticket was a little pricey and the line was super long.

Museum staff were amiable and keen to help out. They were rather coherent in english, so i was able to understand at that point in time, most of the exhibitions were free of charge. The exhibition staff were really nice and were proud to showcase the artworks, it made me feel warm and welcomed. It's a must visit if you like to wander around at a slow pace.

The permanent exhibition is very beautiful and well designed to trace the evolution of modern Japanese art.

We had a wonderful experience here. The place is quiet and the staff are very kind and accommodating. They have even given us free tickets to access other exhibits. Thank you so much.

Went there to check out the Isamu Noguchi exhibition: Ways of Discovery. It was amazing!

The show features Noguchi’s signature Akari lighting works, as well as his sculptures. I really did’t know much about his cultural and family background and the time periods he lived in. This show gave me these contexts, and I leaned the significance of his work more.

Some ideas that struck me: sculptures with metal-folding is “origami with metal”. Also, the idea of Karomi = lightness was important.

Made me want to visit his studio in Mure in the future.

It was a lucky day to me, unexpected meeting this great Gustav Klimt Exhibition in Tokyo, love it! The exhibition lines design are orderly, mostly of people who visits the exhibition were neat, focus and not that much talks, sometimes they just whispering if they’re needs to discuss.

It was Friday and is Special Exhibition so the last admission at 19:30, so many people visits at the day, althought I walked out at 18:00 it’s still many people waiting in line.

There have around 120 pieces exhibits in this time, if you was a fan about Gustav Klimt, the Vienna – Japan 1900 works will stunning you, especially visit in Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, where is cool and calm, full of modern and artistic atmosphere

A must museum to visit if you are in Tokyo! Well thought out all around; very impressive art and reasonably priced. No lines in the afternoon during the week.

A museum located inside Ueno park. I visit here for Vilhelm hammershøi exhibition. Love it so much. You couldn’t take the pictures inside and there is entrance fee, 1600 yen. Worth the price though.

A great place to spend time with your family. Except paid exhibitions, it offers free exhibition entries too.

There has no entrance fees, but it has extra fee for paid exhibitions. Just pay at the counter in front of the exhibition.

For free exhibition, just need to write down your name and address for recording purposes.

Some thoughts and suggestions:
Free exhibitions are good but they mostly dont have a theme, aka each project represents a different message, and you might get nothing after visiting. However, it is good for person who just wanna explore.

Paid exhibitions have a theme and a message they wanna delivered. It is better to do some homework before buying tickets.

Overall, I like this place and definitely will revisit again. Good luck to your trip!

Great museum with multiple free wings and special exhibitions. Large comfortable building complex with plenty of space, lockers and bathrooms.