[Autumn/Winter 2026] Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Art Guide: The Sumida Hokusai Museum, Edo-Tokyo Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

In eastern Tokyo, the area from Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line through Morishita to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station is home to museums dealing with ukiyo-e, Edo history, Japanese swords and contemporary art. In Ryogoku, The Sumida Hokusai Museum’s 10th-anniversary special exhibition runs until Monday, November 23 (national holiday), and the Edo-Tokyo Museum opens the special exhibition “Maruyama Okyo: Beyond the Real, a Spatial Revolution” on Saturday, November 28. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, two special exhibitions continue until Sunday, December 6 and Sunday, December 13. This guide summarizes exhibitions as of Saturday, October 31, 2026, admission and how to get around.

What kind of area are Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa? Museums line the two stops of the Oedo Line

Ryogoku is in Sumida City and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa in Koto City. On the Toei Oedo Line, the stations run Ryogoku, Morishita, Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, so Kiyosumi-Shirakawa is two stops from Ryogoku. Around Ryogoku Station are The Sumida Hokusai Museum (Kamezawa, Sumida City) and the Edo-Tokyo Museum, The Japanese Sword Museum and the Former Yasuda Garden (all in Yokoami, Sumida City). Around Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station are the Fukagawa Edo Museum (Shirakawa, Koto City), Kiyosumi Garden (Kiyosumi, Koto City) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in Kiba Park (Miyoshi, Koto City).

Autumn and winter 2026 bring a cluster of milestones. The Sumida Hokusai Museum marks its 10th anniversary in November. The Edo-Tokyo Museum reopened after renovation on March 31, 2026, and according to the museum, its permanent exhibition reached one million visitors in about six months. The Fukagawa Edo Museum marks 40 years since it opened in November 1986 (Showa 61). Museums conveying Edo art and daily life can be combined with a contemporary art museum on the same subway line.

Museums in Ryogoku (as of October 31)

The Sumida Hokusai Museum: The 10th-anniversary special exhibition runs until November 23, followed by “Hokusai Crossover” from December 16

This museum opened in November 2016 in Sumida City, said to be the birthplace of Katsushika Hokusai. The current 10th-anniversary special exhibition, “The Best of The Sumida Hokusai Museum: The Scroll of Views Along Both Banks of the Sumida River and Other Masterpieces” (September 15 – November 23, special exhibition galleries on the 3rd and 4th floors), presents masterpieces from the collection chosen by each curator from their own perspective, including previously unshown works and new acquisitions. Each curator’s favorite works come with a short comment. At its center is the “Scroll of Views Along Both Banks of the Sumida River,” a 7-meter-long handscroll Hokusai painted in Sumida. The museum calls it “the longest of Hokusai’s surviving works” and describes it as a “phantom scroll” that has returned to Hokusai’s hometown of Sumida for the first time in about 100 years. Only part of it is displayed, and it is re-rolled between the first and second periods. Also on view are a pillar print with no other known impression, a surimono with the rare “Kogaku Hokusai” signature, and works by his students. The second period began on October 21. Hokusai’s life, major works and the museums where you can see them are covered in our guide to Katsushika Hokusai.

Next comes the 10th-anniversary exhibition “Hokusai Crossover: Gathering in Sumida Across the Ages” (December 16 – February 28, 2027, special exhibition gallery on the 3rd floor). Combining three elements—Sumida, writers connected with Sumida, and Hokusai—it introduces scenes of Sumida painted by Hokusai and his students, works by Hokusai born of his friendships with Sumida-related writers such as Ota Nanpo, and works by Hokusai that influenced or were critiqued by modern writers such as Masaoka Shiki. Works include “Evening Cool at Ryogoku, Ichinohashi Benten” from the “Picture Book of Both Banks of the Sumida River at a Glance” (throughout) and “Swallows Arriving and Geese Departing” (first period). The first period runs until January 24 and the second from January 26.

• Hours: 9:30–17:30 (last entry 17:00)

• Closed: Mondays (or the following weekday if a national holiday or substitute holiday) and the year-end and New Year holidays (December 27 – January 1). Open Monday, November 23 (national holiday). The annual schedule lists no exhibition from November 24 to December 15, so check opening status if you plan to visit during this period

• Admission (special exhibition): Adults ¥1,500; high school and university students and those aged 65 and over ¥1,000; junior high school students and people with disabilities ¥500; free for elementary school students and younger. From October 1, free for students attending junior high schools in Sumida City and junior high school students living in the city

• Admission (Hokusai Crossover): Adults ¥1,000; high school and university students and those aged 65 and over ¥700; junior high school students and people with disabilities ¥300; free for elementary school students and younger. Until December 15, advance tickets at a 20% discount (¥800 for adults) are sold at the museum’s 1st floor and the Ryogoku Tourist Information Center

• Reservations: Not required for individuals. A limited number of timed online tickets are also available. Group visits require advance reservations

• Access: 5-minute walk from Exit A3 of Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line; 9-minute walk from the east exit of JR Ryogoku Station (2-7-2 Kamezawa, Sumida City)

• Official website: The Sumida Hokusai Museum

How to look at ukiyo-e and other ukiyo-e exhibitions in Tokyo are introduced in our beginner’s guide to enjoying ukiyo-e.

Edo-Tokyo Museum: “The Toyotomi Brothers!” ran until November 8, followed by the Maruyama Okyo exhibition from the 28th

This metropolitan museum dealing with the history and culture of Edo and Tokyo reopened after renovation on March 31, 2026. The permanent exhibition on the 5th and 6th floors consists of the “Edo Zone,” the “Tokyo Zone” and other areas, featuring a full-scale reconstruction of the northern half of Nihonbashi bridge, a life-size Nakamura-za kabuki theater (front facade), a full-scale row house (munewari nagaya), and models of the Rokumeikan and the Ryounkaku (Asakusa Twelve Stories).

The special exhibition gallery on the 1st floor hosted “The Toyotomi Brothers!,” a special exhibition marking the museum’s renovation and tied to the NHK Taiga drama, until Sunday, November 8. Focusing on Hidenaga, younger brother of Hideyoshi, the exhibition, according to the museum, uses historical materials to examine “the character of Hidenaga, on whom little light has been shed until now,” and his achievements in supporting his elder brother Hideyoshi’s unification of the realm. It runs from the prologue, “Brothers of Arms and Wisdom,” to Chapter 5, “The Setting Sun of the Toyotomi,” and the epilogue, “Brothers! Once Again.” The second period, from October 14, includes the Important Cultural Property “Sword, unsigned, Ichimonji school, known as Nansen Ichimonji” (Tokugawa Art Museum) and the “Tojo Petition of Hashiba Hidenaga” (Nara National Museum). Admission is ¥2,100 for adults, ¥1,600 for those aged 65 and over and ¥1,300 for university and vocational school students, and free for high school students and younger. A combination ticket with the permanent exhibition (¥2,740 for adults) is also available.

The special exhibition gallery on the 5th floor is hosting “Japan–US Exchange, a Bridge of Knowledge: Rutgers College and Japanese Students in the Late Edo and Meiji Periods” (October 24 – December 6), which traces the connections between Rutgers College in the United States and Japanese students of the late Edo and Meiji periods. It features Taro Kusakabe of the Fukui domain, who died of illness while studying at the college; Koroku Katsu, eldest son of Katsu Kaishu, who studied at the Rutgers Grammar School; Kiyoo Kawamura, who later became a Western-style painter; Kyuichiro Nagai, father of Nagai Kafu; and William Elliot Griffis, who graduated from the college and came to Japan in 1870 at the invitation of the Fukui domain, displaying items such as Hepburn’s “A Japanese and English Dictionary” (1867). Note that original materials from the Griffis Collection at Rutgers University are not exhibited. It can be seen with a permanent exhibition ticket. On the 5th and 6th floors, the special display “The Beauty of Coolness: Glass Crafts from the Edo-Tokyo Museum Collection” also ran until November 8.

The next special exhibition is “Maruyama Okyo: Beyond the Real, a Spatial Revolution” (November 28 – January 24, 2027), marking the museum’s renovation. The organizers call it “the first large-scale retrospective in about 20 years,” bringing together more than 120 works by Okyo. Centered on the sliding-door and wall paintings of Daijo-ji Temple (popularly known as the “Okyo Temple”) in Kami Town, Hyogo Prefecture, it traces his career from his early years to his last in five chapters and recreates the spaces of Daijo-ji’s “Peacock Room,” “Banana Plant Room” and “Landscape Room” in the venue. The National Treasure “Pine Trees in Snow” folding screens (Mitsui Memorial Museum) will be shown for a limited time from November 28 to December 6. Also on display are “Morning Glories” (first period), shown publicly for the first time, and “Tiger” (throughout), returning to Japan from the Sainsbury Centre in the UK. The first period runs until December 24 and the second from January 2. The exhibition travels to the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts from February 6, 2027. For details, see our article on the Maruyama Okyo exhibition.

Admission is ¥2,100 for adults (advance ¥1,900), ¥1,600 for those aged 65 and over (advance ¥1,400) and ¥1,300 for university and vocational school students (advance ¥1,100), and free for elementary, junior high and high school students and preschool children. A combination ticket with the permanent exhibition is ¥2,740 for adults (advance ¥2,540). Advance tickets are on sale until Friday, November 27. The organizers state that “no advance reservation is required for this exhibition,” though visitors may have to wait to enter when it is crowded. The “Weekday Premium Night Ticket” (¥3,500, date-specific, limited to 300 people per day), which allows entry on weekday evenings, can be used from 17:45 to 19:45 (last entry 19:15) on December 1–4 and January 19–22, 2027. In the new year, the 5th floor will host the exhibition “The Tokugawa Shogunal Family in the Bakumatsu and Meiji Eras: Tenshoin Atsuhime and Her Times” (January 2 – February 14), and the 1st floor the special exhibition “Edo Fashion” (February 13 – April 4). Other exhibitions featuring National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties are summarized in our guide to Japanese art exhibitions.

• Hours: 9:30–17:30 (until 19:30 on Saturdays and until 20:00 on Fridays, November 6, 13, 20 and 27; last entry 30 minutes before closing)

• Closed: Mondays (or the following day if a national holiday or substitute holiday) and the year-end and New Year holidays. In November, open on the 2nd (Mon) and 23rd (Mon, national holiday) and closed on the 4th (Wed) and 24th (Tue). During the Maruyama Okyo exhibition, closed December 25 – January 1 and January 12 (Tue), and open January 4 (Mon) and 11 (Mon, national holiday)

• Permanent exhibition admission: Adults ¥800; those aged 65 and over ¥400; university students (including graduate and vocational school students) ¥480; high school students ¥300; free for junior high school students and younger. Free for those aged 65 and over on the third Wednesday of each month

• Access: 1-minute walk from Exits A3 and A4 of Ryogoku (Edo-Tokyo Museum-mae) Station on the Toei Oedo Line; 3-minute walk from the west exit of JR Ryogoku Station (7 minutes from the east exit). 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida City

• Official websites: Edo-Tokyo Museum, Maruyama Okyo exhibition

The Japanese Sword Museum: The special exhibition “Masters of Shinto Swords East and West: Kotetsu and Sukehiro” runs until December 20

This museum of The Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords opened in 1968 (Showa 43) and moved to Ryogoku in 2017 (Heisei 29). It stands in a corner of the Former Yasuda Garden, and the building inherits the character of the former Ryogoku Public Hall that previously stood there, consisting of a cylindrical section projecting toward the pond and wings on either side (designed by Maki and Associates). The 1st floor is a public space you can drop into casually, with a museum shop, an exhibition and information lounge and a café, while the top floor houses the Japanese sword galleries and a rooftop garden.

The current special exhibition, “Masters of Shinto Swords East and West: Kotetsu and Sukehiro” (October 24 – December 20), compares swords by Nagasone Kotetsu and Tsuda Echizen-no-kami Sukehiro, whom the museum calls “the two great master swordsmiths representing the Edo period.” Kotetsu, active in Edo, is characterized by “bright, sound ji and ha epitomized by the juzuba (rosary-bead) hamon,” and his style strongly reflected samurai culture. Sukehiro, based in Osaka, belonged to the lineage of Horikawa Kunihiro, originated the hamon known as “toran” (billowing waves) and showed a flamboyant style in tune with townspeople’s culture. The museum says that through the two smiths’ styles and masterpieces, the exhibition captures “the differences and commonalities in sword culture between east and west.” The list of works includes 45 items, among them three Important Cultural Properties and four Important Art Objects. The first period runs until November 23 and the second from November 25, with some works changed.

• Hours: 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30)

• Closed: Mondays (or the following Tuesday if a Monday is a national holiday), during exhibition changeovers and over the year-end and New Year holidays. Open Monday, November 23 (national holiday), closed Tuesday the 24th

• Admission (special exhibition): Adults ¥1,500; members ¥1,000; students (high school, university and vocational school) ¥500; free for junior high school students and younger. Free for holders of a disability certificate or similar and one caregiver. Monoculars are lent free of charge in the galleries

• Next exhibition: “72nd Exhibition of Newly Designated Juyo Token and Other Swords” (January 9 – March 7, 2027)

• Access: About a 7-minute walk from the west exit of JR Ryogoku Station; about a 5-minute walk from Exit A1 of Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line (1-12-9 Yokoami, Sumida City)

• Official website: The Japanese Sword Museum

Former Yasuda Garden: A tidal garden where The Japanese Sword Museum stands

This Sumida City garden is home to The Japanese Sword Museum, which stands in one corner. According to the city, in the Genroku era it was granted as a secondary residence to Honjo Inaba-no-kami Munesuke, later lord of the Kasama domain in Hitachi, and is said to have been created by Munesuke. It is a “tidal pond stroll garden” that draws water from the Sumida River into a pond shaped like the character for “heart” (kokoro), so that the scenery changes with the ebb and flow of the tide. It came into the possession of Zenjiro Yasuda in 1891 (Meiji 24) and was donated to Tokyo City in 1922 (Taisho 11). In 1996 (Heisei 8), it was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It is open 9:00–18:00 from October to March and 9:00–19:30 from April to September, with only part of the garden open after 16:30. It is illuminated after sunset. It is closed December 29 – January 1.

Museums in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa (as of October 31)

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT): The Minami Tada exhibition runs until December 6, and “Synchronic Constellations” until December 13

This metropolitan museum of contemporary art in Kiba Park is currently hosting two special exhibitions and a collection exhibition.

“Tada Minami—Still, shimmering light” (August 29 – December 6, special exhibition gallery on the B2 floor) is “the first large-scale retrospective since her death,” surveying the work of Minami Tada (1924–2014), who moved across the fields of art, architecture and design, from sculpture to reliefs, stage curtains, chandeliers, building facades and lighting fixtures. Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and raised in Korea, Tada founded the Minami Tada Institute in 1962 and over her lifetime created some 200 sculptures and as many as 500 architecture-related works. Her light wall “Dawn” (1970) at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo is made of about 7,600 glass blocks. The venue—a basement gallery of about 1,500 square meters, including an atrium that lets in natural light, and an adjoining outdoor exhibition area—shows about 70 works, including lighting pieces, alongside architectural components, photographs, sketches and other materials. “Chaindelier” (1963), a chandelier made of ball chains, was installed at the Matsuya Salon (Ginza) and led to Tada being commissioned to create light sculptures for the new Imperial Palace; this no-longer-extant work has been reconstructed at full scale. Part of the light sculpture “Auspicious Clouds” (1973) at the Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka, Vignette Collection, has been reassembled using about 3,000 original crystal glass parts. Admission is ¥1,600 for adults, ¥1,100 for university and vocational school students and those aged 65 and over, and ¥640 for junior high and high school students. For details, see our article on the Minami Tada exhibition.

“Synchronic Constellations: Stars That Shared a Time — The Gaze of Art Across Borders” (September 5 – December 13, special exhibition galleries on the 1st and 3rd floors) invites film director and curator Huang Ya-li as guest curator. Taking as its starting point his 2015 film “Le Moulin,” it reexamines modern Taiwan and Japan through art and culture, placing works and materials in constellation-like relationships. From more than 15 museums and private collections in Taiwan, it brings together about 200 works of modern Taiwanese art, including paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs, and about 500 materials, plus about 100 Japanese works. Works by Huang Tu-shui, Chen Cheng-po, Ho Te-lai, Lin Yu-shan, Kuo Hsueh-hu and others are combined with materials on literature, film, music, theater and dance in six chapters. The exhibition design is by UxU Studio of Taiwan, which uses reflective materials to turn the space itself into an installation. Admission is ¥2,000 for adults, ¥1,400 for university and vocational school students and those aged 65 and over, and ¥800 for junior high and high school students. For details, see our article on “Synchronic Constellations.”

The collection galleries are showing the MOT Collection exhibition “Now Seeing a Light from Some Time Ago” (September 19 – January 6, 2027). Organized around “light” and “time,” it presents works from the collection ranging from Hiroshi Yoshida’s woodblock prints of famous places in Tokyo to video works by Hikaru Fujii. Works by Mami Kosemura, Kimio Tsuchiya, Arisa Kumagai and Hikaru Fujii are shown for the first time since entering the collection, and sculptures by Yayoi Kusama and Shigeo Toya’s large-scale work “Death of the Kiln of the Forest Image” (1989) are also on view. Admission is ¥500 for adults, and it can also be seen with a special exhibition ticket.

• Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry to the galleries 30 minutes before closing). Until 20:00 every Friday in November (6th, 13th, 20th and 27th)

• Closed: Mondays (open November 23), November 24 (Tue) and December 28 – January 1. Also closed January 7–20, 2027, and other periods for exhibition changeovers

• Combination ticket: A combination ticket for both special exhibitions and the MOT Collection is ¥3,000 for adults, ¥2,100 for university and vocational school students and those aged 65 and over, and ¥1,200 for junior high and high school students. Free for elementary school students and younger (must be accompanied by a guardian)

• Tickets: Sold online (e-tix) and at the museum’s ticket counter. On Fridays in November, entry after 17:00 is 20% off, and students are free. From November 4 to 8, showing an Art Week Tokyo participant pass gets 10% off same-day tickets

• Access: 9-minute walk from Exit B2 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line; 13-minute walk from Exit A3 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Toei Oedo Line; 15-minute walk from Exit 3 of Kiba Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line or Exit A4 of Kikukawa Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line (4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto City)

• Official website: Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

No special exhibitions open in November or December, and from December 14 only the MOT Collection will be on view (until January 6). According to the museum’s annual lineup, the next special exhibition is a Hans Haacke exhibition, from Saturday, February 6 to Sunday, May 16, 2027. For details, see our article on the Hans Haacke exhibition.

Fukagawa Edo Museum: 40th anniversary, with a commemorative exhibition from November 12

This museum in Shirakawa, Koto City, opened in November 1986 (Showa 61). Its permanent exhibition room recreates at full scale the streets of Fukagawa Sagacho at the end of the Edo period (Tenpo era), with sound and lighting staging the passage of a single day. It is a “hands-on” exhibition room where visitors can step into shops and row houses and touch everyday utensils.

To mark its 40th anniversary, the museum will hold the special exhibition “Making Edo, Conveying Edo: Fukagawa Edo Museum 40th Anniversary Exhibition” in its Recreation Hall from Thursday, November 12 to Monday, November 23 (national holiday). Using materials, it shows how the streetscape of Fukagawa Sagacho in the Tenpo era was created, tracing how the streets and daily life were interpreted and the process of recreating them at full scale. On display are 1/10-scale row houses and a watchman’s hut by cypress craftsman Hiroshi Miura, scenes from the construction of the exhibition room, Utagawa Kuniteru II’s “Illustrated Guide for Children to the Trades of Clothing, Food and Shelter,” and plans for the exhibition room. It can be seen with a permanent exhibition ticket. At commemorative special events on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th, the Fukagawa Tokkuri-za troupe will dress as a greengrocer, the proprietress of a boathouse, row-house residents and others to guide visitors around the town, with strolling shinnai ballads on the 14th and rakugo on the 15th.

• Hours: 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30)

• Closed: 2nd and 4th Mondays (open if a national holiday) and the year-end and New Year holidays (December 29 – January 3; only the exhibition room is open for a special New Year opening on January 2 and 3). The permanent exhibition room only is closed on December 21 (Mon) for display changes

• Permanent exhibition admission: Adults ¥400; elementary, junior high and high school students ¥50

• Access: About a 3-minute walk from Exit A3 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Toei Oedo Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line (1-3-28 Shirakawa, Koto City)

• Official website: Fukagawa Edo Museum

Kiyosumi Garden: A stroll-style landscape garden created by Yataro Iwasaki

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association, Yataro Iwasaki acquired the dilapidated estate in 1878 and developed it into a stroll-style landscape garden. It opened to the public in July 1932 and was designated a Place of Scenic Beauty by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1979. It is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) and closed December 29 – January 1. Admission is ¥150 for adults and ¥70 for those aged 65 and over, and free for elementary school students and younger and junior high school students living or studying in Tokyo. It is about a 3-minute walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station. Free garden tours are offered at 11:00 and 14:00 on weekends and holidays.

Getting around Ryogoku, Morishita and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, and access

Stations and exits: Ryogoku to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa is two stops on the Oedo Line

From Ryogoku to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa is two stops on the Toei Oedo Line via Morishita. You can transfer to the Toei Shinjuku Line at Morishita Station and to the Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line at Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station, and Ryogoku also has a station on the JR Sobu Line. The walking times from the nearest stations given by each venue are as follows.

• Edo-Tokyo Museum: 1 minute from Exits A3 and A4 of Ryogoku Station on the Oedo Line; 3 minutes from the west exit of JR Ryogoku Station

• The Japanese Sword Museum (in a corner of the Former Yasuda Garden): About 5 minutes from Exit A1 of Ryogoku Station on the Oedo Line; about 7 minutes from the west exit of JR Ryogoku Station

• The Sumida Hokusai Museum: 5 minutes from Exit A3 of Ryogoku Station on the Oedo Line; 9 minutes from the east exit of JR Ryogoku Station

• Fukagawa Edo Museum: About 3 minutes from Exit A3 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station

• Kiyosumi Garden: About 3 minutes from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station

• Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo: 9 minutes from Exit B2 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Hanzomon Line; 13 minutes from Exit A3 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Oedo Line. On the Shinjuku Line, 15 minutes from Exit A4 of Kikukawa Station, next to Morishita

For a one-day visit: Start in Ryogoku and finish at MOT

All three Ryogoku museums open at 9:30. An easy route starts at the Edo-Tokyo Museum, takes in The Japanese Sword Museum and the Former Yasuda Garden, also in Yokoami 1-chome, and The Sumida Hokusai Museum in Kamezawa 2-chome, and then moves to Kiyosumi-Shirakawa on the Oedo Line. In Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, visit the Fukagawa Edo Museum and Kiyosumi Garden first, as last entry is 16:30, and finish at MOT, where gallery entry is until 17:30 (until 19:30 on Fridays in November). On the Ryogoku side, too, last entry is 16:30 at The Japanese Sword Museum and 17:00 at the Hokusai Museum. If you want to take your time, you could split Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa over separate days.

On Saturdays, the Edo-Tokyo Museum is open until 19:30 (last entry 19:00). You can also go in reverse: visit Kiyosumi-Shirakawa in the morning, see the Hokusai Museum and The Japanese Sword Museum in Ryogoku, and enter the Edo-Tokyo Museum last. On Fridays, November 6, 13, 20 and 27, the Edo-Tokyo Museum and MOT are open until 20:00 as part of the metropolitan cultural facilities’ “Autumn Night Museum 2026,” and students entering after 17:00 are admitted free (at the Edo-Tokyo Museum this applies to the permanent exhibition; the special exhibition “The Toyotomi Brothers!” is not eligible for the discount). For details, see our article on Autumn Night Museum.

On Mondays, The Sumida Hokusai Museum, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, The Japanese Sword Museum and MOT are closed (the treatment of national holidays varies by museum). All four are open on Monday, November 23 (national holiday), but the following day, Tuesday the 24th, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, The Japanese Sword Museum and MOT are closed.

Discounts among the three Ryogoku museums with a ticket

According to The Sumida Hokusai Museum, showing a ticket for its “Room for Learning About Hokusai” or a special exhibition lets you see the Edo-Tokyo Museum’s permanent exhibition at the group rate (on the date printed on the ticket only). Showing a paid ticket or invitation to the Hokusai Museum gets ¥100 off adult admission to The Japanese Sword Museum (same day only). Conversely, showing the stub of a same-day ticket to The Japanese Sword Museum gets ¥100 off adult admission to the Hokusai Museum. All are valid until March 31, 2027. Check eligible tickets and conditions when you buy.

Editor’s perspective

Lining up the exhibitions in this area reveals different approaches to “reconstruction.” The Fukagawa Edo Museum builds the streets of Fukagawa Sagacho in the Tenpo era at full scale and stages the passage of a day with sound and lighting. The Edo-Tokyo Museum’s permanent exhibition has a full-scale reconstruction of the northern half of Nihonbashi bridge and a life-size front of the Nakamura-za. The Maruyama Okyo exhibition from November 28 recreates the spaces of Daijo-ji’s “Peacock Room,” “Banana Plant Room” and “Landscape Room” in the venue. MOT’s Minami Tada exhibition reconstructs the no-longer-extant “Chaindelier” at full scale and reassembles “Auspicious Clouds” with original parts. Exhibitions recreating different things for different purposes—streets, buildings, temple rooms and lighting works—are gathered between two stops of the Oedo Line.

The treatment of light also deserves attention. Minami Tada left sculptures made with light inside buildings, such as the light wall “Dawn” at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. The MOT Collection exhibition “Now Seeing a Light from Some Time Ago” organizes the collection around “light” and “time,” and the Fukagawa Edo Museum uses lighting to express the flow of time through a day. On Fridays in November, MOT and the Edo-Tokyo Museum are open until 20:00, and the Former Yasuda Garden is illuminated after sunset. It is an area where you can plan your day to include the evening hours.

Ties to the local community are another feature of this season’s exhibitions. The Sumida Hokusai Museum, marking its 10th anniversary, follows its special exhibition centered on the “Scroll of Views Along Both Banks of the Sumida River,” painted in Sumida, with “Hokusai Crossover,” which links Hokusai with writers connected to Sumida. The Fukagawa Edo Museum, marking its 40th anniversary, uses materials to show the process of recreating the former streets of Fukagawa Sagacho. The schedule continues into the new year with the Edo-Tokyo Museum’s Tenshoin Atsuhime exhibition (from January 2), The Japanese Sword Museum’s exhibition of newly designated Juyo swords (from January 9) and MOT’s Hans Haacke exhibition (from February 6). Other areas of Tokyo are introduced in our guide to museums in Ueno, our Marunouchi, Kyobashi and Nihonbashi art guide and our Omotesando, Aoyama and Harajuku art guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I visit the venues in Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa in one day?

Ryogoku and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa are two stops apart on the Oedo Line, and according to each venue, the main sites are within a 1- to 13-minute walk from the nearest stations (MOT is 9 minutes from Exit B2 on the Hanzomon Line). The three Ryogoku museums open at 9:30, and last entry is 16:30 at The Japanese Sword Museum and the Fukagawa Edo Museum, 17:00 at the Hokusai Museum and 17:30 for MOT’s galleries. For a one-day visit, starting in Ryogoku and finishing at MOT makes it easier to work around closing times.

Which venues are open on Mondays?

Open on Mondays are the Fukagawa Edo Museum (except the 2nd and 4th Mondays), Kiyosumi Garden and the Former Yasuda Garden. The Sumida Hokusai Museum, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, The Japanese Sword Museum and MOT are closed on Mondays, but all four are open on Monday, November 23 (national holiday), and the Edo-Tokyo Museum is also open on Monday, November 2. The Fukagawa Edo Museum is closed on November 9 and on December 14 and 28, and its permanent exhibition room is closed on Monday, December 21. Kiyosumi Garden and the Former Yasuda Garden are closed December 29 – January 1.

Do I need a reservation?

For the Maruyama Okyo exhibition, the organizers state that “no advance reservation is required” (only the Weekday Premium Night Ticket for weekday evenings is date-specific). The Sumida Hokusai Museum’s special exhibition also requires no reservation for individuals, with a limited number of timed online tickets available. The official websites of the Edo-Tokyo Museum (for “The Toyotomi Brothers!”), The Japanese Sword Museum and MOT make no mention of a reservation system. At The Sumida Hokusai Museum, group visits require advance reservations.

Which days are venues open in the evening?

The Edo-Tokyo Museum is open until 19:30 every Saturday (last entry 19:00). On Fridays, November 6, 13, 20 and 27, the Edo-Tokyo Museum and MOT are open until 20:00. The Former Yasuda Garden is open until 18:00 from October to March and is illuminated after sunset (only part of the garden is open after 16:30).

*Information as of October 31, 2026. Opening days, hours and exhibition content may change, so please check each venue’s official website for the latest information.

*Top image: The Sumida Hokusai Museum, 2018 (Photo: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on announcements by the Edo-Tokyo Museum (October 6 and 19, 2026) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (October 20), and information from the official websites of The Sumida Hokusai Museum, the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the special exhibition “Maruyama Okyo: Beyond the Real, a Spatial Revolution,” The Japanese Sword Museum (The Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords), the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the Fukagawa Edo Museum, Kiyosumi Garden (Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association), the Former Yasuda Garden (Sumida City) and the Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (accessed October 31, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team