December 10.2022
The number of art galleries in Tokyo is impressive. From early twentieth-century galleries to avant-garde galleries, here are the best art places to visit on your next vacation.
Okumo Building
The Oluno Building began as a luxury apartment building for the bourgeoisie citizen in 1930 and then survived American firebombs during the war. Today, the building is a relic, but it houses 20 to 50 galleries, all of which share the same roof but have distinct characteristics. There, oil paintings coexist with antiques in one room and ultra-contemporary conceptual work in the next, creating a unique visitor experience.
Okumo Building
Adress: 1-9-8 Ginza, Chuo, Tokyo
Hours: Variable
Taka Ishii Gallery
Since its opening in 1994, Taka Ishii Gallery has continued to maintain and develop an exhibition program based on the goals of introducing international contemporary artists within Japan and acting as an international platform for emerging Japanese artists as well as contemporary masters.
Taka Ishii gallery
Adress : 6-5-24 3F Roppongi Minato-ku Tokyo #106-0032
Hours: Gallery hours: 11am– 7pm
Closed on Sun, Mon and National Holidays
Free entry
Website HERE
Hermès Ginza
Ginza Maison Hermès, which houses the flagship store and corporate headquarters of Hermès Japon Co., Ltd., was designed and completed in 2001 by architect Renzo Piano. Le Forum, a gallery space that has welcomed artists from all over the world and inspired them to create site-specific installations and exhibitions, occupies the eighth and ninth floors. Le Forum is one of many initiatives organized by the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès to support projects related to art, traditional artisanal techniques transmission, environmental issues, and education.
Hermès Ginza
Adress: 5-4-19 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Hours: Close at 8 pm
Website : HERE
Irregular Rhythm Asylum
The Irregular Rhythms Asylum, which is heavily influenced by the Shinjuku culture of the 1969 and 1970s, self-defines as a ‘Infoshop,’ a resource for Tokyo’s activists and political radicals to use as they see fit. The store sells books, zines, pamphlets, music, handmade clothing, and hosts regular art shows by politically conscious nonmainstream artists. If ordinary galleries can appear aloof and preening at times, Irregular Rhythm Asylum is the polar opposite, a place where the false separation of art, politics, and life is exposed.
Irregular Rhythm Asylum
Adress: 1-30-12 Shinjuku Tokyo.
Hours: 1 pm to 8 pm. Closed Mon and Wed.
Website HERE
Espace Louis Vuitton
Following in the footsteps of Paris’s Champs-Elysées Maison, Louis Vuitton converted the seventh floor of its Jun Aoki-designed Omotesando store into an art gallery in 2011. Foundation Louis Vuitton, a French culture and art organization, curates contemporary works of art for its Hors-Les-Murs programme, which is hosted at this Tokyo venue as well as other international locations such as Munich, Venice, and Beijing.
Espace Louis Vuitton
Adress: Louis Vuitton Omotesando Bldg. 7F, 5-7-5 Jingumae 150-0001 Shibuya-ku, Japan.
Hours: Close at 7 pm
Website HERE
IMA Gallery
The IMA project runs a gallery specializing in art photography. They host exhibitions of young Japanese photographers from Japan and abroad, as well as talk shows with invited artists and creators and affiliated writers.
IMA Gallery
Adress: Yubinbango140-0002
Shinagawa-Ku, Tokyo Higashi 2-2-43 T33 Building 1F
Hours : Hours: 11 am to 7pm
Closed: Sundays and public holidays,
Website HERE
WISH LESS
A small gallery, but well worth seeing. The gallery, which is run by British illustrator Rob Kidney and Japanese designer Yoko Nagai, offers a mix of art, gigs, fashion, and whatever else strikes their fancy.
Wish Less
Adress: 5-12-10 Tabata, Kita, Tokyo
Website HERE
Otta Fine Art
Ota Fine Arts was founded in Tokyo in 1994. For over two decades, the gallery has established itself as a pioneer of Japanese contemporary art. Ota Fine Arts has promoted numerous Japanese artists, including internationally acclaimed Yayoi Kusama, and has been expanding the variety of its artists and their works since its inception.
Otta Fine Art
Adress: Piramide Bldg. 3F, 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo,
Hours: Tue. – Sat. 11 Am – 7pm
Closed on Mon, Sun and National Holidays
Website HERE
Take Ninagawa
Atsuko Ninagawa, the founder, formerly worked as a curator in New York but returned to Tokyo in order to contribute to the thriving but all too often overlooked Japanese contemporary art scene. Ninagawa Gallery likes to commit herself to experimental, and avant-garde art presenting different exhibitions in mediums and styles, striving to challenge and critic art at even turn.
Take Ninagawa
Adress: 2-12-4 Higashi Azabu, Minato Tokyo.
Hours 11 am to 7 pm. Closed Mon and Sun.
Website HERE
Mizuma Art Gallery
The Mizuma Art Gallery, which opened in Tokyo in 1994, makes a point of featuring artists, primarily from Japan and the surrounding region, who are distinguished by an intensely personal style and whose works possess distinct sensibilities unaffected by fleeting stylistic trends. The gallery continues to support and promote a large number of internationally active artists by actively participating in international art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong and the Armory Show.
Mizuma Art Gallery
Adress: 162-0843 Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ichigayatamachi, 3 Chome−13 神楽ビル 2F
Hours: Close at 7 pm
Website HERE
Diesel Art Gallery
Despite its location in the basement of the priced Diesel clothing store, the gallery hosts Contemporary Art Exhibitions four times a year.
Diesel Art Gallery
Adress: 150-0002 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Shibuya, 1 Chome−23−16 B1F cocoti SHIBUYA
Website HERE
