Art & Exhibits · Nakanoshima

National Museum of Art, Osaka 国立国際美術館

Japan's national museum of contemporary art, built almost entirely underground on Nakanoshima beneath a sculptural entrance of bent steel tubes by Cesar Pelli, with a giant Joan Miro ceramic mural in the lobby.

Hours10:00-17:00 (Fri and Sat to 20:00); last entry 30 min before

ClosedMondays (or next day if holiday), New Year, exhibition changeovers

PriceCollection exhibition (adult): ¥430
Special exhibitions: ¥1,800

Getting thereHigobashi Station (Yotsubashi Line), 10 min; Watanabebashi Station (Keihan Nakanoshima Line), 5 min

Time needed1.5-2 hours

Best timeFriday or Saturday evenings

Address4-2-55 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka

Websitenmao.go.jp/en

About

The National Museum of Art, Osaka (NMAO) began in the former Expo 70 art pavilion and moved in 2004 to this Pelli-designed building, where the galleries sit three floors below ground and only the entrance, a swooping frame of silver tubes meant to evoke reeds and the vitality of bamboo, rises above the street. The collection focuses on Japanese and international art since 1945, from Cezanne and Picasso to Warhol, Duchamp and contemporary Japanese artists, shown in rotating collection displays, with major touring exhibitions on the lower floor. In the free underground lobby hangs Joan Miro's large ceramic mural Innocent Laughter, made for the Gas Pavilion of Expo 70. The museum sits next to the Osaka Science Museum and across from the Nakanoshima Museum of Art, forming the core of Nakanoshima's museum quarter.

Highlights

Cesar Pelli's stainless-steel reed-like entrance sculpture
Fully underground galleries, three levels down
Joan Miro's Expo 70 ceramic mural in the free lobby
Post-war Japanese and international collection
Late opening on Fridays and Saturdays

Tips

The Miro mural is visible free of charge in the B1 lobby even if you skip the exhibitions.
Visit on Friday or Saturday evening when it stays open to 20:00 and is much quieter.
Combine with the Nakanoshima Museum of Art across the street; check for joint ticket deals.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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National Museum of Art, Osaka 国立国際美術館

About

Highlights

Tips

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