Museum · Harajuku

Ota Memorial Museum of Art 太田記念美術館

A hushed ukiyo-e sanctuary on a Harajuku backstreet, rotating monthly exhibitions from a 14,000-print collection, with a tatami room where you can kneel before painted scrolls.

About

Founded on the collection of insurance executive Seizo Ota, who bought back ukiyo-e that had fled abroad, this small museum is one of the best places to see original Edo-period woodblock prints in Tokyo. Exhibitions change every month and draw from about 14,000 prints and paintings by Hokusai, Hiroshige, Utamaro, Kuniyoshi and lesser-known masters, often on engagingly specific themes: cats, ghosts, fireworks, kabuki actors. On the ground floor, visitors take off their shoes and sit on a tatami-matted area to view hanging-scroll paintings as they were meant to be seen. It is steps from the chaos of Takeshita-dori and Omotesando yet calm and quiet inside. Labels include English summaries.

Highlights

• Monthly-changing exhibitions of original Edo woodblock prints
• Tatami viewing area for hanging scroll paintings
• Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi from a 14,000-work collection
• Quirky themed shows (cats, yokai, food)
• Small tenugui and print shop in the basement

Tips

• The museum closes for several days at the end of each month to change exhibitions, check before going.
• Weekday mornings are calmest; weekend afternoons fill with Harajuku shoppers.
• Shoes come off for the tatami area.
• Enter from the small lane just off Omotesando behind Laforet Harajuku.

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

Nearby

• Kinji HarajukuUnique Store · 110 m away
• Harakado Rooftop TerracePhoto Spot · 150 m away
• Marion Crêpes HarajukuCafé & Sweets · 160 m away
• @cosme TOKYOUnique Store · 160 m away
• Cat Cafe MOCHA HarajukuActivities & Experiences · 170 m away
• Omokado Mirrored Entrance (Tokyu Plaza Omotesando)Photo Spot · 200 m away
• Harajuku StationTransit Hub · 200 m away
• Harajuku Station · Coin Lockers (new station building)Luggage Storage · 200 m away