Museum · Shinjuku (Bentencho)

Yayoi Kusama Museum 草間彌生美術館

A slim white tower in Shinjuku dedicated to Japan's queen of polka dots, with two exhibitions a year, an Infinity Mirror Room-style installation and a rooftop pumpkin, entry by timed online tickets only.

About

Opened in 2017 a short walk from the artist's own studio, the Yayoi Kusama Museum is small (five compact floors) but beloved. Each floor presents a different facet of the current exhibition, typically recent paintings from her My Eternal Soul series, early works and soft sculptures, building to an immersive mirrored installation on the fourth floor and a rooftop space that usually features a polka-dotted pumpkin sculpture. Exhibitions change roughly twice a year. Tickets are sold only online, for 90-minute timed slots, released at 10:00 JST on the first of the month for the month after next, and they sell out quickly. There are no tickets at the door.

Highlights

• Mirrored immersive installation on the fourth floor
• Rooftop polka-dot pumpkin sculpture
• Large-scale My Eternal Soul paintings in saturated colours
• Sleek white building with rounded glass corners
• Exclusive museum shop with Kusama goods

Tips

• Buy tickets the moment they release (1st of the month, two months ahead), slots sell out within days.
• Each slot is 90 minutes; the installation rooms have short timed queues, so go there first.
• Open Thursday to Sunday and national holidays only.
• Nearest is Ushigome-Yanagicho (Oedo Line), but Waseda (Tozai Line) works too, 7 minutes away.

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

Nearby

• Jikasei Chuka Soba ToshiokaRamen & Noodles · 160 m away
• GokurakudoCamera Store · 720 m away
• SantoraRamen & Noodles · 760 m away
• Waseda University Okuma AuditoriumLandmark & Tower · 780 m away
• Edogawa ParkPark · 830 m away
• Sanlucar BarBars & Nightlife · 830 m away
• Akagi ShrineShrine · 880 m away
• Ana HachimanguShrine · 910 m away