Main Building of Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum is Japan's first museum. Its collection includes over 110,000 items, and centers around ancient works of Japanese and Oriental art. Those artifacts are opened to the public in six exhibition halls. Besides exhibitions, a host of lectures, conferences and workshops are held to discuss the items on display.

The second floor of the Honkan (main building) holds an exhibit titled "The Highlights of Japanese Art", tracing the history of Japanese art--from Jomon era down to Edo period--with a collection of artworks including National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.

The first floor of Honkan is dedicated to carvings, pottery and blades, well organized for visitors to appreciate their beauty.

Definitely worth a visit is the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, located on the opposite corner from Honkan. It contains a collection of 300 treasures that were donated to the Meiji Imperial Family in 1878 by Horyuji Temple in Nara prefecture. The Important Cultural Properties housed in the gallery are considered to be of extraordinary artistic and historical value, as some of the items date as far back as to the 7th century, predating those housed in Shosoin.

The museum also has a Research and Information Center, restaurants and a museum shop, as well as beautiful gardens offering a dramatic change of seasonal colors for all guests to see.