National Film Centre

Under the auspices of the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in Kitanomaru Kōen, the National Film Centre is an archive of films both Japanese and foreign, as well as books, periodicals, posters and other ancillary materials. There are screenings almost every day of classic films at bargain prices (tickets in regular cinemas are easily three times the cost here) and usually one film per day has English subtitles. A rotating selection of archival materials – some­-times keyed to a film series – can be seen in a gallery on the 7th floor, though signage is not typically in English. If the location of this museum seems random (ie in a modern business district) know that this is where some of Japan’s first cinemas were in the Meiji Period.