Tokugawa Art Museum

Top choice in Nagoya


A must for anyone interested in Japanese culture and history, this museum has a collection of over 10,000 pieces that includes National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties once belonging to the shogun family. A priceless 12th-century scroll depicting The Tale of Genji is usually locked away, except during a short stint in late November; the rest of the year, visitors must be content with a video.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Nagoya attractions

1. Tokugawa-en

0.01 MILES

This delightful Japanese garden adjacent to the Tokugawa Art Museum was donated by the Tokugawa family to Nagoya city in 1931 but destroyed by bombing in…

2. Nagoya City Archives

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Built in 1922, this grand Taisho-era Court of Appeal now houses the city archives. While the archives themselves are difficult to navigate for non…

3. Oasis 21

1.13 MILES

Oasis 21 is a bus terminal and transit hub with a difference. Its iconic 'galaxy platform' – an elliptical glass-and-steel structure filled with water for…

4. Nagoya TV Tower

1.16 MILES

Nagoya's much-loved TV tower, completed in 1954, was the first of its kind in Japan. The tower's central location makes its 100m-high Sky Balcony a great…

5. Nagoya-jō

1.27 MILES

The original structure, built between 1610 and 1614 by Tokugawa Ieyasu for his ninth son, was levelled in WWII. Today's castle is a concrete replica (with…

6. International Design Centre Nagoya

1.67 MILES

Housed in the swooping Nadya Park complex is this secular shrine to the deities of conceptualisation, form and function. Design touchstones from art deco…

7. Nagoya City Science Museum

1.84 MILES

This hands-on museum claims the world's largest dome-screen planetarium, with some seriously out-of-this-world projection technology. There's also a…

8. Ōsu Kannon

2.14 MILES

The much-visited, workaday Ōsu Kannon temple traces its roots back to 1333. Devoted to the Buddha of Compassion, the temple was moved to its present…