Tokyo’s art scene is extensive and vibrant, and there’s always so much to see. Whether you want to see some traditional Japanese art or a modern exhibit, here’s a list of exhibitions happening in Tokyo that are worth checking out.
October Tokyo Art Events
Roppongi Crossing 2025: What Passes Is Time. We Are Eternal.
The Roppongi Crossing series is a triennial, co-curated exhibition at the Mori Art Museum, launched in 2004 to capture the current state of Japan’s contemporary art scene. The eighth edition, featuring 21 artists and groups, explores how art can shift and diversify our sense of time — whether it be personal, geological and social. The exhibition spans a diverse range of media, from painting and video to crafts, zines and community projects. Some highlights include A.A. Murakami’s immersive installation using fog and light, Takuro Kuwata’s bold, colorful interpretations of historic ceramic techniques and Kelly Akashi’s intricate glass sculpture.
| Date & Time | Dec 3, 2025-Mar 29, 2026・10:00-22:00・Until 17:00 on Tue, and Dec 8 (Mon). Open until 22:00 on Dec 30 (Tue) |
| Price | Adults ¥2,000 / Over 65 ¥1,700 / Students ¥1,400 / Middle School and Under Free |
| Location | Mori Art Museum |
| More Info | on Weekends & Holidays - Adults ¥2,200 / Over 65 ¥1,900 / Students ¥1,500 |
Okumura Togyū, "Rabbit", Yamatane Museum of Art
Love: Japanese Paintings of Adorable Things
This winter, Yamatane Museum of Art’s diverse collection of modern and contemporary nihonga warms visitors’ hearts. The exhibition, perfect for viewing with your beloved, showcases how artists have captured the many forms of love in our lives — romance, familial love, compassion toward animals and even oshikatsu fandom. Aptly, the exhibition is titled “Itoshii” in Japanese, an adjective that encompasses various feelings of affection, tenderness and wistfulness. Among the displayed works are Kawasaki Kotora’s painting of a child dreaming of his hometown, Okumura Togyu’s portraits of rabbits and Kaburagi Kiyokata’s depictions of tragic romance.
| Date & Time | Dec 6, 2025-Feb 15, 2026・10:00-17:00・Closed Mondays, Except Jan 12; Closed Dec 29 - Jan 2, Jan 13 |
| Price | Adults ¥1,400 / Students ¥500 - 1,100 / Middle School and Under Free |
| Location | Yamatane Museum of Art |
Kusama Yayoi, "Macaroni Coat" (1963). Mixed media, 118.5×80.3×12.0 cm. Itabashi Art Museum ©YAYOI KUSAMA
Anti-Action: Artist-Women’s Challenges and Responses in Postwar Japan
During the 1950s and 60s in Japan, female artists initially gained prominence in the avant-garde scene, supported by movements like art informel. However, the subsequent introduction of “action painting” — a style closely associated with masculine ideals of boldness and strength — led to the marginalization of women painters from critical discussion. This exhibition seeks to reinterpret modern and contemporary Japanese art history by adopting the “anti-action” perspective, presenting artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Atsuko Tanaka and Hideko Fukushima, and many others who have been traditionally overlooked in art history.
| Date & Time | Dec 16, 2025-Feb 8, 2026・10:00-17:00・Fri and Sat until 20:00 |
| Price | Adults ¥2,000 / College ¥1,200 |
| Location | The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo |
| More Info | includes admission fee for MOMAT Collection |
ṢỌLÁ OLÚLÒDE, "In the Secret Garden of Our Love", 2025. Dye, indigo, batik, wax, ink, pastel and charcoal on canvas, 120 x 150 cm. © Ṣọlá Olúlòde.
Group Exhibition ‘The Clearing’: Artists from the African Diaspora
Curated by Ekow Eshun for space Un, “The Clearing” is an exhibition of paintings by contemporary artists from the African diaspora that explores themes of kinship, connection and collective memory. Drawing inspiration from a scene in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, in which Black townsfolk meet in a forest clearing for mutual support, the show meditates on communal gathering as an act of resistance, restoration and creation. The exhibition aims to present Black subjectivity as expansive and sovereign, and celebrate the full emotional and spiritual complexity of Black life through sanctuaries of quiet power. The artists represented include Nengi Omuku, Sola Olulode, Okiki Akinfe, Arthur Timothy and Kwesi Botchway.
| Date & Time | Nov 03-Dec 26・12:00-19:00・Closed Mon & Tue |
| Price | Free |
| Location | Space Un Tokyo |
(Left) Idris Khan, "The shadow of water" (2025). Courtesy the artist, Photographer: Stephen White & Co. (Right) Annie Morris, "Stack 3, Cobalt Turquoise" (2025). Courtesy the artist, Photographer: Stephen White & Co.
Annie Morris and Idris Khan: A Petal Silently Falls
This is the last month to catch Kotaro Nukaga’s two-person exhibition revolving around Annie Morris and Idris Khan. The show marks the first exhibition in Japan for both acclaimed British artists, who are partners in life and in their collaborative practice. Morris is known for her vividly colored, precariously balanced Stack sculptures, which originated as a means of processing the grief of stillbirth but have evolved into monuments of hope and remembrance. Khan, born to a multicultural background, creates serene, contemplative works — photographs, paintings, sculptures — that use repetition and layering to visualize the accumulation of time and the complexity of memory. This is evident in his newest piece, After the Reflection, which meticulously deconstructs Monet’s Water Lilies.
| Date & Time | Oct 29-Dec 26・11:30-18:00・Sun & Mon Closed |
| Price | Free |
| Location | Kotaro Nukaga Roppongi, Kotaro Nukaga Tennoz |
View of the exhibition "The In-Between" at Perrotin Tokyo. Photo by Osamu Sakamoto. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.
Lee Bae: The In-Between
Born in 1956 in Cheongdo, South Korea, Lee Bae is currently based in Paris and Seoul. Lee is known for his monochromatic, yet immersive exploration of blackness; inspired by charcoal as a metaphor for the cycle of life, his sculptures and pictorial works have used both raw charcoal, carbon black (a substance close to soot) and charcoal ink. This November, his solo exhibition at Perrotin will display his new series of bronze sculptures titled Brushstrokes, and a poetic video performance The In-Between — which depicts the artist in motion in a Korean rice paddy.
| Date & Time | Nov 05-Dec 27・11:00-19:00・Closed Sun & Mon |
| Price | Free |
| Location | Perrotin Tokyo |
Ueno Artists Project 2025: Embroidery – Expression of Life from the Rhythm of a Needle
The Ueno Artist Project is an annual event that spotlights focused themes in artistic expression. This year, the ninth edition steps away from traditional canvases to celebrate the art of the stitch — the profound beauty of embroidery and needlework. More than just a craft, working with needle and thread is a deeply meditative process, bringing peace, focus and inner liberation for artists for centuries across cultures. The show traces this lineage by featuring five artists whose careers span the early 20th century to the present: Toshitaro Hirano, who innovated traditional techniques; Megumi Onoe, who created vibrant, painting-like works with yarn; Mika Okada, who freely embroiders memories of landscapes and films; Yohei Fusegi, who uses daily stitching to portray internal time; and Mari Mochizuki, who felt a deep bond with the Indian Kantha tradition.
| Date & Time | Nov 18, 2025-Jan 8, 2026・09:30-17:30・Fri 9:30 – 20:00 |
| Price | General ¥800 / Over 65+ ¥500 |
| Location | Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum |
Kobayashi Tokusaburo: A Retrospective
The first major retrospective dedicated to the Taisho and early Showa-era painter Kobayashi Tokusaburo reveals the extent of his contribution to Japan’s art world. Initially gaining attention within Fyuzan-kai (Fusain Society) — the first group to break away from traditional academic art, influenced by European movements like Post-Impressionism and Fauvism — he earned the nickname “Sardine Tokusaburo” for his striking paintings of fish. Tokusaburo’s characteristic voice shines most in intimate, unassuming depictions of daily life, often using his own children as models. The exhibition traces his artistic achievements through approximately 300 works and archival materials, and shows his contributions to popular culture at the time.
| Date & Time | Nov 22, 2025-Jan 18, 2026・10:00-18:00・20:00 on Fri, Last Admission 30 min before closing |
| Price | Adults ¥1,300 / Students ¥1,100 / Middle School and Under Free |
| Location | Tokyo Station Gallery |
MOON KYUNGWON and JEON JOONHO, "To Build a Fire_This is me", 2024. Black stone, stainless steel, 81 x 75 x 64 cm. Courtesy SCAI The Bathhouse.
Moon Kyungwon & Jeong Joonho: News from Nowhere
Korean artist duo Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho are presenting their multidisciplinary project, “News from Nowhere,” across two concurrent exhibitions at SCAI The Bathhouse and SCAI Piramide. The shows center on the new moving image installation, Phantom Garden (2024-2025), which explores a “critical dystopia” where the seasons of spring and autumn have disappeared. Visitors will also see paintings by Moon, sculptures by Jeon and the cast aluminum installation Prosperos Botanica (2025).
| Date & Time | Nov 5, 2025-Jan 31, 2026・12:00-18:00・Closed Sun, Mon, Dec 20-Jan 12. Open Nov 9 |
| Price | Free |
| Location | SCAI The Bathhouse |
Marina Perez Simão, "Untitled / Sem Título," 2025 © Marina Perez Simão
Pace Gallery Tokyo: Marina Perez Simão & Tomie Ohtake
Brazilian artist Marina Perez Simão is holding her debut solo exhibition in Japan at Pace Tokyo, with a new series of landscape-inspired abstract paintings. Known for her vibrant, lyrical compositions that blur interior and exterior worlds, Simão’s work explores emotion, memory and place. The exhibition’s pieces are linked by the use of indigo, a deep shade with centuries of tradition in Japan. Her works are displayed in dialogue with paintings and sculptures by the late Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake, who she cites as a key influence. Born in Kyoto in 1913, Ohtake immigrated to Brazil in 1936, eventually becoming one of the country’s most celebrated modernists. Her works employed both organic forms and structured geometries to abstract natural landscapes and phenomena.
| Date & Time | Nov 4, 2025-Feb 11, 2026・11:00-19:00・Open Until 18:00 on Sun, Closed Mon. 19:00-20:00 Appointment Only |
| Price | Free |
| Location | Pace Gallery Tokyo |
'Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru' Exhibition
The Machu Picchu exhibition will show over 130 artifacts from ancient Andean civilization, some being exhibited in Japan for the first time.
| Date & Time | Nov 22, 2025-Mar 1, 2026・10:00-18:00・Friday, Saturday and the day before a holiday: 10:00-20:00 |
| Price | ¥2800 |
| Location | Mori Arts Center Gallery |
Taro Gomi Picture Book World Exhibition
Explore the world of picture books at the Picture Book World Exhibition featuring Gomi Taro, author and illustrator of over 400 books.
| Date & Time | Aug 8, 2025-May 27, 2026・10:00-18:00 |
| Price | Free |
| Location | Mikka Lirio Ichibankan |
| More Info | A separate Mikka admission fee is required for other in-house exhibits |
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Updated On October 4, 2024
