With a cultured demographic that is hugely supportive of the arts, Japan and indeed Tokyo is one of the most vibrant art capitals in the Eastern hemisphere, with literally hundreds of art exhibitions and events going on every day in the city especially during the Spring and Summer seasons.
This is one of the biggest reasons why I love visiting the city every year; besides catching up with my friends and stuffing my face with delicious local eats, visiting art exhibitions take up a big chunk of my itinerary.
Due to the busy schedule of my work this year, I will only be in Tokyo for one short week, so I have meticulously picked this list of 5 art exhibitions that absolutely want to see. I thought it might be a good guide for anyone else who might be visiting Tokyo around the spring/summer period as well.
1) Ron Mueck ( Mori Art Museum )
I’ve seen the giant figurative sculptures of UK based Australian artist Ron Mueck on social media many times before and have always been fascinated by his work, so this is one exhibition that I am very excited to see indeed.
2) Monet – Questioning Nature ( Artizon Museum )
One of the biggest champions of the Impressionist art movement, Claude Monet is very, very popular in Japan, and I’ve actually visited several of his exhibitions in Tokyo previously as well. Every new exhibition features art work that I’ve not had the chance to see before, so I’m definitely down for this one.
3) Ex Machina Galactica ( Vanilla Gallery )
The ‘holy triumvirate’ of Japanese erotic art – Katsuya Terada / Sorayama Hajime and Rockin’ Jellybean are back again with another collaborative exhibition, and as a big fan of all their work I certainly won’t want to miss this one.
4) Andrew Wyeth – Boundaries or Windows ( Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum )
Andrew Wyeth is one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century, and this might actually be the first time that a major collection of his work is exhibited in Japan, so of course I need to be there.
5) Sorayama: Light, Reflection, Transparency ( Creative Museum Tokyo )
The very same Sorayama Hajime that I mentioned in another exhibition above ( Ex Machina Galactica ), this is a separate solo exhibition by the artist showcasing his series of ‘shiny robots’ art.
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And so these 5 exhibitions are the ones on the very top of my agenda during my short one week stay in Tokyo. There are of course many many more fantastic exhibitions covering a wide gamut of art genres, and I highly recommend checking out the excellent Tokyo Artbeat site for a full and comprehensive listing if you are planning a visit to Tokyo/Japan yourself.
I will of course be writing more about each exhibition when I return from my trip in May, so look out for my coverage and pictures.
You might also be interested in these items :
Tokyo Spring Trip 2024 – The Magic North Art Exhibition
Tokyo Spring/Summer Trip 2017
Inoue Naohisa Art Exhibition – Summer 2019, Tokyo.
La Bretagne Art Exhibition – Tokyo Spring Trip 2023
Trash! Trash! Trash! – Rockin’ Jellybean Exhibition, Tokyo Spring Trip 2023
April 18th, 2026 at 6:58 am
I was lucky enough to be in Tokyo to see the Sorayama and Ghost in the Shell exhibits last month! Incredible stuff. Would love to see Ex-Machina Galactica but I’m back home now. But can’t wait for that book! I’m gonna be refreshing that page until it becomes avaibale for sale! Update us on what other cool merch elements they have there!
April 21st, 2026 at 3:41 pm
Stuart – So envious you got to see the GITS exhibition, that is one I really wanted to visit ! I’m hoping I can track down the catalog art book for the exhibition when I’m in Tokyo next month ! And yes, I’ll definitely be sharing cool stuff I see either on my Twitter timeline or via posts here when I return. Cheers !
April 22nd, 2026 at 2:16 pm
I did grab the catalogue while I was there. It’s a behemoth! I also got the catalogue from the Sorayama exhibit too but still in shrink wrap. Waiting til I get some free time to properly go over them in detail 🙂 I keep seeing previews of RJBs new art for this upcoming show and I’m so excited to see the full pieces!!
May 7th, 2026 at 3:52 pm
I saw Sorayma exhibition last week. Mainly it’s his very recent works which are shown. Technically it’s still amazing, but his inspiration stays the same.
Ron Muech and Wyeth are also in my program. But not ex Machina Galactica. I refuse to pay to visit a gallery.
I have time to visit these exhibitions since I’m living in Tokyo.
Too much Monet. In Japan, they spend their time to show impressionists, Klimt, Lalique and Mucha.
May 9th, 2026 at 5:36 am
Daniel – Very envious you live in Japan and get to visit any exhibition you want, whenever you want !
May 9th, 2026 at 4:12 pm
You know what? The Sorayama large paintings (and maybe the smaller older ones) shown at his exhibition are digital prints on canvas!
There is no mention of this in the rooms. So, if you buy the book sold in the store of the museum, no need to visit the exhibition: pieces of art look the same.
I am very disapointed.
It happens more and more in Japan. Organizers never mention it. I already saw Terrada Katsuyo’s works shown at the museum of manga in Kyoto where 90% were digital prints. It was easy to realize it and not surprising since a draws everything digital tools.
Another Terrada’s one in a gallery, same.
Last year the work of Kaneko Atsushi shown at the Vanilla Gallery was also prints. I won’t be surprised if it is the same with Ex Machina Galactica. It’s never mentioned.
When I visited Sorayama’s exhibition I found a little bit strange that looking at the painting as close at five centimeters no traces of brush, or airbrush masks or pencils were visible.
I found the explanation, by chance, written in very small characters in the captions of repros of some paintings in the promotional document of the exhibition: “acrylic and digital print on canvas”. That means Sorayama probably drew the original at small size, then enlarged it, printed it in color and added the background in acrylic.
Still, the price of the ticket is the maximum price for an exhibition in Tokyo.
As for me this is rather dishonest. I am a former illustrator/art director. The main reason I visit exhibitions is to discover the technics of artists I love. If it’s just to watch a picture, I prefer buying a book.
Luckely, Wyeth and Monet’s work will not be digital prints… Well, I hope.
Pardon my poor English, I don’t want to be helped by an AI. 🙂
May 16th, 2026 at 6:22 pm
Daniel – That you for the information, that is unfortunate indeed. I remember visiting the Shirow Masamune exhibition last year and some of his most iconic illustrations were digital prints and not the originals indeed, which is disappointing. T__T
I am quite confident Wyeth and Monet’s work will be originals. It would be pointless otherwise, and an outrage to charge visitors if they are not !
Oh and your English is excellent !
May 22nd, 2026 at 4:48 pm
I visited the Wyeth’s exhibition yesterday. Great!
I really enjoyed. My only regret is that there is no portrait (except two) and no nude. Only landscape and houses. But what a sens of light and shade and composition!
His most famous paintings are not shown. Mainly the pieces of art shown come from Japanese museums and private collections. It’s amazing, Wyeth himself was surprised by his success in Japan. I guess this is because Japan kept a strong tradition of realism in art.
The catalog is beautiful.
May 26th, 2026 at 5:39 pm
Daniel – I really enjoyed it too. Like you said some of his most famous works like ‘Christina’s World’ were not on display, but nonetheless it was a great exhibition.