Yayoi Kusama and Archaeology. A tour of art galleries and museums in Matsumoto, a city of art
Matsumoto, a city rich in history, is a fusion of contemporary art, including the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, where you can experience the origins of Yayoi Kusama, and a city with a rich history. Its unique worldview, where the old and new intersect, attracts visitors, and the city boasts unwavering popularity as a "city of art. In addition to contemporary art, the city has a wide variety of museums covering genres from archaeology to modern art and culture, allowing visitors to fully enjoy walking around the city that stimulates their senses.
＜Recommended museums in Matsumoto
1Matsumoto City Museum of Art
Museum where you can encounter Yayoi Kusama art.
The Matsumoto City Museum of Art, a 12-minute walk from Matsumoto Station, is famous for "Phantom Flower," an outdoor sculpture by Yayoi Kusama, a world-renowned artist from Matsumoto City, who makes her presence known through her wall design and entrance.
The museum is a comprehensive art museum that exhibits works of art by artists with ties to Matsumoto, and also has a citizens' gallery to interact with the local community beyond the viewing of works of art.
Exhibitions with a wide variety of artworks
The first floor of the museum is a studio space for the general public and children, while the second floor houses a citizens' gallery and a special exhibition room. The works of calligraphy, Western-style painting, sculpture, and art are on permanent display. The third floor alone is well worth a visit, as visitors can experience art from all perspectives, including calligraphy, Western-style painting, sculpture, and contemporary art.
The museum store sells postcards and other goods from the collection, so you can take home a memorable work of art as a souvenir.
- Matsumoto City Museum of Art
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4-2-22 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
12 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
From Matsumoto Station, take the Alpico Kotsu Bus "Kita City Line East-bound" and get off at Matsumoto City Museum of Art.
From Matsumoto Station, take the Town Sneaker "East Course" and get off at Matsumoto City Museum of Art.
9:00-17:00 (admission until 16:30)
Mondays, Year-end and New Year holidays
Collection Exhibition: Adults 410 yen, college and high school students 200 yen, junior high school students and younger free
0263-39-7400
Free of charge
2Matsumoto City Clock and Watch Museum
Don't miss the old clock made in 18th century England
The museum opened in 2002, and its main collection consists of valuable Japanese and Western clocks donated to the city of Matsumoto by the late Oyazo Honda, a researcher and clockmaker of old clocks, who collected them over his lifetime. In keeping with the wishes of Mr. Honda, who said, "I want people to see clocks in motion," a full-time technician maintains the museum every day so that clocks in working condition can be displayed. The sound of time signals coming from all over the museum at the stroke of the hour (every hour) is also a delightful experience.
The most impressive of the exhibits is the "Grandfather Clock," a clock over 2 meters tall, which was used in 18th century England and has a wonderfully ornate, massive, and dignified appearance. The pendulum-shaped clock, said to be one of the largest in Japan, is also installed as a symbol on the exterior wall of the museum and can be easily spotted from the street.
A valuable Japanese clock from the Edo period is also on display.
On the second floor, rare Japanese clocks produced and used from the Edo period to the early Meiji period are also on display. One such example is a turret clock from the mid-Edo period. A variety of old clocks, from precious Japanese clocks to beautifully designed Western clocks, large table clocks, and pocket watches, mark the passage of time.
Old phonographs are also on display, as they were once maintained by a clockmaker. On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the museum holds SP record appreciation events. The museum has a collection of over 600 old clocks, mainly from the Honda Collection, donated from inside and outside of the prefecture, with easy-to-understand display methods and many events.
- Matsumoto Clock and Watch Museum
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- 1-21-15 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes walk from JR Matsumoto Station
- 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
- Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a holiday), December 29 - January 3
- Adults 300 yen (high school students and older), children 150 yen (junior high school students and younger)
- 0263-36-0969
- None
3Matsumoto Municipal Museum of Archaeology
Jomon period earthenware up close
The museum is located in the Nakayama area, a peaceful mountain village in the suburbs of Matsumoto City, and exhibits materials excavated in the Matsumoto Plain area, mainly from the Jomon Period to around the Heian Period. The area is also home to the Nakayama Kofun Tumulus Group, a treasure trove of small circular mounds with many burial accessories excavated. An illustrated map of the area around the museum is also available, so visitors can enjoy looking at the tumuli and touring the restored pit houses and other structures.
It is also interesting to see the changes in earthenware from the Jomon period, about 5,000 years ago, with its gorgeous rope patterns, to the arabesque patterns toward the late Jomon period. Many of the valuable excavated artifacts are on display in the open, allowing visitors to observe them up close and personal.
Various Menus for Ancient Experience
In the exhibition room, there are pottery puzzles to assemble disparate pieces of pottery back together, as well as pottery shards and obsidian that you can touch. There is also a mini-ancient experience area where visitors can make Jomon patterns on clay and rub nuts, which is popular with children. A variety of events are held at the museum, including an experience of flying an ancient bow and arrow, a bow and arrow making class, a Jomon pottery making class, a Jomon tsukidama making class, a fire making class, and so on. Registration is required, so please check the event information in advance.
- Matsumoto Municipal Archaeological Museum
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- 3738-1 Nakayama, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes drive from JR Minami-Matsumoto Station
- 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
- March-November: Mondays, December-February: Open only on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays, Year-end and New Year holidays
- Adults 200 yen (high school students and older), children free (junior high school students and younger)
- 0263-86-4710
- Free of charge
4Matsumoto Folk Crafts Museum
A variety of folk crafts with an appealing simple beauty
The museum was founded in 1962 by the late Taro Maruyama, Matsumoto's leading folk art activist. The exterior of the museum is characterized by the traditional Japanese wall-painting style "namako kabe" (sea cucumber walls) of the warehouse structure. The museum constantly displays and exhibits about 800 items from the more than 6,800 domestic and foreign folk crafts collected by Mr. Maruyama throughout his life. On display are Matsumoto tansu, a traditional Matsumoto craft, as well as woven bamboo and rattan baskets, kori, pots, and turtles. Unlike art and antiques, folk crafts used by people in their daily lives have a simple beauty that is comforting just to look at.
Notice the differences in design depending on the period and region.
The museum displays furniture produced in Matsumoto and other cities in Japan and abroad. The appearance of the furniture is simple and elegant at the same time. The chairs in particular are worth seeing, as they are furniture for sitting, yet they are so different from each other.
The special exhibitions held four times a year, such as those of Ko-Imari and Seto ceramics, which Maruyama collected with great relish, have become the talk of the town for their diverse approaches to art. The Property also has a museum store that sells original goods, making it a good place to pick up souvenirs.
- Matsumoto Folk Crafts Museum
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- 1313-1 Satoyamaabe, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 15 minutes by bus from JR Matsumoto Station to Matsumoto Folk Crafts Museum. 3 minutes walk from Matsumoto Folk Crafts Museum.
- 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
- Mondays (if Monday is a national holiday, the museum is open on Monday and closed the following day), Year-end and New Year holidays
- Adults (high school students and older): 310 yen, Free for junior high school students and younger
- 0263-33-1569
5Matsumoto City History Village
A group of valuable buildings where you can experience the modern history of Shinshu firsthand
The "Open-Air Museum of Tatemono" is an exhibition and preservation facility of five valuable buildings that were built mainly in the suburbs of Matsumoto City from the late Edo period to the early Showa period (1926-1989), including the "Former Matsumoto District Court House," which was designated as a National Important Cultural Property in 2017, the "Former Showa Kogyo Silk Mill," which has been used for filming movies and TV dramas, etc. The "Former Showa Kogyo Silk Mill," which has been used for filming movies and TV dramas, has been beautifully maintained and preserved. Visitors to the Property can experience firsthand Matsumoto's modern history and culture, as well as enjoy the mysterious atmosphere of being transported back in time.
Experience the atmosphere of a trial room in those days
Photography is allowed inside the Property. At the "Former Matsumoto District Court Building," visitors can wear a replica of the legal uniform used in the courtroom under the Meiji Constitution and take photos. In addition, we recommend the free guided tours by volunteer guides. By carefully learning the history of each of the buildings on display and preserved, visitors can get a more realistic sense of the history of Shinshu.
At the museum store, visitors can purchase original products such as tenugui hand towels printed with the words "Total Victory" and "Unjust Judgment," as well as accessories created with traditional Matsumoto techniques.
- Matsumoto Historical Village
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- 2196-1 Shimadate, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 15 minutes walk from Matsumoto Electric Railway Oba Station.
- 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:00)
- Mondays (open if Monday is a national holiday, closed the following day), year-end and New Year holidays
- Adults (high school students and older): 410 yen, Free for junior high school students and younger
- 0263-47-4515
Reservations required for guided tours.
