National Museum of Art, Osaka

Osaka

LoginSave

Originally built for Expo '70, this underground construction by architect Cesar Pelli now houses Japan's fourth national museum. The building – like a submarine, with walls over 3m thick and light filtering down through skylights above the lobby – is interesting, and there's a decent, if not mind-blowing, collection of 20th-century works by Japanese and international artists. The entrance is marked by a large sculpture of steel tubes, said to resemble a butterfly. There's discounted admission Friday and Saturday nights (adult/student ¥250/70).

The museum is located towards the western end of Naka-no-shima.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Vendors prepare chestnuts to sell at Nishiki Market in Kyoto, Japan on 22 November 2016. 1011566827 traditional, street, asian, nutrition, priest, tourism, fruit, editorial, cooking, design, east, tradition, chinese, famous, stall, recommend, sale, asia, vendor, nut, cuisine, chef, color, people, culture, food, castanea, healthy, place, chestnut, travel, vegetable, market, business, tourist, architecture, marron, buy, furniture, decoration, colorful, merchant, city, nishiki market, japan, street food, japanese, sell, kyoto, shop

    Nishiki Market

    26.55 MILES

    The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…

  • Osaka, Japan - April 30, 2017: tourists looking Osaka city at Abeno Harukas, the tallest skyscraper in Japan. The building stands on top of Kintetsu Osaka Abenobashi Station near JR Tennoji Station. 919551970 Abeno Harukas Observatory

    Abeno Harukas

    3.39 MILES

    This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…

  • Path through bamboo forest

    Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

    24.6 MILES

    The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…

  • Todai-ji Temple, Nara

    Tōdai-ji

    19.8 MILES

    Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…

  • Horyuji Temple, Nara, Japan

    Hōryū-ji

    14.89 MILES

    Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…

  • Kiyomizu or Kiyomizu-dera temple in autum season at Kyoto Japan 391009933 architecture, asia, autumn, buddhism, buddhist, color, culture, dera, fall, heritage, japan, japanese, kiyomizu, kiyomizu-dera, kyoto, landmark, nature, red, religion, religious, shinto, shrine, temple, tourist, travel

    Kiyomizu-dera

    26.71 MILES

    A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…

  • People walking under thousands of Torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. 88375702 destination, historical, gate, cultural, oriental, approaching, red, kyoto, culture, landmark, attraction, history, thousand, walking, orange, corridor, shintoism, pathway, people, traditional, asia, tour, building, religious, tourist, historic, heritage, tradition, architecture, tourism, religion, shintoist, shinto, spot, tunnel, japanese, japan, fox, shrine, road, senbon dorii, senbon torii, fushimi, kansai, taisha, torii, senbon, inari, kinki, 1000

    Fushimi Inari-Taisha

    24.78 MILES

    With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…

  • (GERMANY OUT) The bell at the Chion-inTemple in the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan (Photo by Forster/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Chion-in

    27.29 MILES

    A collection of soaring buildings, spacious courtyards and gardens, Chion-in serves as the headquarters of the Jōdo sect, the largest school of Buddhism…

View more attractions

Nearby Osaka attractions

1. Osaka City Hall

0.59 MILES

A mid-1980s building incorporating some elements from the 1921 City Hall.

2. Osaka Central Public Hall

0.69 MILES

Built in 1911, this dramatic, red-brick neo-Renaissance building is an important cultural property.

3. O-hatsu Ten-jin

0.72 MILES

Hiding in plain sight amid the skyscrapers of Umeda, this 1300-year-old shrine owes its fame to one of Japan's best-known tragic plays (based on true…

4. Museum of Oriental Ceramics

0.79 MILES

This museum has one of the world's finest collections of Chinese and Korean ceramics, with smaller galleries of Japanese ceramics and Chinese snuff…

5. Umeda Sky Building

0.96 MILES

Osaka's landmark Sky Building (1993) resembles a 40-storey, space-age Arc de Triomphe. Twin towers are connected at the top by a 'floating garden' (really…

6. Naka-no-shima-kōen

1.05 MILES

Osaka's first public park, created in 1891 at the eastern end of Naka-no-shima, is a good place for an afternoon stroll or picnic lunch.

7. Osaka Tenman-gū

1.23 MILES

Founded in the 10th century, this shrine is where Osaka students come to pray for success: it's dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, also known as Tenjin-san,…

8. Tenjinbashi-suji Shōtengai

1.27 MILES

Japan's largest covered shopping arcade, which began as a wet market during the Edo period (1604–1868), stretches 2.6km over six blocks. The majority of…