Almost everything in life is an art form in Tokyo. In additional to tradition paintings and sculptures, art is found in gardens, clothing and furnishing. Art is found in performances such as geisha entertainment, kabuki and even sumo wrestling. And, art is found in unusual places. Begin a Tokyo art quest by looking down at your feet. Sewer manhole covers throughout Tokyo are works of art decorated with flowers, bird, trees and unique aspects of the neighborhood.

On the more traditional side of art, Tokyo is home to over 200 national museums, private art collections and thousands of small galleries. Mori Art Museum perches on the 53rd floor of the Mori Tower and the view complements extensive contemporary Asian art exhibits. The Nezu Institute of Fine Art houses an impressive collection of Japanese and Chinese art and the famous Iris screen by Ogata Korin. Slippers are required for the tatami-floors of the Ota Memorial Museum of Art featuring the private woodblock print collection (Ukiyo-e) of the founder, Seizo Ota. The Bridgestone Museum of Art showcases works by masters like Monet, Picasso and Renoir and Japanese painting in Western style. The Hara National Museum of Contemporary Art is Japan’s oldest museum featuring international and Japanese works mainly from the 1950s and 1960s. The avant-garde Museum of Contemporary Tokyo (MOT) houses a vast collection of international and Japanese post-war artworks. Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography boasts over 18,000 photographs from the past to the present and around the world, primarily by Japanese photographers. Galleries abound with Asian art treasures. Check out the Tomio Koyama, Shugo Arts and Gallery Koyangi.