WATARI-UM, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art ワタリウム美術館

Contemporary art for aficionados

Conveniently located a short walk from Omotesando and Harajuku, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art showcases modern art across a range of mediums, including sculpture, photography, and industrial design. The museum’s exterior structure alone is worthy of a visit; designed by Swiss architect Mario Botta, whose minimal, geometric buildings include world-renowned sites like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Casino di Campione in Italy. Head inside to find curated seasonal exhibitions focusing on contemporary 21st-century artists. Past exhibitions have featured works by Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yayoi Kusama.

A private museum opened in 1990, it works to nurture contemporary art in Japan on an international stage. Functioning as a space for cultivating one-of-a-kind and new voices in the art world, spend some time in the first-floor cafe and bookstore area after browsing the curated works upstairs.