Nara National Museum

Information

Nara National Museum exhibits a valuable collection of ancient works of art, particularly the selected masterpieces of Buddhist art. The museum's collections are housed in two buildings. The main building of the museum was built in 1895 as the first western-style building in Nara. The building is now designated as an Important Cultural Property. Inside the building is divided into two galleries, one is for Buddhist images and another one is for ancient Chinese bronze wares.
The museum's new annex has two wings. The eastern gallery has displays of sculptures, paintings and calligraphy. The western gallery, which is mainly used for special exhibitions, displays archaeological finds. The new annex is linked to the main building by a 150 meters long underground passage. This underground area is entrance free and there are a restaurant and a museum shop along the passage.
A special exhibition is held from late October to early November every year and the treasures of the Shoso-in Hall, which holds the treasures of Todai-ji Temple, are displayed here. The exhibits include highly valuable items related to the cultures along the Silk Road.

Opening Hours

9:30 - 17:00
9:30 - 19:00 (The last Friday of April - October)

Closed

Mondays (or the following day when it falls on a national holiday)
Year-end and New Year's holidays

Price / Entrance Fee

Regular Exhibition: 520 yen (General, Adult)
Regular Exhibition: 260 yen (Child)

Access / Public Transport

15 minutes walk from Kintestu-Nara Station on the Kintetsu Nara Line

Address / Location

50, Noboriojicho, Nara-shi, Nara, 630-8213

Tweets

Amanda @akmcclen - 2021-01-21: @hnnhsmth Okay, so Politico says that fundraising for a physical space is going to start, but the National Archives… https://t.co/hyjDv0ORtc
ContempraINN🌹 @CONTEMPRA_INN - 2021-01-18: @mako671178 Dear Mako well our team lost 🥺 and that is the end of the season for us. Have you been to Nara Park? I… https://t.co/JrCkwKwOqk
Larry Dreiling @ldreiling - 2021-01-17: @AdamParkhomenko What he’ll have to do is raise the money himself. In consultation with the National Archives and R… https://t.co/T87xlOJr0e
🔥Nara🔥 | -ᆺ- @nara_akinari - 2021-01-17: @W25011987 Would love to visit SG's National Gallery. Heard so many great reviews. Once Covid is over perhaps I'll… https://t.co/jsUn5posDJ
🔥Nara🔥 | -ᆺ- @nara_akinari - 2021-01-17: @W25011987 Would love to visit SG's National Gallery. Heard so many great reviews. Once Covid is over perhaps I'll… https://t.co/jsUn5posDJ
🔥Nara🔥 | working deadlines 😖 @nara_akinari - 2021-01-17: @W25011987 Would love to visit SG's National Gallery. Heard so many great reviews. Once Covid is over perhaps I'll… https://t.co/jsUn5posDJ
W @W25011987 - 2021-01-16: @nara_akinari Hahaha last museum I was in was in Singapore haha it's our National Gallery (fking phenomenal gallery… https://t.co/JwvkPHtzKD
White House History @WhiteHouseHstry - 2021-01-11: In 1949, President Harry S. Truman became the first American president to welcome a foreign leader from the Republi… https://t.co/bO6buEXA1S
Shin SATO @shin_sato_ - 2021-01-10: The statue of the Bodhisattva sitting cross-legged at Chuguji Temple in Nara dates from the 7th century, and the Mi… https://t.co/BehWGxIj81
Maarja K. @ArchivesMaarja - 2020-12-21: My partner at the annual National Archives Foundation gala dinner in 2017 was the shop's retail manager, foundation… https://t.co/Ir9wI2bNdL
TSUMUGU: Japan Art & Culture (English ed.) @jpn_art_culture - 2020-12-11: Models of #Japan’s famous wooden structures are coming in one after another at the #Tokyo National Museum for the… https://t.co/njOSWw4tYU
TJ Helmstetter @TheTJHelm - 2020-11-24: @jeffjarvis @BeschlossDC @AntheaButler The national archives (NARA) maintains the papers. (To the extent they exist… https://t.co/TMnwfYCCXn
ALWAYS LEARNING. @planetearthx2 - 2020-11-14: Buddha at Birth and ablution basin, AD 700s, gilt bronze, Tōdaiji temple, Nara, National Treasure. Photo provided b… https://t.co/BhXMJVkbkq
Prisma 😷 @ImperialJPNfan - 2020-11-13: November 9-10: Princess Takamado (Hisako) visited Nara and Kyoto Prefectures for the 72nd Shosoin exhibition at Nar… https://t.co/S0foM9B1ut
Glamper Lady @GlamperLady - 2020-11-12: For the first time hundreds of Native American treaties have been scanned and are freely available online with… https://t.co/c6IXEzkU8d
Japan's Local Treasures @J_LocalTreasure - 2020-11-11: Did you know sumo is the national sport of Japan? Visit the sumo museum Kehayaza in Katsuragi city to learn the dee… https://t.co/2PP3xu9Xbf
Howard Stanbury @Howard_S - 2020-11-08: For #MuseumsUnlocked: Nara Period #Bronze Bowl, Tokyo National Museum

Dating from the C8, these bowls were one of… https://t.co/TLZV9tMzgv
Japan's Local Treasures @J_LocalTreasure - 2020-11-08: Did you know sumo is the national sport of Japan? Visit the sumo museum Kehayaza in Katsuragi city to learn the dee… https://t.co/Nvql4O8aYc
TT 婷婷 the Dream Weaver @leethingthing - 2020-10-27: Gallery talk by Sakae Naito, director of the Nara National Museum
https://t.co/vjvEzzUVDP
#ShosoinExhibition… https://t.co/FBfY9vM9jZ
TT 婷婷 the Dream Weaver @leethingthing - 2020-10-27: Shosoin royal warehouse and Nara National Museum Exhibition hall is less than 2km for god sake! Packing the 1200 y.… https://t.co/DIWEaULJVT
Avocet @avocet2 - 2020-10-11: @Nara_Hodge @sharonxmartin What right has the National Maritime Museum - no doubt controlled by a small bunch of ov… https://t.co/DOQ4J4lbAX
Craig Deller @Deller1708 - 2020-09-25: The Lion of the National Museum of Nara (Menshu Bodhisattva) (Important Cultural Culture. Mid-Heian period ~ late)… https://t.co/GZpN4e6kgY
White House History @WhiteHouseHstry - 2020-09-23: Truman thanked the princess for the gift, inviting her back to see it in the White House upon completion of the Whi… https://t.co/IMKb8XFxmf
🌽🌪🌽 @Born_Analog - 2020-09-18: @JenniferJJacobs Gross that he’s doing this @ national archives museum @ a time when NARA is being majorly tampered… https://t.co/97zlpiZn3v
Pasar Hope!＠日本に住む外国人向けフリマサイト @PasarHope - 2020-08-30: This blog is about my adventure to Nara Park, Nara-Japan.

My destination here was actually just Nara Park and pla… https://t.co/60csu02YVJ
黒わんこ@フリマサイトPasar Hope!の中の人 @PasarHope - 2020-08-30: This blog is about my adventure to Nara Park, Nara-Japan.

My destination here was actually just Nara Park and pla… https://t.co/60csu02YVJ
wesinjapan @wesinjapan - 2020-08-29: @David_Leheny Same issue at the Nara National Museum.
White House History @WhiteHouseHstry - 2020-08-28: In this photograph, President Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan present the National Medal of Arts during the inau… https://t.co/QbCTwLybuu
White House History @WhiteHouseHstry - 2020-08-28: President Reagan first awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1985, with recipients including Georgia O’Keeffe and R… https://t.co/NmEK7NFXQq
H24 @H24News_ - 2020-08-25: Nara Park is a large park in central Nara. Established in 1880, it is the location of many of Nara's main attractio… https://t.co/qNfRJ0aEUo
Pasar Hope!＠日本に住む外国人向けフリマサイト @PasarHope - 2020-08-07: This blog is about my adventure to Nara Park, Nara-Japan.

My destination here was actually just Nara Park and pla… https://t.co/v8Rq0WChOx