5 city-run museums in Tokyo are now offering free admission for ages 18 and under

Parents and young art seekers, rejoice: five museums in Tokyo are accessible for free to anyone aged 18 or under from now until April 5. Thanks go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, which is bringing back its ‘Welcome Youth’ programme that grants free access to the latest exhibitions and several paid facilities.

Created for young people to encounter art more easily and broaden their horizons of creative expression, Welcome Youth 2026 is offering free entrance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. The exhibitions that can be viewed during the period are as follows:

Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum: Garden admission.

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum: 100 Years of Showa and the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum.

Tokyo Photographic Art Museum: Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2026.

Tokyo Photographic Art Museum: APA Award 2026: The 54th Annual Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association Open Exhibition; W. Eugene Smith and New York: The Loft Era; TOP Collection: Don’t think. Feel. (upcoming).

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo: Sol LeWitt: Open Structure; Mission∞Infinity | Space + Quantum + Art; Multiple Self-portraits Special Feature Nakanishi Natsuyuki Ikeuchi Akiko: Arc and Catenary (MOT Collection 30th Anniversary Exhibit); Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2024–2026 Exhibition ‘Wetland’.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum: Masters of Swedish Painting from Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (100th Anniversary of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum).

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