Japan Ukiyo-e Museum

Very nice museum and the walk from the train station is peaceful and beautiful in itself worth the trip. If you appreciate traditional Japanese art worth a stop. There's a 30 min video supposedly available also in English explaining how wood prints are made, just watching the craftsmanship was super interesting

Excellent little museum with a peerless collection of ukiyo-e prints and a solid gift shop. Good explanatory video running and helpful staff. The pieces in show are low in number due to the size of the gallery and to help conserve them due to light/oil exposure. TIP: transit does not easily get you here without a car. Use Uber or equivalent to get legit taxis to and from!

Highly recommended museum visit to enjoy the beautiful woodblock prints on display.

Exquisite art and unforgettable experiences. The last time I visited, Ganko Sakai gave me his business card, then had his secretary set up a screen. He showed a film. We then toured the museum. Although I had been directed there by train, I stayed at a ryokan, then a taxi took me on the short ride to the museum. I observed the route. Next time, I walked there. I have 2 posters gifted me, his business card ... and the memories of a lifetime.

Like many messages said here, this is not a big museum or a big gallery. Many art works were not even the original one. But, the visitors all seemed to enjoy their staying. They paid attention to these paintings quietly. Also, you can find English description in most paintings, covering not only the name of the painting, but also the story of the painting.

This museum is tough to recommend for its normally displayed collection, which is tiny (by tiny, I mean 30 pieces max). It's also not easy to get to, being a 15-20 minute walk from the nearest train station and buses aren't much better. As such, if you're going to visit I recommend seeing what the special collection is that they have on display - their special collections take up their main display room, which is 3x the size of the rest of the museum. If the special collection is not to your taste, I would not recommend visiting. If it is however (or if you have access to a car and can make the journey without depending on the limited public transit options, it is a charming building with a very good gift shop - there are a number of prints done via woodblock techniques if you're looking for one (plus a lot of other ukiyo-e-related gifts that I haven't seen anywhere else in Japan). In the end I'll give it four stars for the quality of their special collection curation, the format shop, and decent AC on a hot day... just be warned it might not tick all of your ukiyo-e boxes.

Small but informative. There's a video covering the process and a little of the history, and then a room with a collection of prints with information in English and Japanese. A shuttle bus runs to and from the area on the alps side of Matsumoto JR station and there are two train lines within walking distance.

The museum looks big from the outside, but it's just one room with maybe 150 or so works. The exhibit is rotated often. If it wasn't for the 500 yen student ticket, I would be a little annoyed at the price.