Sannomaru Shozokan Tickets 2026: Hours & Best Works

Sannomaru Shozokan tickets for 2026 cost ¥2,500 for adults, are free for anyone under 23, and must be booked in advance for a 30-minute time slot, because nothing is sold at the door. The Museum of the Imperial Collections, inside the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, fully reopened on 3 November 2026 with a three-part show of imperial treasures that runs until 24 January 2027.

This guide covers prices, how to book on the two official ticket sites, opening hours and the many one-off closed days, which works are on show in each period, and how to reach the museum through the right gate. Every price and date below comes from the museum’s own pages or the Imperial Household Agency, checked on 5 November 2026. Where something has not been published, we say so.

Is Sannomaru Shozokan open again?

Yes. The museum announced that it would fully open on Tuesday 3 November 2026, a national holiday, and it is now open. It had been partly open in a new wing since November 2023, then closed so the old and new sections could be joined.

The museum opened in November 1993 to look after works the imperial family gave to the nation in 1989, after Emperor Shōwa’s death. More collections from other imperial households followed. In 2023 it moved from the Imperial Household Agency to the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage and took its current name, according to the museum history page.

The rebuilt museum has three galleries, a lecture hall and a shop, all on one floor. Press reports put the new exhibition space at roughly eight times the old 160 m² gallery (Bijutsu Techo; Jiji Press via Nippon.com). Bijutsu Techo counts about 6,300 works in the collection, including 10 National Treasures.

How much are Sannomaru Shozokan tickets in 2026–27?

Each of the three grand-opening exhibitions has its own ticket. These are the official prices from the museum ticket page, tax included. Lectures and slide talks need a separate event ticket at the same price, which includes exhibition entry.

Exhibition	Dates	Adult	Ticket sales
Beauty Through the Ages: Treasures of the Imperial Collections	3 Nov 2026 – 24 Jan 2027	¥2,500	On sale by period (see below)
Sacred Garden of Birds and Flowers (Itō Jakuchū)	4 Feb – 14 Mar 2027	¥3,000	Not yet on sale; date not announced
Japanese Calligraphy: A 1,300-Year Legacy of Beauty	25 Mar – 16 May 2027	¥2,500	Not yet on sale; date not announced

Who gets in free?

Free entry is generous, and many travellers miss it. The rules are the same for all three exhibitions:

Visitor	Price	Reservation?	Bring
Anyone under 23 on the day	Free	Yes, required	ID showing age (passport works)
University, high school and junior high students	Free	Yes, required	Valid student ID
Elementary school children and younger	Free	Not needed	Nothing (come with a guardian)
Disability certificate holders plus one carer	Free	Not needed	Disability certificate or Mirairo ID
Japan Association of Museums or ICOM members	Free	Not needed	Membership card

There is no senior discount on the published price list. A 70-year-old pays the same ¥2,500 as a 30-year-old.

How to book Sannomaru Shozokan tickets 2026: ART PASS or 7 Ticket?

The exhibition ticket page lists two official sellers. Both sell the same timed slots; the difference is the format, the fee and what you can change.

	ART PASS	7 Ticket
Ticket type	E-ticket with QR code on your phone	Paper ticket printed at a 7-Eleven
Booking fee	None	¥110 per ticket (web bookings)
Changes	Date or time can be changed up to twice	No changes
Cancellation or refund	Not possible	Not possible
Best for	Most visitors, especially from abroad	Anyone who wants a paper ticket
Link	ART PASS booking page	7 Ticket booking page

For 7 Ticket, a payment receipt or screenshot does not get you in; you must print the paper ticket at a 7-Eleven. The ART PASS page only loads in a JavaScript-enabled browser, and we could not confirm whether it offers an English interface, so a browser translation tool may help.

When do tickets go on sale for each period?

The opening exhibition is split into three periods, and tickets for each period open separately at 10:00 Japan time:

Period	Dates	Tickets on sale from
Early	3 Nov – 23 Nov 2026	12 Sep 2026 (on sale now)
Middle	26 Nov – 20 Dec 2026	Wed 11 Nov 2026, 10:00
Late	23 Dec 2026 – 24 Jan 2027	Wed 2 Dec 2026, 10:00

How the time slots work

• Slots are 30 minutes long, from 9:30 to the last 16:30 slot (14 a day).
• On late-opening Fridays and Saturdays, extra slots run from 16:30 to 19:30.
• A slot closes when it is full. If space is left, you can book up to one minute before it starts.
• You must enter in your own slot. Arriving late can mean refused entry.
• Once inside, you can move around freely, but you cannot come back in after leaving the building.
• The museum will not tell you availability by phone. Check the booking site instead.

Sannomaru Shozokan hours and closed days

Standard hours are 9:30–17:00, last entry 16:30. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until 20:00, last entry 19:30, according to the visitor page. The museum is normally closed on Mondays, over New Year, on the Emperor’s Birthday (23 February) and between exhibitions.

During the opening exhibition the closed days are irregular, so check this list against your dates. It comes from the exhibition page:

Month	Closed	Open despite being Monday
November 2026	Mon 9, 16, 30; Tue 24 and Wed 25 (changeover)	Mon 23 Nov (Labour Thanksgiving Day)
December 2026	Mon 7, 14, 21; Tue 22 (changeover); 28–31 Dec	–
January 2027	1–3 Jan; Mon 4 and 18; Tue 12	Mon 11 Jan (Coming of Age Day)

The museum also says it may close temporarily for other reasons, so look at the official calendar the day before you go.

Hours of the East Gardens around the museum

The free East Gardens follow their own timetable. From 1 November to the end of February they open 9:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30), and they are closed on Mondays, Fridays and from 28 December to 3 January, according to the Imperial Household Agency. So on a Friday the museum is open but the gardens are not.

For a combined visit, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday works best. Book a morning museum slot and walk the gardens before 15:30.

What to see at the opening exhibition, period by period

The opening show, Beauty Through the Ages: Treasures of the Imperial Collections, brings together the museum’s National Treasures, treasures from the Shōsōin repository in Nara, Hōryūji temple treasures now kept at the Tokyo National Museum, and modern imperial commissions. All works change between periods, so the period you book decides what you see. These are the highlights the museum lists:

Period	Highlights on show
Early (3–23 Nov 2026)	Shōsōin biwa lute of red sandalwood with mother-of-pearl inlay (8th century); Shōsōin octagonal mirror with mother-of-pearl back (Tang China, 8th century); Kanō Tan’yū’s Tale of Genji screen, right side (1642); Itō Jakuchū’s Phoenix and Rising Sun (1755); a chrysanthemum maki-e bookshelf (1903, Important Cultural Property)
Middle (26 Nov – 20 Dec 2026)	National Treasure gigaku mask (Chidō) and National Treasure dragon-head ewer, both 7th century, from the Hōryūji treasures; Lady Maya and heavenly figures (Important Cultural Property); world map folding screens (17th century, Important Cultural Property); Yokoyama Kakei’s insect painting; Tomioka Tessai (1923)
Late (23 Dec 2026 – 24 Jan 2027)	National Treasure Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasions, first scroll (13th century, part shown); National Treasure Chinese Lions screen by Kanō Eitoku, right side (16th century); Yokoyama Taikan’s dragon screen (1936); a basket-shaped bonbonnière (1915); a Joseon fan with pearls

Which period should you book?

• Early is the only chance to see the Shōsōin pieces in this show. It ends on 23 November, and tickets are on sale now.
• Middle is the one for early Buddhist art, with two 7th-century National Treasures. Tickets open on 11 November.
• Late has the two big-name National Treasures: Eitoku’s Chinese Lions and the Mongol invasion scroll. It also covers the New Year holidays, when the museum is shut from 28 December to 3 January. Tickets open on 2 December.

The full catalogue costs ¥3,000 (274 pages), and the audio guide narrated by actress Anne rents on site for ¥700. The museum did not list the audio guide’s languages when we checked. Event tickets are also sold for lectures and short evening slide talks on 5 December, 11 December and 8 January; see the events list.

What’s on at Sannomaru Shozokan in 2027?

Two more grand-opening exhibitions follow. Both use the same timed-entry rules and free entry for under-23s. Ticket sale dates had not been announced on 5 November 2026.

Itō Jakuchū’s 30 scrolls (4 February – 14 March 2027)

The museum’s English title is Sacred Garden of Birds and Flowers: Itō Jakuchū’s Colorful Realm of Living Beings and Painting in Kyoto. All 30 hanging scrolls of the National Treasure Colorful Realm of Living Beings (Dōshoku Sai-e) will be shown together, which the exhibition page says is the first time in about ten years. Tickets cost ¥3,000. Some works rotate during the run.

Expect this to be the busiest of the three shows. Watch the museum site for the sale date and book on day one.

Japanese calligraphy (25 March – 16 May 2027)

Japanese Calligraphy: A 1,300-Year Legacy of Beauty runs in two periods (25 March – 18 April and 21 April – 16 May), with major changes between them. The exhibition page names the Sōran-jō, an early copy of work by the Chinese master Wang Xizhi, plus imperial handwriting, sutra copies and Zen ink calligraphy. Tickets cost ¥2,500. It is closed on 20 April and 6 May, and open on Monday 3 May.

The run overlaps with cherry blossom season and Golden Week, so the East Gardens will be busy too.

How to get to Sannomaru Shozokan: stations and gates

The museum sits about 100 metres inside Ōtemon Gate, the main entrance to the East Gardens. You must pass through one of the garden gates, and there is a bag inspection at entry, so the access page advises allowing extra time.

Gate	Nearest station	Walk	Open
Ōtemon (main gate)	Otemachi, Exit C13a (subway)	About 5 min	Every day the museum is open
Ōtemon	JR Tokyo Station, Marunouchi North Exit	About 15 min	Every day the museum is open
Ōtemon	Nijūbashimae, Exit 6 (Chiyoda Line)	About 10 min	Every day the museum is open
Hirakawamon	Takebashi, Exit 1a (Tōzai Line)	About 10 min to the museum	Closed Mondays and Fridays
Kitahanebashimon	Takebashi, Exit 1a (Tōzai Line)	About 15 min to the museum	Closed Mondays and Fridays

Walking times to Ōtemon are from the museum and Imperial Household Agency pages; the two Takebashi times are to the museum itself. There is no car or bicycle parking, and vehicles cannot enter the gardens.

On Fridays, and whenever the gardens are closed, Ōtemon is the only way in. The museum does not say which gates stay open for its 16:30–19:30 evening slots after the gardens close at 16:00, so plan on Ōtemon for a late visit.

Inside the museum: lockers, photos and food

The museum guide page covers the practical bits most guides skip:

• Lockers: coin lockers take a ¥100 coin, which you get back. Staff at the information counter hold bags too big for them.
• Food and drink: there is no café or restaurant. Drinks are allowed in the entrance lobby only.
• Photos: the rules change by exhibition and by work. Where photos are allowed, video, panoramas, flash, tripods and selfie sticks are banned.
• Facilities: free Wi-Fi, a museum shop, accessible toilets with ostomate facilities and baby-changing tables. Ask staff if you need a room to nurse or rest.
• Languages: museum leaflets are in English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Korean, and the website has an English section.

The shop sells exhibition goods including a limited Toraya yōkan gift box and a plush version of Eitoku’s Chinese lions; prices were not listed on the goods page.

How to plan a half day around the museum

The museum takes 60–90 minutes for most people; that is our estimate, not an official figure. Pair it with the free East Gardens, laid out on the grounds of Edo Castle; the museum itself stands on the castle’s former third enclosure (sannomaru), which gives it its name. In late autumn the gardens add maples and ginkgo. Our Tokyo autumn leaves guide has the 2026 colour timing.

A simple route: Otemachi Exit C13a, a morning slot at the museum, then the gardens until lunch. Walk south through Marunouchi to Ginza for food and shopping; our Ginza guide picks up from there.

Saturdays give the most flexibility: the gardens are open by day and the museum stays open until 20:00. For more museums and shows, see art exhibitions in Tokyo, our Tokyo museum guide and Tokyo events in November 2026.

Sannomaru Shozokan tickets 2026 FAQ

Sources and how we checked

All prices, dates, hours and access details in this guide were checked on 5 November 2026 against the linked official sources: the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan (shozokan.nich.go.jp), its grand-opening ticket pages, and the Imperial Household Agency’s East Gardens page. Gallery size and collection figures come from Bijutsu Techo and Jiji Press, as marked. Anything not yet published, such as 2027 ticket sale dates, is labelled as not announced.