The Japanese Sword Museum (Token Hakubutsukan) is in Ryogoku, a 7-minute walk from JR Ryogoku Station. It is the museum of the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, open 9:30 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays. Standard adult admission is ¥1,000 and varies by exhibition; the autumn special exhibition, Master Swordsmiths of East and West: Kotetsu and Sukehiro (24 October to 20 December 2026), is ¥1,500. It is a place to look at swords as art, behind glass. If you also want to hold one, pair it with a sword lesson in Asakusa, a short ride north.
Hours, tickets and getting there
Because the museum closes between exhibitions, check the current show before you go; a closed week here is easy to walk into if you only check the opening hours.
What you will see
The museum moved to Ryogoku from Yoyogi and opened here in January 2018. It stands in the former Yasuda Garden and carries on the architecture of the Taisho-era Ryogoku Public Hall that once stood on the site (Waraku). There are three floors: the ticket desk, museum shop, a café and a lecture hall on the ground floor, a reading room on the second, and the exhibition hall and a roof garden on the third (floor guide).
So this is one exhibition floor of themed shows, not a sprawling national collection. That is the right expectation: you come for a small number of blades shown carefully, with space to look at each one. The autumn 2026 show sets two Edo-period masters side by side, Nagasone Kotetsu, who worked in Edo, and Tsuda Echizen no kami Sukehiro, who worked in Osaka (exhibition page).
What to look at. Look along the edge for the hamon, the pale hardened line the smith set with clay before quenching, and at the grain of the steel above it, which comes from folding. Each smith and school leaves a different pattern, which is why two blades that look alike from a metre away look nothing alike up close. If you want the background before you go, our guide to how Japanese swords are made covers the steel, the forging and the licensing rules in a few minutes' reading.
Can you hold a sword here?
Not in the exhibition. The society that runs the museum also holds regular viewing sessions where swords can be handled (its FAQ); check its website for dates and who can join before you plan around one.
For most visitors the practical way to hold a katana, with instruction in English, is a sword lesson. The Samurai Ninja Museum in Asakusa runs one with its guided tour included, and a family version that takes children from age 3. Ryogoku in the morning and an Asakusa sword lesson in the afternoon makes a full sword day.
Hold a Katana: Sword Lessons in Asakusa
At the Samurai Ninja Museum, a short ride from Ryogoku. See the Asakusa museum guide for how a visit works. Prices as of October 2026.
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Asakusa Sword Experience with Museum Tour
The hands-on half of a sword day: hakama, a lesson with a katana and photos with swords, plus the Samurai Ninja Museum's guided tour in Asakusa. About two hours, ages 10 and up.
Family Sword Experience (Asakusa)
Hakama, armor and helmet try-on, and full-power cuts at a samurai-shaped target. About two hours, ages 3 and up, so it works with children.
Museum Basic Ticket & Guided Tour (Asakusa)
The short version: an English-guided tour of the Samurai Ninja Museum, armor and helmet try-on, shuriken throwing and holding swords for photos. About an hour.
Buying a katana in Tokyo
Yes, a visitor can buy a real one. A registered Japanese sword needs no licence to own. It comes with its registration certificate, and a sword without one has to pass registration through a prefectural board of education before it can be kept. The society that runs the museum does not sell or value swords; its own FAQ sends buyers to sword dealers and to the national sword dealers' cooperative (museum FAQ).
Taking it home
A registered sword leaving Japan needs the Agency for Cultural Affairs' export certificate for antique art objects, and National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties cannot, in principle, be exported. The registration certificate becomes invalid the moment the sword leaves Japan and must be returned to the board of education that issued it (Tokyo Board of Education; Agency for Cultural Affairs). Before you pay, ask the dealer who files the export certificate, how long it takes, and whether they ship the sword or you carry it.
Flying with it
Swords travel in checked baggage only. The US TSA allows them in checked bags when sheathed or securely wrapped (TSA). Check your airline and your own country's import rules before you buy, not at the airport.
Replicas
Zinc-alloy display swords and practice swords are not nihonto and are not registered. They are sold openly, but carrying a metal imitation sword in public without a good reason is an offence in Japan (Nagano Prefectural Police), so keep one boxed until you reach your hotel or the airport.
Look in Ryogoku, then hold a katana in Asakusa
The museum shows you what a great blade is. The Samurai Ninja Museum in Asakusa puts one in your hands: hakama, a hands-on katana lesson and the guided tour, about two hours, from about ¥11,900 as of October 2026, with a family version from about ¥8,100.
Frequently Asked Questions
In Ryogoku, Sumida Ward, at 1-12-9 Yokoami. It is a 7-minute walk from the West Exit of JR Ryogoku Station on the Sobu Line and a 5-minute walk from Exit A1 of Ryogoku Station on the Toei Oedo Line. The museum moved to Ryogoku from Yoyogi and opened there in January 2018.
Standard adult admission is ¥1,000; fees vary by exhibition, and the special exhibition Master Swordsmiths of East and West: Kotetsu and Sukehiro (24 October to 20 December 2026) is ¥1,500. Students pay ¥500 and under-15s enter free. Prices as of October 2026.
9:30 to 17:00, last admission 16:30. It is closed on Mondays (when a Monday is a public holiday it opens that day and closes on the Tuesday instead), between exhibitions while the display is changed, and over the New Year holidays.
Yes, if you want to see Japanese swords as works of art. It is the museum of the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords, with one exhibition floor of themed shows. It is a quiet, look-only visit with no hands-on element, so it suits people who already care about swords or want to understand what makes a good blade. To hold a katana, add a sword lesson in Asakusa the same day.
Not in the exhibition, where the swords are behind glass. The society that runs the museum also holds regular viewing sessions where swords can be handled; check its website for dates and who can join. For a katana in your hands with English instruction, a sword lesson at the Samurai Ninja Museum in Asakusa starts at about ¥11,900 as of October 2026.
Yes. A registered Japanese sword needs no licence to own and is sold by sword dealers to visitors. To take it out of Japan you need the Agency for Cultural Affairs' export certificate, and the sword's registration certificate becomes invalid once it leaves the country and must be returned to the board of education that issued it. National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties cannot, in principle, be exported. More on buying above.
Generally yes, in checked baggage only: the TSA allows swords in checked bags when they are sheathed or securely wrapped, never in carry-on. A real registered sword also needs its Japanese export certificate before it leaves Japan, and your airline and your state may have their own rules, so check them before you buy.
A new sword commissioned from a licensed smith starts at roughly ¥500,000 to ¥1,200,000 for an entry-level smith and passes ¥3,000,000 for the most senior names, with a wait of one to two years, according to a Kyoto sword dealer. Antique registered swords are priced individually by dealers. A zinc-alloy replica costs far less and is not a real sword.
Not openly. You may own a registered sword and move it, wrapped and with its registration certificate, but carrying a sword in public is restricted, and even a metal replica may not be carried in public without a good reason. Keep a purchase boxed and go straight to your hotel or the airport.
There is no official list, but the most famous name among swordsmiths is Masamune, who worked in Sagami province in the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333) (Tokugawa Art Museum). The best-known blades are designated National Treasures and are shown in rotation by museums in Tokyo, Kyoto and elsewhere, rarely all at once.
The Japanese Sword Museum itself is in Tokyo. In Kyoto, the Samurai Ninja Museum Kyoto shows armour and swords and runs sword lessons, and a blacksmith's studio in Sakyo Ward lets you forge your own knife. For a dedicated sword town, Seki in Gifu has a swordsmith museum with public forging demonstrations; both are in our guide to Japanese sword making.