About the National Museum of Ethnology
The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is one of the world's largest ethnological museums dedicated to cultural anthropology and ethnology, located in Expo '70 Memorial Park in Osaka, Japan Founded in 1974, the museum was opened in 1977. The museum aims to carry out surveys and research on cultural anthropology and ethnology, to provide people with information on the societies and cultures of the world's various peoples based on the results of such research, and to deepen awareness and understanding of various peoples.
Every year, many researchers are invited from home and abroad, and the results of their research are made available to the public through exhibitions, lectures, seminars, research performances, workshops, film shows and various other events.
National Museum of Ethnology Access and visitor information
Address | 10-1 Senri Banpaku Koen, Suita, Osaka, Japan |
Tel | 06-6876-2151 (direct line) |
Access from nearest station | 15-minute walk from Osaka Monorail Expo Memorial Park, Park East Exit. |
Opening hours | 10:00-17:00 (last admission 16:30) |
Closed | Wednesdays; if Wednesday is a bank holiday, the weekday immediately following; Year-end and New Year holidays (28 Dec - 4 Jan). |
Admission | ¥580 for adults, ¥250 for university students, free for high school students and younger (Admission fees are for the main museum exhibition. Fees for special exhibitions vary according to the exhibition). |
Note | No private parking. Expo Park parking is available. |
Official Website |
National Museum of Ethnology Highlights
Collections
The museum has a collection of some 345,000 items, including daily tools and ethnic costumes, collected by researchers from all over the world. It also has approximately 70,000 video and audio resources, and 690,000 bibliographic documents. These contents are widely available to the public for use in surveys, research and university classes.
Architecture (of buildings)
The National Museum of Ethnology is a steel-framed reinforced concrete building with four storeys above ground and one below. It was designed by modern architecture master KUROKAWA Kisho, and strongly reflects the concept of 'metabolism' advocated by Kurokawa and others. Metabolism means metabolism, the concept that architecture and cities do not remain unchanged, but are organically reborn through changes in society and function. The National Museum of Ethnology is designed in a way that units can be extended after construction is completed. The building has been extended many times up to the present day, but it is a building that does not feel unnatural.
The building is structured as a cluster of L-shaped buildings with no windows on the exterior walls, and outside light is let in through the patio. The patio is based on the theme of 'ruins of the future' and is covered with Indian sandstone, each piece of which has its own unique character, giving the building the appearance of a temple.
Representative past exhibitions
The museum presents regional exhibitions comprising nine regions of the world, as well as a community exhibition on music and languages. There are also several annual exhibitions, special exhibitions and touring exhibitions. All of these exhibitions are rich in exhibits and voluminous in content. As a research institute, the exhibitions based on in-depth knowledge are well worth seeing, and many exhibitions give visitors a sense of the diversity of life and culture.
〈Main exhibitions〉
Special exhibition 'Universal Museum - Touch! The Great Exhibition of "Touch" (2021)
50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mongolia: Special Exhibition 'Encountering Photographs: Mongolia 100 years ago and now' (2022).
Exhibition 'Marine Life Art Exhibition - Southeast Asia and Oceania from the perspective of objects' (2022).
Special Exhibition: 'Homō loquēns "Talking Humans" - The Science of the Wonder of Language' (2022)
Exhibition 'The Art of Canada's Northwest Coast Aboriginal Peoples: The World of Screen Prints' (2023).
Special exhibition 'Gods and People in Communion - The World of Hindu Deities' (2023).
Museum shop
The Museum Shop, located on the ground floor of the main building, offers a wide range of attractive products, including ethnographic books and CDs, folk art from around the world and original goods featuring the museum's collections. There is also a wide range of items that make great souvenirs, such as Minpaku cookies and greetings masking tape from around the world.
Opening hours | 10：00～17：00 |
Closed |
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Website |
Cafes and restaurants information
Located behind the information counter on the first floor of the main building, "Mori no Yoshoku Grill Minpaku" is a restaurant serving hamburgers, omelets and homemade fresh pasta. It is the first restaurant owned by a museum to introduce a serving and carrying robot, which is a new and highly talked-about feature.
Opening hours | 11:00-16:30 (last order 16:00) |
Closed | Wednesdays Year-end and New Year holidays (28 Dec to 4 Jan) |
Places to visit near the National Museum of Ethnology
Expo '70 Commemorative Park
The park was built on the site of the 1970 Japan World Exposition (Osaka Expo). The park covers a total area of 260 Ha, with a Nature Park and Japanese Garden, as well as cultural, sporting and leisure facilities. The National Museum of Ethnology is located on these grounds. The Osaka Folk Crafts Museum, which took over from the Japan Folk Crafts Museum that exhibited at Expo '70 Osaka, offers excellent crafts, including ceramics and dyed textiles from Japan and abroad. In addition to the Tower of the Sun, other Expo heritage sites include a fountain by Isamu Noguchi and monuments by famous artists such as KIKUTAKE Kiyonori and Philip King.
Address | Senri Banpaku Koen, Suita City, Osaka, Japan |
Tel | 0120-1970-89 (toll-free) |
Access from nearest station | 5-minute walk from Osaka Monorail Banpaku Kinen Koen (Expo '70 Commemorative Park) and Park East Exit. |
Opening hours | 9:30-17:00 (admission until 30 minutes before closing) (opening hours may change during events). |
Closed | Wednesdays, if Wednesday is a public holiday, the museum is closed the following day, year-end and New Year holidays (28 Dec - 4 Jan), etc. |
Entrance fee | Adults 260 yen (for both the Nature and Culture Garden and the Japanese Garden). |
Note | Private parking available. |
Official website |
Tower of the Sun
The Tower of the Sun, designed by artist OKAMOTO Taro, is a monument symbolising the 1970 Osaka Expo. As a symbol of the entire expo site, it represents human dignity, infinite progress and development, and is approximately 70 metres high. The structure is steel-framed, reinforced concrete, with some sprayed concrete used to reduce weight. The exhibition space showing the process of evolution of life inside, which had not been open to the public for nearly 50 years after the exposition closed, can be viewed by prior reservation via a dedicated website. At the museum shop in the Tower of the Sun, visitors can purchase products related to the Tower of the Sun.
Address | Senri Banpaku Koen, Suita City, Osaka, Japan |
Tel | 0120-1970-89 (toll-free) |
Access | 5-minute walk from Osaka Monorail Banpaku Kinen Koen (Expo '70 Commemorative Park) and Park East Exit. |
Opening hours | 9:30-17:00 (admission until 30 minutes before closing) (opening hours may change during events). |
Closed | Wednesdays (if Wednesday is a public holiday, the weekday immediately following), year-end and New Year holidays, etc. |
Entrance fee | Tower of the Sun admission + Shizen Bunka-en and Japanese Garden common admission set ticket Adults 930 yen. |
Note | Parking is available. |
Official website |