Samurai Museum In Shinjuku Tokyo: Swords, Armor & History

As a kid I was a big fan of Samurai and Japanese history, so when I was passing through Tokyo last week I knew I had to pay a visit to the Samurai Museum in Shinjuku!

It’s easy to reach from most parts of the city, so you can combine it with other tourist attractions in Shinjuku, like Omoide Yokocho.

This travel guide will explain how to get there, and everything you need to know before you go!

UPDATE (2024): Unfortunately this museum has been closed ever since the covid pandemic disrupted travel, but hopefully it will reopen again soon.

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Where To Stay In Tokyo

Visiting The Samurai Museum

The Samurai Museum is a lot of fun to explore.

This is basically a 2 story mini-museum that has helmets, suits of armor, swords, guns, and more things from the Samurai era.

All of these are labeled for their respective time periods and some of the items are pretty unique.

Samurai armor on display at the Samurai Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

I thought the entry price (~$18 USD) was a bit high for what you get, but I wouldn’t say I felt cheated or anything.

It would be nice if they lower the price or expand the museum a bit to have more things to see. The rooms and exhibits are on the small side, but hey, I guess that’s life in Tokyo!

I still enjoyed the visit and I think it’s worthwhile if you’re in the Shinjuku area. They have a gift shop with some authentic items for sale, but naturally those were very pricey.

Samurai sword on display at the Samurai Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Tour & Activities

The museum staff are super friendly and they have a free English guided tour that they put on every day. This is a group tour that they do every 20-30 minutes, and they take you room by room explaining all of the exhibits.

After the tour you can get your photo snapped wearing a Samurai helmet, or you can even wear a full Samurai costume if you want (see the pictures below).

A friend did this and it looked pretty fun! You can see some of his pics below. It’s free, so it adds some extra value to the museum ticket.

According to their official website, there are some other special activities that they run throughout the day too, like calligraphy lessons and sword lectures.

Tourist with Samurai sword at the museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan Tourist with Samurai sword and helmet at the museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

Hours of Operation

10:30 AM – 9:00 PM (last admission 8:30 PM)
Open Every Day

Entrance Fees

Adults: ¥1,900 (~$18 USD)
Kids 4-12: ¥800
Kids 3 & Under: Free

Credit cards or cash are accepted, and there’s a free photo shoot and sword performance included in the ticket price. The hours for these and other activities can be found on their official website.

Photos are allowed to be taken in the museum, but not videos.

Samurai dagger on display at the Samurai Museum in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan

How To Get To The Samurai Museum

The museum is located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo.

There are multiple rail options to get there, or you can even take an express bus from Haneda Airport (HND), which is what I did.

I stored my bags at Haneda and then took the express bus to Shinjuku, which stops just a 5-10 minute walk from the museum. By Tokyo standards it was super convenient!