The Artist's Own House of Dots in Tokyo

At a Glance

The Yayoi Kusama Museum opened in October 2017 on a quiet residential block in Bentencho, Shinjuku. It is the only museum the artist herself established—a concentrated room-by-room encounter with her six decades of dots, pumpkins, and Infinity Rooms.

A White Cube the Artist Reviewed Herself

Kume Sekkei worked with Kusama on a five-floor white cube. The exterior stays plain; the dots appear the moment you step inside. Programming runs in two seasonal sessions per year, with the Infinity Room rotating each time—strong reason to return.

Floors

• 1F: ticket counter and a large Pumpkin sculpture.
• 2F: paintings from her New York years to recent series—My Eternal Soul, Infinity Nets.
• 3F: drawings and small works, from childhood sketches to late pieces.
• 4F: the seasonal Infinity Mirrored Room—strict one-minute visits.
• 5F: rooftop sculpture, usually a pumpkin or Dots Obsession.

Tips

Six minutes from Ushigome-yanagicho (Oedo) or seven from Waseda (Tozai). Reservations are strictly required; tickets for the next quarter open at 10:00 JST on the first of each month. Timed 90-minute entries; actual visit is 1–1.5 hours. Photography is partial. Pair with a walk around Kagurazaka.