Facilities

1. Exhibition Galleries (2F and 3F)

The museum uses these galleries to hold exhibitions composed mainly of works in its collection as well as independently organized special exhibitions that bring together a wide range of work from Japan and abroad. The second and third floor galleries also are used for joint exhibitions organized with other museums, including museums overseas, and traveling exhibitions.

2. Exhibition Gallery (B1F)

This gallery, in addition to mounting exhibitions of leading-edge imaging works by contemporary artists, includes a special area where, through interactive displays and the history of imaging collection, visitors can experience the multifaceted cultural history of moving images.

3. First Floor Hall

In our Lab Theaters, we offer showings of fine films that are truly worthy of a museum of photography. (Seats 190 plus 3 spaces for wheelchairs.)

4. Storage Room

Our collection is stored in four vaults to provide the appropriate conditions for conservation. Films in general are stored at 5°C on the second floor, items such as color works using dyes and glass plates are stored at 10°C on the second floor, other photographic materials are stored at 20°C on the third floor, and imaging works are stored at 20°C on the fourth floor. The relative humidity is maintained at 50% in each of the four vaults.

5. Image Permanence Laboratory

This laboratory is the first facility in Japan dedicated to the preservation and conservation of photographs. It tests the suitability of packaging materials for the storage of photographs and for their conservation. It conducts research into the optimum conditions for storing each type of photograph and the ideal lighting for exhibitions and research in the science of conservation in general, including preventing the deterioration of images and processes for restoring them.

6. Studio

This space is used in our educational and outreach programs, including workshops, gallery orienteering, and our school program. Principally used for workshops related to photography and imaging works, it includes a darkroom and studio space. The museum also makes the atelier available for rent to promote independent activities.

7. Print Study Room

This area on the third-floor offers the opportunity to view works in the museum’s collection, for research or detailed appreciation. (Fees apply; by appointment only.)

8. Library

This library specializing in photography and other imaging media collects, preserves, and makes available to readers information related to photography and image media exhibitions and research. Its extensive collection of works in the fields of photography and imaging published in Japan and abroad focuses on books of photographs and photographers’ books and includes books in the fields of criticism, the history of photography and imaging and technique, art books, exhibition catalogues, specialist magazines, pamphlets, leaflets, and cuttings from newspapers and magazines. Its collection of specialist magazines, including back numbers, is particularly comprehensive. The library catalogue may be searched via the Internet.

9. Information System

The museum’s collections include about 36,000 or more photographs and other visual media and about 115,000 publications about photography and imaging (as of March 2021). Visitors may use the Information System to search the museum holdings; the system makes it easy to find photographs by image, artist’s name, creation date, or motif. Computer terminals are located in the library on the fourth floor, and in the lobbies on the second and third floors.

10. Entrance

Our Entrance, situated on the second floor, up the stairs from the main entrance, leads up to the Exhibition Gallery on the second floor. Its floor-to-ceiling windows create an exhilaratingly open atmosphere. Visitors may use computers installed in the lobbies outside the exhibition galleries to access our database on the collection or information about artists.

11. Museum Shop

This museum shop, on the second floor, invites people to drop in and explore its comprehensive range of books and other merchandise relating to photography and imaging. It features catalogues from our exhibitions, photography and art-related gifts, accessories, and other items from museums around the world, plus our very own postcards, stationery, toy cameras, and other collectibles. The books, in Japanese and other languages, include a wide selection of used books, including important books of photographs from the 1920s through the 1970s.

12. Cafe

The cafe, with its relaxing first floor space with the liberating atrium, is the perfect spot for a rendezvous, for catching your breath after visiting the museum, or for enjoying a good conversation. It serves coffee, light meals, and seasonal sweets.