21_21 Design Sight
Roppongi, Tokyo
- Mon, Wed to Sun
- 10:00 to 19:00
- Tue
- Closed
Last entry is 18:30. Closed over New Year (27 December to 3 January) and between exhibitions. Closed 21 to 23 November 2026 for a Tokyo Midtown shutdown.
Source: 2121designsight.jp, checked 14 Oct 2026.
21_21 Design Sight is Tadao Ando's gallery in Midtown Tokyo, half buried in a park and devoted to design in the widest sense. The building is a masterpiece in its own right, and the exhibitions tie everyday objects to bigger ideas.
More photos of 21_21 Design Sight
Insider tip
The architecture alone is a reason to come, even if you skip the exhibition. The Suntory Museum of Art is a few minutes away.
What the guides say about 21_21 Design Sight
Morning. Roppongi in daylight is a different neighbourhood from Roppongi at midnight, and the daytime one holds the densest cluster of serious art in the country. Start at the Mori Art Museum on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, where a ticket usually covers both a major contemporary exhibition and the Tokyo City View observation deck on the floor below. Ten minutes on foot brings you to Tokyo Midtown and 21_21 Design Sight, Tadao Ando's half-buried concrete gallery devoted to design in its broadest sense, with the Suntory Museum of Art a few minutes away for lacquer, ceramics and textiles. Check the closing days before you go. 21_21 Design Sight, the National Art Center and Suntory close on Tuesdays, the Nezu Museum on Mondays.
Roppongi's art triangle is a full day built around three world-class institutions. Start at the Mori Art Museum at the top of Mori Tower, contemporary blockbusters on the 53rd floor, with observation deck access on your ticket. Walk through Roppongi Hills and across to 21_21 Design Sight in Midtown Garden, where Issey Miyake and Tadao Ando built a design museum half-buried underground. Then the National Art Center, which has no permanent collection, just a rolling slate of huge exhibitions inside a glass wave facade. Avoid Tuesdays, when 21_21 and the National Art Center close. The Nezu Museum closes on Mondays.
Roppongi rebuilt itself from a nightlife district with a rough reputation into Tokyo's serious art quarter. The Mori Art Museum, 21_21 Design Sight and the National Art Center sit within a fifteen-minute walk of each other. The Mori Tower observation deck at dusk, with Tokyo Tower close enough to feel like a model, is one of the best paid views in the city.
Tickets and tours
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What's on at 21_21 Design Sight
Upcoming events at 21_21 Design Sight and within a ten-minute walk, from the weekly Tokyo events calendar.
Learning From Hojoki: Small Architecture for Reweaving How We Live
方丈記に学ぶ―生きるを編み直す小さな建築―
Time 10:00 to 19:00 Station Nogizaka (Chiyoda Line), 3 min walk
21_21 Design Sight opens a design exhibition inspired by the classical Japanese text Hojoki, looking at small-scale architecture and ways of reconsidering daily life. It fills Galleries 1 and 2 of the Roppongi venue designed by Tadao Ando.
wongwt, CC BY-SA 2.0 The Potential of a Single Cloth: TYPE-XVII JAXA Project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
「一枚の布の可能性」TYPE-XVII JAXA project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE
Time 10:00 to 19:00, closed Tuesdays Station Roppongi (Toei Oedo Line / Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line), 5 min walk; Nogizaka (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line), 5 min walk
Gallery 3 at 21_21 Design Sight shows a project by A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE exploring what a single piece of cloth can do, developed in connection with JAXA. The compact space is dedicated to design collaborations between Japanese and international companies and creators.
wongwt, CC BY-SA 2.0 Time
時間展
Time 10:00 to 19:00, closed Tuesdays Station Nogizaka (Chiyoda Line), 5 min walk; Roppongi (Oedo Line, Hibiya Line), 5 min walk
An exhibition that looks at time from a designer's point of view, directed by the graphic designer Tomohiro Okazaki, who works with frame-by-frame recording. The building itself is treated as one big clock, with time-related devices scattered through both galleries.
wongwt, CC BY-SA 2.0 Itsuo Art Museum Collection: Masterpieces of Buson, Goshun and the Tea Ceremony
逸翁美術館コレクション 蕪村・呉春と茶の湯の名品
Time 10:00 to 18:00, Fridays until 20:00 (also Nov 7 and Oct 31 until 20:00) Station Roppongi (Oedo Line, Hibiya Line), direct connection
The Suntory Museum of Art hosts a loan exhibition from Osaka's Itsuo Art Museum, founded by Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group entrepreneur Ichizo Kobayashi, whose collection runs to some 5,500 works. Highlights include tea ceremony utensils, fragments of classical calligraphy and paintings by Yosa Buson and Matsumura Goshun.
Rs1421, CC BY-SA 3.0 Art of the Lotus Sutra
法華経の美術（仮称）
Time 10:00 to 18:00 (Fridays and Saturdays until 20:00) Station Roppongi (Toei Oedo Line, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line), 5 min walk
This exhibition on the art of the Lotus Sutra opens at the Suntory Museum of Art on December 12, 2026 and continues into February 2027. It is the fourth and final exhibition in the museum's announced 2026 lineup exploring the breadth of Japanese art.
Rs1421, CC BY-SA 3.0 Smaller local events nearby
Raumlabor Berlin: Water Works - in the Flow of Making Exhibition
On now, until 29 Nov · TOTO Gallery MA, Nogizaka
An architecture exhibition by Raumlabor Berlin at TOTO Gallery MA, closed Mondays and holidays.
Free · 11:00 to 18:00 · Map · Source: TOTO Gallery MA · ラウムラボア・ベルリン展 Water Works - in the Flow of Making
6fes: street art performance and food Festival
31 Oct to 1 Nov · Seijoki-dori, Roppongi
A market and street performances on Seijoki-dori, between Tokyo Midtown and The National Art Center, alongside Roppongi Art Night.
Free · Map · Source: Minato City (shopping street events) · ６フェス2026～ストリートで楽しむアートパフォーマンスとフード～
Nearby
Around Roppongi
Art triangle by day, skyline views by night
Roppongi is in Minato ward, in the middle of Tokyo, and its station is on the Hibiya and Oedo lines. Roppongi's nightlife reputation undersells it. Within a ten minute walk you've got the Mori Art Museum, 21_21 Design Sight and the National Art Center, and between them they make this the strongest art neighbourhood in Tokyo. Finish at the Mori Tower observation deck around sunset and the entry fee suddenly feels cheap.
Roppongi has 5 places on the Roam Tokyo map: 4 museums and 1 viewpoint. Read the Roppongi guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of 21_21 Design Sight?
- 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
- What are the opening hours of 21_21 Design Sight?
- Mon, Wed to Sun 10:00 to 19:00; Closed Tue. Last entry is 18:30. Closed over New Year (27 December to 3 January) and between exhibitions. Closed 21 to 23 November 2026 for a Tokyo Midtown shutdown.
- How do I get to 21_21 Design Sight?
- The nearest station is Roppongi (Oedo Line). 21_21 Design Sight is in Roppongi, Tokyo.
- How much does 21_21 Design Sight cost?
- 21_21 Design Sight is mid-range, marked ¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at 21_21 Design Sight?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit 21_21 Design Sight?
- Weekday afternoons.
Stay near 21_21 Design Sight
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