Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Anime Places to Visit in Tokyo: 9 Real Spots

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Suginami Animation Museum: Free, Hands-On, and the Best Place in Tokyo to See How Anime Is Made

The Suginami Animation Museum is a free museum run by Suginami City, on the third floor of Suginami Kaikan near Ogikubo, with a hands-on floor where you can try tracing, stop-motion and dubbing a scene, a 200-inch theatre and a library. It is closed on Mondays. Until 29 November 2026 it is showing a Shin-Ei Animation 50th-anniversary exhibition, with Doraemon in the second half from 6 October. I run private anime tours in Akihabara most weeks, and this is the museum I recommend to fans who want to understand how anime is made.

It is far less known than the Ghibli Museum and needs no ticket. Staff speak Japanese only, which matters for the hands-on parts and is covered below.

What is the Suginami Animation Museum?

A Suginami City facility that explains Japanese animation: its history, how it is produced, and the principles behind it. Tokyo Polytechnic University holds the naming rights, so its full name starts with the university's. Admission is free, and so is the theatre. Special exhibitions change three or four times a year.

Alongside national exhibitions, the museum runs features on animation studios based in Suginami itself. For where it sits among Tokyo's other anime places, see anime places to visit in Tokyo; for the Akihabara side of your trip, my Akihabara anime tour is how I plan it for guests.

What can you do inside?

Most of it is on the 3rd floor: a timeline of Japanese animation, recreated desks of a director, animation director and art director, an explanation of how cel animation is made, a dubbing corner, zoetropes and other optical toys, and a corner where you trace drawings and shoot stop-motion. The mezzanine has the special exhibition, the theatre and the library.

The dubbing corner is the one guests remember: you voice a scene yourself. Without Japanese it is harder, but still fun.

What is the current exhibition?

"Shin-Ei Animation 50th Anniversary", from 25 July to 29 November 2026, celebrating the studio behind Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan. The first half, to 4 October, showed Crayon Shin-chan, Ninja Hattori-kun and others. The second half, from 6 October to 29 November, shows Doraemon, Perman, Esper Mami, Oishinbo and more, with rare cels.

The theatre programme follows the exhibition, and the museum also lists a Suginami studio feature (to 8 November) and a two-day local anime and manga expo on 7–8 November 2026. If Doraemon is your childhood, October and November 2026 are the months to go.

Is the Suginami Animation Museum good for visitors who do not speak Japanese?

Yes for looking, harder for the hands-on parts. The museum's English page says plainly that staff speak only Japanese and asks visitors who want explanations in other languages to arrange an interpreter. Groups need a reservation. The displays themselves are visual, and the zoetropes and stop-motion corner need no words.

This is the honest section. It is a ward museum, not a tourist attraction, and it does not pretend to be one. It is quiet, generous and educational, and its official floor guide lists no shop. For a fan who wants to understand animation, that is exactly the appeal; for someone who wants merchandise, Akihabara is the place.

How do you get to the Suginami Animation Museum?

From the north exit of Ogikubo Station (JR Chūō line and Marunouchi line), take a Kantō Bus from stop 0 or 1 for about five minutes to Ogikubo Keisatsusho-mae, then walk two minutes. Walking from Ogikubo takes about twenty minutes. From Nishi-Ogikubo's north exit, buses take about seven minutes and the walk about sixteen.

The address is Suginami Kaikan 3F, 3-29-5 Kamiogi, Suginami. There is no dedicated parking. The museum has also posted a notice about noise from building construction, so expect some during your visit.

When is it closed?

Every Monday, except when Monday is a public holiday, in which case it opens and closes on the next weekday instead. It is also closed from 28 December to 4 January and on occasional temporary closing days, which the museum marks in pink on its calendar.

Check the calendar on the official home page before you go; it shows the current month with closed days highlighted.

Frequently asked questions

Learn how it is made in Suginami, shop for it in Akihabara

If you want a day in Akihabara built around the anime you love, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private half-day walk, three to four hours, never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, which is either a qualification or a warning depending on your point of view.

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Sources · checked 4 October 2026

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