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🚀 15 Best Photography Galleries and Bookstores in Tokyo [2025 Guide]

Where I go for inspiration in Tokyo (and where you should too)

Author

Yusuke Nagata
March 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

People often ask me for gallery and bookstore recommendations in Tokyo. Honestly, I’ve always struggled to answer—there are just too many I love. So, in this edition, I’m sharing them all at once.

Whether you live in Tokyo or are planning a visit soon, if you're into photography, I’m sure you’ll love these spots. Let’s dive in.

Table of Contents

🎉 I Just Hit 600 Subscribers!

Thank you so much to everyone reading this newsletter—I’m beyond grateful. I just passed 600 subscribers!

Also, to those of you who recently signed up… I owe you an apology. The discount code I shared in the welcome email for the FAR EAST DARKROOM. shop had a typo, so some of you couldn’t use it. Sorry about that.

To make it up to you (and to celebrate hitting 600 subscribers!), here’s a new discount code:

CODE: WELCOME03

Enjoy 20% OFF both zines and prints in the shop—valid through the end of March.
If there’s something you’ve had your eye on, now’s the time!

📍Tokyo Photo Galleries & Bookstores I Recommend Most

*Please check official sources for the most up-to-date opening hours.

🍜 Shinjuku & Yotsuya Area

Place M

Currently the longest-running photography gallery in Japan. One of its organizers is the renowned Daido Moriyama. From legendary photographers to emerging artists, the gallery hosts weekly exhibitions featuring everything from darkroom prints to experimental photography.

On the second floor of the same building, there’s another gallery called RED Photo Gallery—definitely worth checking out together.
A 3-minute walk from Shinjuku Gyoenmae Station (Marunouchi Line), and within walking distance from Shinjuku Station South Exit.

  • 🕛 12:00–19:00

  • 📅 open every day

  • 🌐 placem.com

  • 🗺️ Map

Sokyusha

A publisher, bookstore, and gallery located just 1–2 minutes on foot from Place M—perfect for a combined visit. While many art bookstores in Tokyo tend to focus on overseas photographers, Sokyusya specializes in Japanese photo books, especially street photography, making it a must-visit for anyone exploring Tokyo’s local photography scene.

  • 🕐 13:00–19:00

  • 📅 Closed during New Year holidays

  • 🌐 sokyusha.com

  • 🗺️ Map

Another gallery located in the Shinjuku area, often visited together with Place M and Sokyusya. True to its name, it's located on the 3rd floor of a building—you’ll need to walk up the stairs. The entrance can be hard to spot, but look for exhibition flyers along the staircase.

  • 🕐 13:00–20:00

  • 📅 Check Instagram for open days

  • 🌐 Instagram

  • 🗺️ Map

About a 10-minute walk from Place M or a 5-minute walk from Yotsuya-sanchome Station (Marunouchi Line). This gallery features exhibitions by its members as well as rentals to various photographers.

  • 🕐 13:00 – 19:00

  • 📅 Open daily during exhibition periods—check the official website

  • 🌐 niepce-tokyo.net

  • 🗺️ Map

Located less than a one-minute walk from Gallery Niepce on the same street. It’s on the ground floor of what looks like a regular apartment building, so it might feel a little intimidating at first—but don’t hesitate, just step inside.

If you’re visiting Gallery Niepce, don’t miss this one nearby. Founded by photographer Shinya Arimoto, the gallery frequently features exhibitions by up-and-coming photographers.

  • 🕐 12:00 – 19:00

  • 📅 Closed Mondays

  • 🌐 Instagram

  • 🗺️ Map

🛤️ Daitabashi Area

flotsam books

A specialty bookstore focused on visual art books, flotsam books offers not only a solid selection of photography books but also a wide variety of zines. Their Instagram account, where they feature many of the titles they carry, is a great source of inspiration—definitely worth checking out.

Also, the area around flotsam books, Daitabashi, has a unique vibe that I once wrote about in my blog post “Daitabashi’s Shanty Town: A Different World Minutes from Shinjuku.” It’s an unusual and fascinating spot, so if you’re in the neighborhood, I highly recommend exploring it.

  • 🕐 14:00 – 20:00

  • 📅 Closed Wednesdays

  • 🌐 Instagram

  • 🗺️ Map

🛍️ Ginza & Roppongi Area

TSUTAYA Bookstore (GINZA SIX)

While TSUTAYA is a chain bookstore found across Japan, the GINZA SIX location stands out for its strong focus on the arts.

They regularly host art exhibitions, sell photography prints, and even collaborate with international names like Dashwood Books from New York. The selection here is unique and exciting—definitely a spot worth checking out if you're into photo books and visual culture.

Akio Nagasawa Gallery | Publishing is dedicated to introducing Japanese photographers both in Japan and internationally, through exhibitions and book publishing.

One of the most notable examples is Record, a photo zine Daido Moriyama first launched in 1972 with the concept of “developing photos taken in daily life and immediately showing them—hand to hand—as the most minimal form of media.”

The zine paused after Issue 5 but was revived in 2006 by Akio Nagasawa Publishing and is still ongoing today. If your timing is right, you might even catch a Moriyama exhibition here.

Established in Roppongi by Mark Pearson—a collector of Japanese photography and contemporary art—ZEN FOTO GALLERY specializes in showcasing photography from across Asia. Pearson is also the founder of shashasha, an online bookstore dedicated to photo books.

  • 🕒 12:00–19:00

  • 📅 Closed Sundays, Mondays, and holidays

  • 🌐 zen-foto.jp

  • 🗺️ Map

📚 Jimbocho & Ochanomizu Area

SUPER LABO STORE

A concept store run by SUPER LABO, known for publishing photobooks by renowned photographers from Japan and abroad, including Daido Moriyama. They recently hosted a book signing with Bruce Gilden. The shop offers a great selection of SUPER LABO publications and original prints—an irresistible spot for photography lovers.

You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see the neon sign featuring a handwritten message by Joel Meyerowitz himself.

A photography-focused gallery located in Ochanomizu, built around the concept of showcasing only the highest-quality original prints.
I've purchased a print here myself, and the atmosphere—including the interior design—is truly remarkable. Since the gallery is sometimes closed between exhibitions, I recommend checking their website before visiting.

🗿 Shibuya & Omotesando Area

Flying Books

This is a secondhand bookstore I almost always stop by whenever I’m in Shibuya. They carry used photo books, art books, and fashion magazines, and I often discover inspiring photo collections here. It’s one of my personal favorite spots in the city.

  • 🕒 13:00–19:00

  • 📅 Closed Sundays, Mondays & holidays

  • 🌐 Instagram

  • 🗺️ Map

artspace AM

This art gallery is located in Omotesando. While it’s described as “a comprehensive art space centered on photography exhibitions and collaborative projects with artists from various genres,” most of the exhibitions feature works by the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki.
It’s not open year-round, so be sure to check their official website before visiting. Araki’s work, displayed in the pitch-black interior, is incredibly striking—if you happen to be in Tokyo during an exhibition, it’s absolutely worth checking out.

  • 🕒 13:00–19:00

  • 📅 Closed Mon & Tue (hours may vary by exhibition)

  • 🌐 am-project.jp

  • 🗺️ Map

🦉 Ikebukuro Area

Ouraiza (古書往来座)

A fantastic secondhand bookstore about 10 minutes from Ikebukuro Station. Great mix of photo/art books, literature, and picture books. If you’re in the area, I also recommend wandering around nearby Kishimojin Temple with your camera.

🕺 See You Next Tuesday

That’s it for this week’s edition.

Thanks so much for reading all the way through! If you found this helpful, feel free to share it using the social buttons below. You can also hit “like” or leave a comment; I’d love to hear your thoughts!

See you again next Tuesday!

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