Banknote and Postage Stamps Museum (Tokyo)

 museum, money museum, philatelic museum

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www.npb.go.jp/en/museum/index.html (English)
www.npb.go.jp/ja/museum/ (Japanese)

〒114-0002 Tokyo, Kita-ku, Oji, 1-Chome 6−1
(0) 3-5390-5194
FAX (0)3-3911-8905

Open 9:30 to 17:00
Admission free
Closed on Mondays and year-end holidays (December 28 - January 3)
(except for National Holidays on Monday, in which case the museum is open on the holiday and closed the following Tuesday instead)

The National Printing Bureau was founded in 1871 (Meiji 4) with the name Paper Money Office (Shiheishi) under the Ministry of Finance. This was around the time when modern banknotes and postage stamps began to be used in Japan. Over the ensuing 140 years, the National Printing Bureau has always been engaged in the manufacture of banknotes and postage stamps, its own history progressing together with that of its products. The variety of products manufactured and accumulated through the years is precious evidence narrating the histories of banknote, postage stamp, and printing technology in Japan.

The exhibition rooms of this museum display various exhibits to explain effectively the history of notes, anticounterfeiting technologies, and other related subjects. These exhibits include: various products that have been manufactured by the National Printing Bureau, such as banknotes, postage stamps, and securities; pre-Meiji-era notes; notes and postage stamps of foreign countries; printing machines; and chalcographic plates closely related to the manufacture of notes. We cordially invite you to visit this museum and gain knowledge through the exhibits of notes and postage stamps. The information offered by this museum is in Japanese only.

(There is also a Banknotes and Postage Stamps Museum in Ichigaya, Shinjuku).