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Toei Animation Museum Guide: A Free Look Inside the Studio Behind Dragon Ball and One Piece

Published September 21, 2026 · Wayfinder

Toei Animation is one of the oldest and most influential animation studios in Japan, and its Oizumi Studio in Nerima ward is still where much of its work happens. Inside the studio grounds is a small museum, open to the public and free, that tells the studio's story across roughly 70 years. For fans of Dragon Ball, One Piece, or Pretty Cure, it's a chance to stand at the source.

A museum inside a working studio

The first thing to understand is that this is not a theme park. The Toei Animation Museum sits at 2-10-5 Oizumi in Nerima, inside the actual Oizumi Studio where Toei's productions are made. The museum is the public-facing part; behind it, real work is happening. That gives the visit a slightly different feel from a purpose-built attraction. You're a guest at a workplace, and the exhibits are the studio explaining itself.

For individual visitors, no reservation is needed. Just turn up during opening hours.

What you'll see

The museum's subject is Toei's own history, which happens to overlap with a lot of the history of Japanese animation. The story runs about seven decades, and the exhibits draw on the studio's archive:

• The long view: How the studio developed from its early days to the present, and how its productions changed with the times.
• The big franchises: Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Pretty Cure are the names most visitors come for, and the museum gives them their due, with character displays and production material.
• How it's made: Materials from the production process, showing the work behind the finished episodes.

It's a compact museum. Allow around an hour, more if you're a devoted fan of one of the featured series and want to linger over the displays.

Hours and access

The museum is open 10:00 to 17:00. Confirm the closing days before you make the trip, since the museum keeps regular closing days like most Tokyo institutions and a wasted journey to Nerima is a long one.

The nearest station is Oizumi-Gakuen, on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. From there it's about a 15-minute walk through a residential area. The studio isn't visible from the station, so have the route on your phone before you set off.

Setting expectations honestly

• It's small. This is a studio museum, not a multi-hour destination. If you're expecting something on the scale of a major museum, recalibrate.
• It's a trip. Nerima is on the northwest edge of Tokyo's core. Between the train ride and the walk, getting there takes real time, so it makes sense to plan the rest of the day around it.
• It's free. Which changes the calculation. As a free hour for fans, it's excellent. As a paid day-trip attraction, it wouldn't be, and it isn't priced that way.

Who it's best for

Lifelong Dragon Ball and One Piece fans get the most out of it, because they arrive with the context to appreciate the archive material. Pretty Cure fans, and families traveling with children who watch it, are the other core audience. Anyone interested in the industry will find the 70-year timeline informative even without attachment to a particular show.

Practical notes

• Admission: Free, no reservation for individuals.
• Hours: 10:00 to 17:00. Note the 17:00 close, earlier than many attractions.
• Getting there: Oizumi-Gakuen Station, then a 15-minute walk.
• Conduct: You're inside a working studio. Follow staff instructions about where you can and cannot go.

If you want the trip laid out

The museum is simple once you're there. The station-to-studio walk and the question of what else to do in Oizumi are what a plan solves.