Motorcar Museum of Japan Tickets

The Motorcar Museum of Japan parks around five hundred vehicles inside a grand red brick building in Komatsu, south of Kanazawa, and the collection is as delightfully idiosyncratic as private motor museums get. Japanese classics fill hall after hall, kei cars, bubble era coupes, forgotten prototypes, alongside European and American machinery, and the founder’s magpie enthusiasm shows everywhere.

Highlights of the halls

For international visitors the draw is the domestic story: ranks of early Toyotas, Datsuns, Subarus and Mazdas trace Japan’s rise from three wheeled trucks to world dominance, with models that never left these shores sitting beside icons. Celebrity and royal cars pepper the collection, and the museum’s famously eccentric sideline, a collection of toilets from around the world installed through the building, guarantees the visit stays memorable.

Planning a stop

The museum lies in Ishikawa’s southern industrial belt, an easy add on to a Kanazawa stay or a Kaga onsen circuit, and pairs neatly with Komatsu’s other engineering shrine, the giant mining trucks of the Komatsu company’s visitor facilities. Car minded travellers should allow a couple of hours; the density of the display rewards slow aisles.

Getting there

From Kanazawa, JR services reach Komatsu in around 20 to 30 minutes, and the museum is a ten minute taxi or local bus ride from the station. Drivers will find it just off the main roads south of the city with parking on site.

Frequently asked questions

Is it all Japanese cars? No, though the domestic collection is the standout for overseas visitors.

Is signage in English? Principally Japanese, but the cars speak for themselves.

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