Step out of Musashisakai Station and a building of soft white curves is already in front of you. It is not "just a library". Musashino Place won the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize (Design) in 2016, and it is one of the most discussed pieces of public architecture in the country. Here is what it was like to visit, plus the practical details worth knowing before you go.
About this article (who wrote it, and how)
Published by Giropponando — a Japanese-European couple living in Tokyo, writing about places we have actually walked into, for travellers coming from Europe.
The experience below is first-hand. Opening hours, access and usage rules were checked against the official Musashino Place site, the Musashino City site, the Musashino City Library registration page and the architects' published project data.
Visited: 6 September 2026 / Information last checked: September 2026 (hours and closing days change — please confirm on the official site before you travel).
01 — The building
What is it? A library that became the town's living room
Its full name is the Musashino Place Municipal Library and Community Centre (武蔵野市立 ひと・まち・情報創造館 武蔵野プレイス). It opened in July 2011 right in front of Musashisakai Station, and it puts four things under one roof: a library, lifelong learning, youth activity support and community activity support.
The building has four floors above ground and three below, with a total floor area of roughly 9,810 m². The library itself occupies four of those levels, from the second basement up to the second floor, and each one has a completely different character: newspapers, magazines and a café on the first floor; books about everyday life and a children's section on the second; the quiet main library one floor below ground; art books and a young-adult section two floors down. Around 180,000 volumes in total. It is built for everyone from babies to hundred-year-olds, alone or in groups — a living room for the whole town.
02 — The design
Design and awards: why architecture lovers come here
Musashino Place was designed by Yasuko Kawaharada and Takehiko Higa of kw+hg architects, selected through an open design competition in 2004.
The recognition is real. The building received the Architectural Institute of Japan Prize (Design) in June 2016, and in December 2017 it was awarded the Grand Prize (Uzawa Prize) of the Japan Facility Management Awards. It is talked about in the same breath as Sendai Mediatheque and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa — the generation of Japanese public buildings that broke away from the concrete box.
The key word here is "room". Ceilings and walls meet in a curve, so every space feels like something that holds you, and the rooms are strung together in different sizes so that moving through the building keeps offering you the next activity. Those rounded windows are not decoration; they are the experience itself.
03 — The visit
What it feels like in person
You can know this building from photographs and still be surprised by it. Seen from the square in front of the station, the façade of rounded white windows has a scale that makes you stop and look up — is this really a public building?
What struck us while walking through it is how clearly the floors are divided by purpose. There is a café inside (Café Fermata); the deeper you go below ground the quieter the reading becomes, while the upper floors open up into spaces for learning and doing. There are areas for children too, so everyone from a parent with a baby to a student, an adult or a retired neighbour can find a corner of their own. Being wrapped in those curved "rooms" is genuinely comfortable, and it is very easy to stay far longer than you planned.
The numbers say the same thing: around 1.95 million visits in the 2016 financial year. It stays open until 22:00, so you can lose track of time without being pushed out.
Honest warnings (so nothing spoils the visit)
It gets busy. Study seats fill up during exam season and on weekends. If you want quiet concentration, choose your hour carefully.
Borrowing has conditions. Anyone may come in and read on site, but a library card can only be issued to people who live, work or study in Musashino City, or who live in Mitaka, Koganei, Nishitokyo, Suginami or Nerima. As a visitor, come for the space rather than the loans.
Closed on Wednesdays. Get the day wrong and you will reach the door for nothing (when a public holiday falls on a Wednesday the building opens and closes the following day instead). It also closes over the New Year period and for annual stocktaking.
This is daily life, not a tourist site. Residents are studying and spending their day here, so keep your voice and your camera discreet. Rules can differ from floor to floor.
Practical information
| Name | Musashino Place (武蔵野市立 ひと・まち・情報創造館 武蔵野プレイス) |
|---|---|
| Architects | Yasuko Kawaharada + Takehiko Higa / kw+hg architects — opened July 2011 |
| Awards | June 2016 Architectural Institute of Japan Prize (Design); December 2017 Japan Facility Management Awards, Grand Prize (Uzawa Prize) |
| Address | 2-3-18 Sakainancho, Musashino City, Tokyo 180-0023 |
| Access | About 1 minute on foot from the south exit of Musashisakai Station (JR Chuo line / Seibu Tamagawa line) |
| Opening hours | 9:30–22:00 |
| Closed | Wednesdays (open if it is a public holiday, closed the next day instead), New Year period, annual stocktaking days |
| Size | 4 floors above ground, 3 below / 9,809.76 m² / approx. 180,000 volumes / approx. 1.95 million visits (FY2016) |
| Using it | Free to enter and read. Library cards are for residents, workers and students of Musashino City, plus residents of Mitaka, Koganei, Nishitokyo, Suginami and Nerima |
| Phone | +81 422-30-1905 |
| Official site | musashino.or.jp/place/ |
Who will enjoy it
- Anyone who loves contemporary architecture and wants to be inside a space, not just look at a photo of it
- Anyone walking the Musashisakai–Kichijoji area who wants one quietly intelligent stop along the way
- Readers, and travellers who want to feel the ordinary weekday air of a Tokyo neighbourhood
One minute from the station, and easy to combine with Mitaka or Kichijoji in the same afternoon.
FAQ
Q. Can anyone go in? Is there an entrance fee?
A. Yes, and no — entry and on-site reading are free and open to everyone, travellers included.
Q. Can I borrow books?
A. Library cards are issued to people who live, work or study in Musashino City, and to residents of Mitaka, Koganei, Nishitokyo, Suginami and Nerima. Reading inside the building is open to all.
Q. What are the opening hours and closing days?
A. 9:30–22:00. Closed on Wednesdays (open when that Wednesday is a public holiday, closed the following day), over the New Year period and on annual stocktaking days.
Q. Can I take photographs?
A. It depends on the floor and the situation. Put other users first and follow the signs and staff instructions.
Q. How do I get there?
A. About a minute on foot from the south exit of Musashisakai Station (JR Chuo line / Seibu Tamagawa line). It faces the square in front of the station.
Sources
- Musashino Place official site (overview, awards): https://www.musashino.or.jp/place/
- Musashino City official site (facility guide, hours, closing days): city.musashino.lg.jp
- Musashino City Library (who can register): https://www.library.musashino.tokyo.jp/contents?pid=21
- kw+hg architects (project data): https://kwhg.co.jp/
Opening hours, closing days and usage rules can change. Please check the official site before you travel. The experience described here is our own; we update the page when we notice a change.
Tokyo, slowly — one room at a time.
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