Bunkasai Japan
早稲田大学

Waseda University 🌍 🇰🇷

Haruki Murakami's alma mater and home of Japan's biggest university festival.

Haruki Murakami studied drama here in the late 1960s and set Norwegian Wood on a campus that is plainly this one. Today the university has a library devoted to him, designed by Kengo Kuma, and every November it hosts a two-day festival that draws close to 200,000 people.

Okuma Auditorium clock tower at Waseda University
Photo: Wiiii / CC BY-SA 3.0 / source
Key facts
Nearest station
Waseda Station (Tokyo Metro Tozai Line), 5 min walk
Open in Google Maps ↗
Normal-day visits
Yes. The campus is open to walk-in visitors; some buildings are restricted.
Photos
Outdoors is fine. Follow the signs inside museums and the library.
Festival
Wasedasai: Sat, Nov 7 – Sun, Nov 8
Festival details →
Waseda University ↗

Last updated: Sep 15, 2026

Why visit

  • The Haruki Murakami Library, designed by Kengo Kuma, opened here in 2021.
  • Norwegian Wood is set in a university that is, in everything but name, Waseda.
  • Wasedasai draws around 200,000 visitors in two days: the largest university festival in Japan.

On screen & in print

  • Norwegian Wood (novel 1987, film 2010)Novel / Film
    The narrator studies drama at an unnamed Tokyo university modeled on Murakami's own years at Waseda. The university itself publishes a pilgrimage guide.
  • Tora-san (Otoko wa Tsurai yo)Film
    Tora-san wanders into a Waseda lecture in one of the films. The library has a leaflet listing films shot on campus.

History worth knowing

Haruki Murakami studied here

The world's best-known living Japanese novelist studied drama at Waseda. The Waseda International House of Literature (Haruki Murakami Library) holds his manuscripts and records, and has a cafe.

Korean modern literature (1910s)

Yi Kwang-su, author of Korea's first modern novel Mujeong, studied philosophy at Waseda. Kim Seong-su, later Vice President of Korea, was also a Waseda graduate.

Your country's connection

🌍
Murakami readers everywhere
The library is a pilgrimage site for fans from Europe, the Americas and East Asia.
🇰🇷
Korea
Yi Kwang-su and Kim Seong-su studied here.

What to see on campus

  • Haruki Murakami Library free
    Free but reservation required online. Over 200,000 visitors since opening.
  • Okuma Auditorium free
    The clock tower that symbolizes Waseda. Exterior viewable any time; interior tours by application.
  • Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum free
    Japan's only museum dedicated to theatre. Free.
  • Aizu Museum free
    Free museum with over 50,000 East Asian artworks.
Record shelves inside the Haruki Murakami Library at Waseda University
Photo: Bea Phi / CC BY-SA 4.0 / source

Nearby to combine

  • Kagurazaka: Old lanes with Japanese and French restaurants, one stop east on the Tozai Line. 📍
  • Takadanobaba: Student town one stop west; its JR platform plays the Astro Boy theme. 📍

Visitor rules

  • Campus is open to visitors with no reservation; building interiors are partly restricted.
  • The Murakami Library needs an online reservation on non-festival days.
  • Expect very large crowds at Wasedasai. Arrive early and bring cash.

Etiquette →

Plan your visit

🎟 Waseda campus guided walking tour (Klook)🏨 Tokyo hotels on Rakuten Travel

Affiliate links. Booking through them supports this site at no extra cost to you.