The Hakone Open-Air Museum

Why it is on the list

The museum opened in 1969 in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, on grounds laid out by the sculptor Bukichi Inoue over hills, streams and ponds, with mountains on both sides and the sea on the horizon.¹ Some 120 sculptures stand on about 70,000 m² of lawn and garden, among them Rodin, Bourdelle and Miró.²³ It holds one of the largest Henry Moore collections anywhere, 26 pieces on permanent display across the grounds, and more than 300 works by Picasso, built around 188 ceramics bought from his daughter Maya.³ The Picasso Pavilion, opened in 1984 and reopened after renovation in 2019, shows them in rotation; indoor rooms hold Brancusi and Giacometti.⁴³ Gabriel Loire's Symphonic Sculpture is a tower lined in stained glass, and a spring-fed footbath looks out over the forest.²

The paths climb, with stairs, steep slopes and narrow passages; mobility scooters and multi-seat wagons stay at the door.⁵ For art and architecture with the sea below it, Enoura Observatory and the MOA Museum of Art are both on the coast at Odawara and Atami.

How to get it

Take the Odakyu Line to Hakone-Yumoto, then the Hakone Tozan Railway to Chokoku-no-Mori Station, two minutes on foot from the gate.⁶ By car from Tokyo, the Tomei Expressway to Atsugi, the Odawara-Atsugi Road and the Seisho By-Pass to Hakoneguchi, then Route 1 to Miyanoshita and Prefectural Road 723 towards Gora for about 500 metres.⁶ Buy tickets online to walk in without queueing at the counter: adults 1,800 yen online, 2,000 yen on the day.⁷⁸ Parking is 500 yen for the first three hours.⁸ The museum is open 9:00 to 17:00 every day of the year, last entry 30 minutes before closing; the desk answers on +81 460-82-1161.⁸ Parties of 15 or more must book as a group.⁷

Discretion

Photographs are for personal use only; video, tripods and selfie sticks are not allowed in the indoor galleries, and drones and live streaming are not allowed anywhere.⁵⁸ An online ticket skips the queue at the ticket counter.⁷