Hakone Open Air Museum
Hakone Open Air Museum is Japan’s first outdoor art museum with sculpture as its theme. It displays more than 120 dedicated sculpture works and other forms of art works like paintings and potteries. For art-lovers, the outdoor sculptures exhibition and three indoor art exhibition galleries, namely Picasso Pavilion, Main Gallery, and Symphonic Sculpture, are unmissable. Apart from that, Open Air Museum provides some spots for visitors to have fun, including Spring-Foot-Bath, Garden of Stars, and Woods of Net especially designed for children.
The Outdoor Sculptures Exhibition
The outdoor exhibition provides more than 120 exquisite sculptures by famous masters all over the world, which enables visitors to compare differences among sculptures with different styles. The famous sculptures include: “Force, Victory, Liberty, Eloquence” and “Heracles the Archer” by French artist Émile-Antoine Bourdelle, “Close III” by Antony Gormley from Britain, and “Big Hand” and “White Masked Head” by German artist Rainer Kriester. Also, since all the sculptures are scattered in the natural environment, visitors can appreciate the elegance of these artefacts as well as the natural scenery with the alternation of seasons.
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Three Indoor Art Galleries
The Picasso Pavilion in Hakone Open Air Museum
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Picasso Pavilion
Picasso Pavilion of Hakone Open Air Museum displays authentic works by Picasso, including paintings, potteries and sculptures, such as “Two Heads of Women”. Nowadays, the works are in three exhibition rooms according to their size and materials. For example, in the first exhibition room are comparably large graphic works, like the painting “Composition Summer 1955”, while potteries works are mainly in the second room and middle and small-sized works are in the third room.Main Gallery
Main Gallery consists of two floors and one mezzanine, and most works are exhibited in the second floor. There exhibits delicate sculptures of various materials, including bronze, white marbles, and plasters. For example, in the first floor you can appreciate 3 works by Jean Dubuffet: “L’Ambulant”, “Clochepoche”, and “Tarabiscot”. The Mezzanine shows “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” by Umberto Boccioni, and “Femme Mince sans Bras” by Alberto Giacometti. In the second floor, you can see more than 30 works: Fumio Asakura’s “Stretch Out”, Yasutake Funakoshi’s “Bust of Setsuko”, Constantin Brancusi’s “The Kiss”, and so on. Compared with those works exhibited in the open air, the illumination of artificial light better highlights the ingeniousness of works.
Symphonic Sculpture
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Exterior of Symphonic Sculpture Tower
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Symphonic Sculpture is a tower and has two parts. One is the outer wall made of thousands pieces of stained glasses. When sunlight shines through the glasses, the insides would become colorful. The other part is a spiral staircase in the middle of the tower. As visitors reach the top of the tower by climbing the staircase, they can appreciate the panorama of the whole museum.
Good Places to Have Fun in Hakone Open Air Museum
Spring-Foot-Bath
Since the whole museum covers an area of 70,000 square meters (17.29 acres), it is very easy for visitors to get exhausted. Therefore, having a free foot bathing can help visitors reduce tiredness on their foot. If you don’t take towels to dry your foot, don’t worry as the Museum will provide them, priced at 100 yen for each. Please note that the place is closed from March 1st to late July.
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Stained Glasses in the Symphonic Sculpture
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Garden of Stars
Garden of Stars is a maze constructed below the ground. The different geometries in the maze form a star shape. Walking in the maze, you can feel the magic of these geometric figures.Woods of Net
Woos of Net is very popular among children. Inside the wooden structure, there is a colorful hammock made up of several nets. The extensiveness of the hammock enable children to race freely with their friends or jump. Also, there are several balls hanging under the net, so children can swing in the air hugging the ball. Here, children can also gain the insight of colors while playing, thus developing their conception of art.Open Time:
The Museum is open to the public from 9:00 to 17:00 all year round, but please note that the last entry time is 16:30.
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The entrance of Hakone Open Air Museum
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Ticket Price:
1,600 yen;1,500 yen if holding a Hakone two-day pass.
How to Arrive at Hakone Open Air Museum
1. Train:
Take Hakone Tozan Railway at Odawara Station and get off at Chokoku-no-Mori Station. In two minutes’ walk, you can get to the Museum.2. Bus:
From Odawara Station, walk to Odawara Station East Exit Bus Terminal in two minutes, take a bus with sign “J”, “H”or ”Z” and get off at Ninotaira-iriguchi Bus Stop. Then walk to the Museum in seven minutes.
Nearby Attraction:
Owaku-dani Valley
Owaku-dani Valley is formed due to a volcanic eruption 3,000 yers ago. In Owaku-dani Valley, you can appreciate volcanic rocks and sulfur gas at close distance. In addition, the delicious black eggs are unmissable. You can also learn more geological conditions of Hakone in Hakone Geo Museum.
→ From Chokokunomori Station, take Hakone Tozan Line to Gora Station,
→ from which take Hakozetozan Cable Car to Sōunzan Station.
→ Last, take Hakone Ropeway and get off at Owakudani Station.