Traveling Info

The Adachi Museum of Art was founded by Adachi Zenko in 1980 as a way of combining his passions for Japanese art and garden design. He hoped that viewing the gardens and artwork together would expand peoples' appreciation and interest in Japanese art. The Adachi Museum of Art is best known for its award winning garden. It has been named the best garden in Japan annually since 2003 by the Journal of Japanese Gardening. The garden can be enjoyed at anytime of the year and shows a different character depending on the season. It can only be viewed from the museum building. In addition to the gardens, the Adachi Museum of Art also houses a collection of nearly 1300 twentieth century paintings and artworks which are rotated seasonally. There is also a permanent exhibit of paintings by Yokoyama Taikan, as well as a ceramics exhibit. How to get there The Adachi Museum of Art is located one hour outside of Matsue: Take a train from Matsue Station to Yasugi Station (20 minutes, 400 yen by lo...

In 1930, to commemorate Kojima Torajiro, a Western-style painter who died the previous year, Kurashiki entrepreneur, Ohara Magosaburo, founded the Ohara Museum of Art. This private museum, featuring Western art, is the oldest in Japan. Magosaburo, well-known as a collector of Japanese art, highly respected Torajiro's talent and his humble attitude towards art, and sent Torajiro to Europe three times. Torajiro studied art in Europe and, at the same time, with Magosaburo's superb European artwork, choosing pieces through the sense of beauty that he possessed as a Japanese artist. Torajiro, who had a spirit typical of Meiji Era, felt there was a struggle between the highlights of Western art and his Japanese aesthetic sense, when he carefully chose artwork. He prudently chose masterpieces by El Greco, Gauguin, Monet, Matisse and other artists and brought them to Kurashiki, which are now the main features of the Ohara Museum of Art. His collection of Chinese and Egyptian art reveal...

The museum was established in order to showcase the fine arts and crafts of Ishikawa, a Prefecture whose culture of fine arts and traditional crafts compares with that of Tokyo and Kyoto. The museum is accordingly managed as a regional oriented museum. The collections vary from old, Ishikawa-related fine art works to modern Japanese art: paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, traditional arts and crafts whose artists have something to do with Ishikawa Prefecture. The highlights of a visit have to be Japanese traditional arts and crafts works, including feudal Daimyo utensils using the Kaga Makie technique, a huge range of Kutani porcelain collection from Ko-kutani (Old Kutani) to Re-established Kutani, and works by numerous living national treasures. These works are on display in our seven permanent exhibition halls. Detail Info Hours Apr-Nov daily 9am-5pm (closed 3rd Thurs of every month); Dec-Mar Fri-Wed 9am-5pm Address 1-1 Kenroku-machi Location Next to Seisonkaku Villa Transportat...

Meiji Mura (博物館明治村, Hakubutsukan Meiji-mura?, lit: "Meiji village" museum) is an open-air architectural museum/theme park in Inuyama, near Nagoya in Aichi prefecture, Japan. It was opened on March 18, 1965. The museum preserves historic buildings from Japan's Meiji (1867-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), and early Shōwa (1926-1989) periods. Over 60 historical buildings have been moved and reconstructed onto 1 km² (247 acres) of rolling hills alongside Lake Iruka. The most noteworthy building there is the reconstructed main entrance and lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright's landmark Imperial Hotel, which originally stood in Tokyo from 1923 to 1967, when the main structure was demolished to make way for a new, larger version of the hotel. How to get there Meiji Mura is located in Inuyama City, about one hour outside of Nagoya. From Nagoya Station, take the Meitetsu Inuyama Line to Inuyama Station, taking about 30 minutes (540 Yen). From Inuyama Station there are three to four Meitetsu...

This is the largest and most fascinating collection of inro, the pouch that attaches to a kimono sash used for carrying medicine, perfume and other personal belongings. Detail Info Hours Wed-Mon 9am-5pm Address 1-98 Oshinmachi Phone 0577/32-8500 Admission ¥500 ($4.75) for adults, ¥300 ($2.85) for high-school, junior-high, and elementary students Season Closed Dec-Mar

Hida Folk Village (飛騨民俗村, Hida Minzoku Mura?) is an open air museum of close to 30 old farmhouses illustrating the traditional architectural styles of the mountainous regions of Japan. The Hida Folk Village (飛騨の郷 Hida no Sato) is located near Takayama in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Of particular interest are the thatched and shingled roofs, such as the gasshō-zukuri-styled buildings. Many of the buildings were brought to this location from their original sites in order to preserve them. The village is quite picturesque, as it is built on a hillside overlooking the Takayama Valley and surrounds a large pond. The structures in the village range from 100 to 500 years in age. Many are open to perusal and are filled with artifacts from their respective time periods, including spindles, silk worm raising artifacts, cooking utensils, and clothing. There is also a workshop in the village illustrating how many of Japan's famous handicrafts are made, including wood carving, tie-dying, weaving, a...

The Japan Ukiyoe Museum exhibits ukiyoe (woodblock prints) from the vast collection of the Sakai family. One of Matsumoto's wealthiest merchants of his times, Sakai Yoshiaki started collecting ukiyoe and other pieces of art roughly 300 years ago. His descendants have been enlarging the collection to over 100,000 pieces, making it one of the world's largest private art collections. Compared to the size of the collection and the museum building, the number of works exhibited in the Japan Ukiyoe Museum is rather small, partly due to the fact that the building was originally built solely for storage rather than exhibition purposes. English descriptions for the exhibits are brief. How to get there The Japan Ukiyoe Museum is located about 3 kilometers outside of Matsumoto's city center, close to Matsumoto Interchange of the Nagano Expressway. The museum can be reached in a 10 minute taxi ride from Matsumoto Station (about 1000-1500 Yen) or in a 15-20 minute walk from Oniwa Statio...

The Hakone Open Air Museum (Japanese: Hakone Chokoku No Mori Bijutsukan), successfully attempts to create a harmonic balance of nature and art by exhibiting various sculptures on its spacious grounds in combination with beautiful views of the surrounding valley and mountains. Besides the sculptures, the Hakone Open Air Museum features various indoor galleries, including a sizable Picasso Collection, consisting of paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramic creations. How to get there The Hakone Open Air Museum can be reached in a short walk from Chokoku No Mori Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway (30 minutes, 390 Yen from Hakone-Yumoto, covered by the Hakone Free Pass), the last station before the terminal station of Gora. Click here for Hakone Open Air Museum Map

The Edo-Tokyo Museum (江戸東京博物館, Edo Tōkyō Hakubutsukan?) is a museum of the history of Tokyo, established in 1993. The main features of the permanent exhibitions are the life-size replica of the Nihonbashi, which was the bridge leading into Edo; the Nakamuraza theatre; scale models of town; and buildings from the Edo, Meiji and Shōwa periods. The museum is located in Ryōgoku adjacent to the Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The distinctive elevated shape of museum's building is modeled after an old storehouse in the kurazukuri style. The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum is a branch of the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Click here for Edo-Tokyo Museum Map Click here for Official Website

Established 1872, the Tokyo National Museum (東京国立博物館, Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan?), or TNM, is the oldest and largest museum in Japan. The museum collects, houses, and preserves a comprehensive collection of art works and archaeological objects of Asia, focusing on Japan. The museum holds over 110,000 objects, which includes 87 Japanese National Treasure holdings and 610 Important Cultural Property holdings (as of July, 2005). The museum also conducts research and organizes educational events related to its collection. The museum is located inside Ueno Park in Taito, Tokyo. The facilities consist of the Honkan (本館, Japanese Gallery), Tōyōkan (東洋館, Asian Gallery), Hyōkeikan (表慶館), Heiseikan (平成館), Hōryū-ji Hōmotsukan (法隆寺宝物館, the Gallery of Hōryū-ji Treasures), as well as Shiryōkan (資料館, the Research and Information Center) and other facilities (Map). There are restaurants and shops within the museum's premises, as well as outdoor exhibitions and a garden where visitors can enjoy ...