What other travelers are saying about Hakone Open-Air Museum
What a wonderful place! I’m not knowledgeable about art in the least, but I had such a fun time exploring the open air museum. We arrived in the afternoon, but definitely could have spent a few more hours here if we’d arrived earlier in the day. It was fun meandering through the beautiful grounds and enjoying the various sculptures, and the indoor Picasso exhibit was fascinating and very informative. The kids loved the Woods of Net play structure and would have spent the entire day there if they could.
You know it's arrived when you have no idea what any of it means. That being said, the museum is very spacious and feels almost like an adventure to see everything it has to offer. You could spend hours here just admiring the works alone without going into too much detail regarding them. There are also indoor sections for art more suited for the indoors, like paintings and some sculptures. There are also a few structures that are art, like a stained class cylinder that surrounds a spiralling staircase, as well as a climbing structure, and some other ones that left my memory.
This one our first day in Japan. After driving from Tokyo to watch the splendor of Mt Fuji, we made a stop here. Very easy drive. No wait time to enter. The museum is very easy to walk and very "open". Everything is outdoor, but the Picasso museum. So we had a great sunny day at the of May, but if it is rainy I would not recommend to stop here. You are better of taking the ropeway very close by.
This museum is very pretty as it is surrounded by mountains. I really liked the concept of having artwork installed in the outdoors. It’s really calm and peaceful. I wish they had more open sitting/relaxing area outside. They have two restaurants and a souvenir shop.
Parking: First 3 hours is 500yen. After that very hour is 500yen.
One of the best places during my recent trip to Japan. If you are an art fan, you will definitely spend at least 2-3 hours here. Recommend to come early and best if not raining as most of the exhibits apart from Picasso are out in the open space.
There is also a unique special exhibition indoors at the start. You can drive here as there is a big carpark.
Some of the exhibits are interactive. The winding colourful stairway is a must visit.