Looking for a quaint place to visit in Hakone?
Hakone Open-Air Museum is the place to be if you are in the district.
What is the Hakone Open-Air Museum?
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| Hakone Open-Air Museum |
Do you know that the Hakone Open-Air Museum was founded in 1969?
It was set up as an outdoor art museum to allow the appreciation of great sculpture in a natural setting. Despite its age, the exhibits are relatively new showcasing modern to contemporary art pieces. It is kids friendly and a good destination to go to spend an hour or two if you are in Hakone.
There are plenty to see in the 70,000 Sqm Hakone Open Air Museum, we narrow down to 3 must-see exhibits if you are press for time.
Top 3 Attractions in Hakone Air Museum
Symphonic Sculpture (Gabriel Loire)
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| Symphonic Sculpture |
Bedazzled by the symphonic sculpture. An imposing white tower greets you. Step inside and you would be wow by the stained glasses that line up from bottom to top.
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| Photo By Little L |
Bring your camera along. This place deserved to be photographed at every corner.
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| Photographer |
You can also climb up the flights of steps up the tower.
And be greeted with this view from the top.
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| View from the top |
It certainly deserved another photo. In reality, photos do not do justice to this inspiring sight that reminds us of the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Ring.
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| Another look in the symphonic sculpture. |
Knitted Wonder Space 2 (Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam)
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| Knitted Wonder Space 2 |
This unique wooden sculpture house a playground, unlike anything we had seen before.
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| Colourful playground |
It's a colourful web sculpture that allows kids to climb within.
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| Let's play |
It may not be the usual playground we are used to, but it does provide tons of fun! There are other pockets of spaces like
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| Colours |
Picasso Pavilion
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| Picasso Pavillon |
Explore the life of Picasso through this exhibit. There are over 300 works of art created by the artistic genius and they take their turns making their round in the exhibit. A must-see for art lovers.
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| Picasso Works |
There are more!
There are plenty more interesting sculptures in the Hakone Open Air Museum. Words do injustice to them, so we would just let the photos do the talking...
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| Man and Pegasus |
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| Grande Hercules Archer |
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| Personnage |
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| Grande Statue de la Force |
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| The Hand of God |
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| Miss Black Power |
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| Unknown Child |
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| My Sky Hole |
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| Sphere Trames |
Other than the playground, there is also a maze in the park, check it out!
There are plenty of art around for you to admire. It was the highlight of our trip to Hakone and we highly recommend it!
Getting There
If you are travelling from Tokyo, you have to take the train from Shinjuku (Odakye Line) to Hakone Yumoto. Take the Hakone Tozan Railway to Chokoku-no-Mori Station which is a 2 minutes walk away.
This trip is the best to combine with a
Hakone Free Pass. The pass allows you a hassle-free way to take the major transportation in Hakone. With the pass, you will have access to the Hakone Tozan Train, Hakone Tozan Bus, Hakone Cable Car, Hakone Ropeway and Hakone Sightseeing Cruise ( Pirate Ship). You can pick up the Pass in Shinjuku and it includes a return trip from Shinjuku Tokyo to Hakone on the Hakone Tozan Train. It is the best way to experience Hakone on a day trip from Tokyo.
You can get your
Hakone Free Pass from Klook here.
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