Hakone Open Air Museum | Entertainment Museum (Kanagawa) that you can enjoy even if you are not interested in art　★★☆

What is the Hakone Open Air Museum?

"Hakone Open Air Museum" is an art museum located in Kanagawa Prefecture.

There are many works on display that even people who are not interested in art can enjoy, and it is a top-class tourist destination in Hakone.

This time, I will introduce the charm of the Hakone Open Air Museum.

The first outdoor museum in Japan

The Hakone Open Air Museum was opened in 1969 as Japan's first open-air museum.

It's a museum that is older than I expected, but it doesn't make me feel the times because there are many avant-garde works.

Highlights of the Hakone Open Air Museum

Then, I will introduce the ones that impressed me from about 120 works.

Gabriel Loire "Symphony Sculpture Calling Happiness"

The first is the most famous work at the Hakone Open Air Museum.

Stained glass is fitted all around the 18m high tower, creating a fantastic space.

You can reach the top of the tower, so let's climb it.

Don't be disappointed, the photo looks more beautiful than it looks with the naked eye.

Antony Gormley "Adhesion"

As the title suggests, it is as close to the earth as possible.

Personally, I like this more than the glittering stained glass tower.

The type of work is taken from the author himself.

Takao Tsuchida "Gengyo-V"

This is my favorite work at The Hakone Open Air Museum.

According to the author, "The work is completed by looking up at the sculpture from the front stand," so please try it.

There are two more works with different poses nearby.

Carl Milles "People and Pegasus"

Bellerophon, the hero of Greek mythology, is riding a Pegasus to get rid of monsters, but he is falling.

It is a work full of tsukkomi, such as "Or is it on the verge of riding? Isn't people flying in the first place?"

Dream collaboration!

Auguste Rodin "Balzac"

Rodin, who is famous for being a "thinker," creates works with his own sensibility, so he often gets into trouble with the orderer.

This statue is one of them, and Rodin kept it until his death because the orderer refused to accept it because it was too avant-garde and was said to be a "failure" or "pagan god".

The rugged exaggeration is a truly Rodin-like work.

François-Zavier, Claude Laranne "Weeping Angel"

This work is based on the Greek mythological boy "Narcissus".

He was a crazy person who fell in love with himself reflected on the surface of the water and died debilitatingly because he couldn't move from the spot.

It is understandable that it is the etymology of narcissists.

Niki de Saint Phalle "Miss Black Power"

A series of giant female figures called "Nana" that expresses women as the source of life.

I certainly feel a strong vitality.

The statue looking up at the sky in the center of the photo is not a pervert, but the "God's hand" of the same author as the fallen Pegasus.

Arnaldo Pomodoro "Sphere within Sphere"

It is a work that seems to appear in science fiction.

As the title suggests, you can see another sphere from the back of this photo. (I didn't take a picture ...)

It seems that the rust is eroding more and more, but on the contrary, I feel that it is giving a good taste.

Taro Okamoto "Treeman"

It is a work of Taro Okamoto, who is famous for "Tower of the Sun" at the Osaka Expo.

The title says "Human", but if you do your best, it will look like a human.

Picasso Museum

This museum exhibits Picasso's works. (No additional charge)

To be honest, I found it a bit too challenging to call myself the "Picasso Museum" in this collection.

The history of the painter Picasso is unknown, and the centerpiece of the exhibition is ceramic works.

Picasso started pottery in earnest when he was 65 years old, so please understand the quality of the work. (I don't really like Picasso, but I would go if there was a Picasso exhibition, and it's a human view that I've visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. "Picasso, the secret of a genius" held in Osaka in 2016. "Exhibition" is a type that feels great.)

I think the name "Picasso Ceramics Museum" was good.

Facilities that children can enjoy

The Hakone Open Air Museum is also targeting families, which is unusual for a museum.

There are many athletic-style works in the park that only children can enter.

Also in this work, it is a playset called "Woods of Net" that only children can enter.

I saw many families with babies, partly because they rented strollers for free.

It's like going for a walk in a nearby park.

This bench is a fried egg-shaped work, but it has become popular as a resting place without being noticed so much.

About lunch in the park

The Hakone Open Air Museum has everything from solid restaurants to casual cafes.

If it's crowded, you can take out at the cafe and eat outside on the terrace.

Rather, you don't have to wait for a seat to become available, so it may be better to take out.

Cafe menu table: Official website

Staying time and congestion

It takes about 90 to 120 minutes to go around the park.

More time is required to play with each playset or use the restaurant.

The garden of the exhibition space is large, so there is no place that is so crowded.

Business hours, admission fees, and great discounts

Every Saturday is a "family special treatment day", and up to XNUMX elementary and junior high school students are free for each adult.

Also, if you show the linked coupon at the ticket window, you will get a 100 yen discount.

Discount coupon: Official website

Access

It is recommended to go to "Chokoku no Mori Station" by train.

It is a 2-minute walk from the station, and you can also use the Hakone Freepass.

Hakone Freepass: Official Website

Map

Finally

The Hakone Open Air Museum is a facility that anyone from families to traveling alone can recommend.

Even if you are not interested in art, please do visit when you go to Hakone.

It's basically an outdoor exhibition, so I think it's more enjoyable to avoid hot weather and rainy days.