Pic of the day: Barcelona someting old - something new
Chasing Picasso in the Park
Art Journey
Hakone Open Air Museum
The steam subtly rises up from the vents in the undulating roads lined by lush trees and shrubs. In the distance mostly covered by cloud but unmistakable no less is Mt. Fuji and almost unbelievably nestled amongst these ancient surrounds is one of the most amazing contemporary art museums in the world.
The Hakone Open Air Museum (Japanese: Hakone Chokoku No Mori Bijutsukan), creates a ponderous harmony of nature and art by exhibiting various sculptures across its rolling grounds in combination with beautiful views of the surrounding valley and mountains.
Besides the sculptures, the Hakone Open Air Museum has a few other indoor galleries, including one of the most amazing Picasso Collections around featuring paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramic creations but more on this later. As with anything the Japanese do, this place is born of passion and attention to detail which is immediately evident upon arrival where you are greeted by an outstanding and dynamic water feature that sets the tone of what to expect once you’re inside.
Once you are inside, it’s time to just wonder around and try to take it all in. There is so much to see.
As you walk and discover, you’ll never know what you’ll see next. Bright bursts of geometric colour pop out from around a clearing contrasting directly with other all white stone pieces representing more natural forms. You could easily spend the entire day here and everywhere you look is a million dollar view. It’s the perfect place to have a lazy picnic, even if the weather isn’t quite with you. The fact that you’re amongst the Japanese highlands means that your visit will probably be met with a little drizzle but this only adds to the mystique of the place.
The huge and well placed sculptures rise up from the ground in such a commanding way that they control their immediate position but only ever complimenting the surrounding pieces. Some are deliberately placed to work in tandem with each other which is a further demonstration of the thought that has gone into the facility. The mist that swirls around some of the higher works creates a dreamy atmosphere that easily sweeps you up and makes time disappear.
It’s such a curious place and if you’re the type that really likes to explore there are off beat tracks you can take venturing further into the forest where you’ll come across descending stone stairways that lead you to some hidden moss covered traditional stone works that seem as if they’ve been there for 100’s of years. Be careful here as there are also some very large spiders just waiting for you not to notice them!
Once you have almost done a lap and just when you think it doesn’t get any better, you are met with a very tall mosaic structure, which is the Picasso Wing. It’s here that you will find a wonderful array of Picasso works including sculptures, paintings and tapestry’s, the building itself one of his creations. There is plenty of informative signage to help guide you through which offers an excellent insight into some of the history, trials and tribulations of the artist. There is strictly no photography allowed in this section.
Because this place makes time stand still before you know it visiting hours will be almost over but if you’re into art or sculpture what a time you’ll have! The Hakone Open Air Museum is a must see attraction and can be reached by 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.
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Paul Blazey is an artist and travel writer for Urban Globetrotter
How to get to and around Hakone
