---
node: spot_hakone_hakone_open_air_museum
type: spot
slug: hakone_open_air_museum
destination: dest_hakone
title: "Hakone Open-Air Museum"
lead: "Japan's first open-air sculpture museum opened here in 1969, with about a hundred and twenty works set across seven hectares of hillside. A separate pavilion holds around three hundred pieces by Picasso."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_hakone_hakone_open_air_museum.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:220622_Hakone_Open-air_Museum_Japan07s3.jpg"
image_author: "663highland"
image_license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

## Overview

The setting does the work: Moore, Bourdelle, Miró and Niki de Saint Phalle stand against a valley that changes with the season, and the collection is arranged so that each piece has a view rather than a neighbour. The Picasso pavilion was assembled with the help of his daughter Maya and is strongest in ceramics, which is the part of his output most museums under-represent. A stained-glass tower can be climbed from inside, and there is a free foot bath fed by hot spring water at the far end.

## Highlights

Allow two hours and walk the loop downhill; the ticket also gets a discount on the Hakone Freepass. The children's play sculptures are meant to be climbed on, by children. Rain is not a reason to skip it — the valley in low cloud is better than the valley in sun, and the indoor pavilions are the natural shelter.