Kanagawa · Hakone / NinotairaNo.224★★★Open in map →
Hakone Open-Air Museum
An open-air sculpture park on a hillside in Hakone, featuring around 120 modern and contemporary works including a dedicated Picasso Pavilion and a stained-glass tower. A 2-minute walk from Chokoku-no-Mori Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway.
The Hakone Open-Air Museum opened in 1969, becoming Japan's first purpose-built outdoor sculpture park. Its 70,000 square metres of hillside garden display around 120 works by both Japanese and international artists — from large-scale abstract bronzes placed against mountain ridges to the delicate Symphonic Sculpture, a tower of stained glass designed by the French artist Gabriel Loire whose interior glows with shifting light. A dedicated Picasso Pavilion holds 319 works: paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramics, and decorative objects spanning much of his career. The gardens stay open in every season, and the sculptures look different each time the weather changes.
Background & history
Founded in 1969, this is Japan's first open-air museum. Its 70,000-square-metre garden holds works by Japanese and international artists. The Picasso Pavilion (319 works) and the stained-glass Symphonic Sculpture, designed by French artist Gabriel Loire and completed in 1975, are the centrepieces of the collection.
What to look for — in walking order
- Main sculpture garden (entrance → Symphonic Sculpture)
- bronzes and stone works along hillside paths, opening towards the mountain panorama
- Symphonic Sculpture
- a tall stained-glass tower by Gabriel Loire; climb the internal staircase to a platform with open views over the garden
- Picasso Pavilion
- 319 works — paintings, prints, ceramics, sculpture — with rotating displays from across his career
- Forest footbath
- an outdoor hot-spring foot soak in the garden; complimentary towels available for hire
How to enjoy it
Enter from Chokoku-no-Mori Station (a 2-minute walk) and follow the main path through the sculpture garden to the Symphonic Sculpture tower first, then loop back to the Picasso Pavilion. Save the forest footbath for after the Picasso building — it is at the far end of the garden. The museum is open 9:00–17:00 every day of the year; last admission is 16:30. Adults pay ¥2,000 at the gate; the Hakone Free Pass includes entry. The grounds can be wet and slippery in rain, but most major sculptures are still accessible.
How to actually get there
- Shinjuku Station → Hakone-Yumoto Station (Odakyu Romancecar, ~85 min; or JR Shinkansen to Odawara then Hakone Tozan Railway ~50 min).
- Hakone-Yumoto Station → Chokoku-no-Mori Station (Hakone Tozan Railway toward Gora, 7th stop, ~15 min).
- Chokoku-no-Mori Station → museum entrance (walk, ~2 min).
- Romancecar (Odakyu) → Odawara → Hakone Tozan Railway
- From Shinjuku Station, take the Odakyu Romancecar to Hakone-Yumoto Station (about 85 minutes, reservation recommended). Transfer to the Hakone Tozan Railway toward Gora; the seventh stop is Chokoku-no-Mori Station (about 15 minutes). Walk 2 minutes to the museum entrance. Total roughly 100–105 minutes. Alternatively, take the JR Tokaido Shinkansen to Odawara Station (about 35 minutes), then the Hakone Tozan Railway from Odawara to Chokoku-no-Mori (about 45 minutes).
- Return from Chokoku-no-Mori to Hakone-Yumoto
- The Hakone Tozan Railway runs back to Hakone-Yumoto approximately every 20–30 minutes. From Hakone-Yumoto, take the Odakyu Romancecar or a regular express back to Shinjuku. No advance booking is needed for the Tozan Railway; the Romancecar benefits from reservation.
Before you go
- Cash
- Admission is ¥2,000 for adults (high school/university ¥1,600; junior high and below ¥800). The Hakone Free Pass (¥6,100 from Shinjuku, 2 days) covers the Romancecar (surcharge applies), Hakone Tozan Railway, and museum entry. IC cards are accepted on the Odakyu and Tozan lines.
- Closing days
- Open 9:00–17:00 every day of the year; last admission 16:30. The Woods of Net children's play area closes in poor weather.
- Another way
- If the Romancecar is full, take an Odakyu express to Odawara (about 75 minutes) and switch to the Hakone Tozan Railway at Odawara Station.
- After you get off
- Chokoku-no-Mori Station is on the main platform level; the museum entrance is a 2-minute walk straight from the exit.