Hakone Museum of Art

The museum was founded by the industrialist and religious leader Mokichi Okada. It was opened in 1952 within the “Shinsenkyo” garden, which he himself built between 1944 and 1953. With a view of the Hakone mountain range and the Sagami Sea, the garden harmonizes the beauty of natural landscape and artificial gardening. One may enjoy the scenery of the four seasons, as the garden is composed of the "Moss Garden" decorated with about 130 kinds of mosses and 200 maple trees, the rock garden “Sekiraku-en ” (partially open to public) with its giant rock formations, the "Bamboo Garden" and the "Hagi-no-michi " path. Because of its beauty, it was designated as a national Place of Scenic Beauty in March 2021.

The exterior of the museum is finished with blue roof tiles to match the Chinese style of the Bamboo Garden. The museum has a permanent display of ancient Japanese ceramics, including Jomon earthenware, Haniwa clay figurines, jars and pots from six ancient kilns of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, and colored ceramics from the Edo period. In addition, tea ceremony utensils from the Momoyama period and ceramics from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China are displayed in special exhibitions.

There is also the Shinwatei teahouse , where you can enjoy a cup of matcha green tea and seasonal Japanese sweets for 800 yen while looking out over the garden, and a museum store with original goods such as picture postcards.