The Okada Museum of Art was constructed on the site of the old Kaikatei hotel built in the Meiji period for Westerners. The Museum with a total floor area of about 7,700 m2, has an impressive exhibition space. This spacious building mainly exhibits Japanese, Chinese, and Korean works of art ranging from ancient times through to the present age, collected by the businessman Okada Kazuo.

It is probably the biggest and the most attractive museum in Hakone. Unfortunately, cameras and phones aren’t allowed in and I couldn’t take any picture inside the museum. Then, you can’t see a picture of any displayed exhibit, but meybe, due to the fact, you will be more willing to see the exhibition in real.
First part of the exhibition includes Japanese, Chinese and Korean ceramics. Exhibition has very high historic value, because the oldest exhibit of this section was made in 3rd century! All rooms in the museum are very dark, what make really great atmosphere to focus on watching exhibits. Exhibits are illuminated by spotlights and they completely attract attention of visitors. What especially caught my eye, was the set of ceramic tea service. It was pretty old, but still had very intensive colors. Dishes looked just like newly created things. The difference was, that they were painted manually, one by one and when I took the closer look at them, I noticed some differences in details, like a color’s tone or pattern’s differences. The special thing is, that in case of handmade things, every single exhibit seems to be very unique.

Next section includes Japanese paintings and buddhist art. My favourite in this section were pieces inspired by old literature with beautiful landscapes. Also, there were many paintings with Mt. Fuji in background, that actually I love to watch in every painting form.

Summary

Okada Museum of Art is very modern and the big object. I appreciate, that the route is very easy to understand and it’s hard to lost during sightseeing. Unfortunately, sometimes in big museums, route is not clear enough. Also, it’s child-friendly museum, because near the most interesting exhibits there are informative tablets, where you can choose text in Japanese, Chinese, English, Korean and Japanese for children. It’s great a option for people who learn Japanese, like me, to practice language as well. If you’re going to visit Hakone, don’t forget to come to the Okada Museum of Art!

Weronika Golubska

Information

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* This article was written by a trainee from overseas. Please note that there might be spelling and grammar mistakes.