An expert dive into Japan’s art trail

By Ed Peters

August 29, 2024

Journeying the length and breadth of Japan’s archipelago, the nation’s artistry signals its presence constantly. Craftsmanship is found on a micro level in the exquisite delicacy of moritsuke food presentation, the infinite precision of a formal garden and on board the sleek shinkansen bullet trains. More macro mastery lives within the plentiful museums and galleries, where the best make full use of the glories of the Japanese outdoors to champion local creativity. From Tokyo to Naoshima, these are the landscape art addresses to hook a trip around.

Kan Yasuda Sculpture Museum, Arte Piazza Bibai

On Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, Arte Piazza Bibai is a seven-hectare park hosting more than 40 bronze and marble sculptures – each placed just far enough from its neighbour to keep visitors’ interest running moderately close to fever pitch. All are the work of local talent Kan Yasuda, who was born and grew up in the one-time coal town of Bibai. After an uplifting hike round the grounds, Café Arte with its wood-burning stove is a great spot to reflect on the relationship between humans, art and nature. Adventurous art enthusiasts may want to try their hand at the weekend sculpting classes.

Echigo-Tsumari Art Field

Held every three years, the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field’s Triennale sees as many as 200 new art pieces added to the existing tally of installations, which are positioned throughout the countryside in one of Japan’s more deprived areas. It’s both a celebration of art and a spirited attempt to reverse the effects of depopulation and natural disasters, such as the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake. Contributions are accepted from international as well as Japanese artists and are exhibited in unusual locations, including abandoned buildings or amid the region’s ubiquitous rice fields. This year’s Triennale ends on 10 November.

Adachi Museum of Art

In the years before World War II, Yokoyama Taikan was the name to conjure within Japanese art circles, chiefly for his championing of nihonga, a style of painting that employs mineral pigments and ink on silk or paper. Much of the Adachi Museum of Art is given over to his creations, although it hosts a programme of exhibitions as well, such as this autumn’s selection of contemporary Japanese painting (from September to November). Equally striking are the museum’s surroundings, which broadcast in multiple shades of green the founder’s belief that “the garden is also a canvas”. Nobody would ever guess that the 15m waterfall was man made – in homage to one of Taikan’s works.

Naoshima

Septuagenarian billionaire Soichiro Fukutake may not be as well known as Soloman Guggenheim or Henry Tate, but he deserves to be. Over the past four decades he’s overseen the transmogrification of Naoshima into an artistic Avalon. The island’s half-dozen museums and installations are inspiring and cosmopolitan (showcasing Hockney, Giacometti and the like) in equal measure, but the bevy of artworks scattered seemingly willy-nilly about Naoshima are even more intriguing. You’d be forgiven for thinking some magical being is about to spring out of avant-garde sculptress Yayoi Kusama’s whimsical black-spotted, yellow pumpkin, which sits on a jetty overlooking the sea. If there’s only time to visit one arts venue in Japan, Naoshima tops the list. It’s also within easy reach of Mandarin Oriental, Setouchi – three distinctive boutique resorts by the picturesque Seto Inland Sea that are set to open between 2027 and 2030. The resorts – one of which is in Naoshima – are being crafted from local materials by Japanese artisans, often using centuries-old techniques, to create spaces that harmonise with their surroundings.

Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum

Some of the late Isamu Noguchi’s best-known works include bridges at the Hiroshima Peace Park and the garden at the Unesco headquarters in Paris – and he also turned out some eclectic furniture. Touring his former home (an Edo period merchant’s residence that he restored) near Takamatsu provides an in-depth glimpse of his artistic rationale, taking in his workshop and extensive battery of tools, dozens of sculptures (many unfinished), and the hillside gardens that he designed to celebrate his 80th birthday in 1984. Note that the museum can only be viewed by appointment: visit the website for details.

Roppongi Hills

Roppongi Hills in Tokyo is a futuristic city within a city that’s a short drive from Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo. The 11-hectare, US$4bn high-rise metropolitan mega-complex has made a name for itself as a destination for upscale work and play. The twin attractions in the business/residential/entertainment development’s crown are the Mori Art Museum (with a permanent collection of contemporary pieces from Japan and other parts of East Asia) and the Mori Arts Center Gallery. And the icing on top is the 52nd-floor observation deck, which goes by the slightly bland moniker of Tokyo City View. Soaring windows allow for some amazing vistas (especially after dusk). A roster of seasonal shows (Paul McCartney’s photography until September 2024) adds some extra spectacle.

About the Author

Ed Peters

Ed Peters has lived most of his life in Asia. His next book, Alchemy: The Inside Story of Macao’s Golden Age of Gambling, will be published this Christmas.