Art in the park; a surprise for us again

Shelley and I slipped away from Tokyo for another journey into rural but busy Japan. This time we headed to Hakone, a destination for Gaijin (foreigners) and westernised Japanese since the turn of the century. Once again we went, despite the weather, knowing that an umbrella is an all-purpose tool in this country essential to any outing.

Once again we were totally surprised and amazed by the art collections found in so many of the cities we go to. This one was the Hakone Open Air museum which we had never heard of so we wandered in with few expeditions. Well... once again this was an OMG moment for us, even though it was pouring rain.



A sumptuous rolling park of manicured trees, shrubs, water falls lawns and streams interspersed with the most astounding variety of world class sculptures and collections. Sprinkled around the landscaping there are sculptures of Rodin, of Calder, of Nikki St. Phalle and on and on, including a magnificent collection of Picasso pottery and paintings. Click here for a description. Who would have thought?

There was a separate building for the Picasso collection:



Along the paths...



Blowing in the wind...



What is up?



Or not...



Nikki St. Phalle, one of our favourites, "Black Power"



And an extensive collection of Henry Moore's work



And a six story stained glass tower with a circular staircase inside to fully appreciate the details:



Check out some of the details:



This society clearly values art in its' many forms and has many facilities to share this art with the public in beautiful settings.