Hakone

Japan’s first open-air museum is a breathtaking dialogue between human creativity and the raw beauty of nature. Nestled in the forested hills of Hakone, this visionary institution presents a world-class collection of modern and contemporary sculpture set against a dramatic mountain backdrop. Wander through sprawling green lawns where works by Henry Moore, Auguste Rodin, and Niki de Saint Phalle stand in quiet conversation with the landscape. The museum’s crown jewel is the Picasso Pavilion, housing an unparalleled collection of over 300 works by the Spanish master. Beyond the art, the site offers unique experiences: a foot bath fed by natural hot springs, a stunning stained-glass tower, and the Symphonic Sculpture, a climbable kaleidoscope of color. It is a place where art is not confined to white walls but is liberated, inviting you to touch, climb, and immerse yourself in a sensory journey that is both intellectually stimulating and deeply relaxing.

Suspended above a steaming, sulfur-yellow crater, the Hakone Ropeway delivers you to Owakudani — the ‘Great Boiling Valley’ — where the earth exhales in plumes of volcanic gas. This is Hakone’s geothermal heart, a moonscape of fissured rock and bubbling pools framed by the perfect cone of Mount Fuji on clear days. The air smells of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide), a reminder that you stand on an active volcano. The ritual here is simple: buy a black egg (kuro-tamago), boiled in the hot springs until the shell turns obsidian. Legend claims each egg adds seven years to your life. It is a place of primal forces, tourist kitsch, and genuine wonder — all wrapped in one unforgettable cable-car ride.