Hakone - Sculpture Heaven

Hakone Outdoor Art Museum – Japan – Sunday 18th October 2015

We decided to branch out on our own today and get to Hakone specifically the Hakone outdoor art museum.
Anticipating a complex day of train changes and “will we make it’s” we were pleasantly surprised. Arrived in record time. A combination of –

Google maps.
Helpful information booths providing small maps to get between transports.
A super-efficient and extensive transport system. We arrived at Odawarra to change to a bus to Hakone but where do we go: first stop Info desk – given a map with the short walk to bus highlighted. Get to bus station and we ask a woman directing passengers where we get the bus (shown on our phone). She waves her gloved hand to the bus right beside us. On we hope and in one minute at the appointed time it leaves.
Transport running exactly on time.
Portable WiFi letting us translate needed words into Kanji characters.
And people quietly trying to help whenever we asked despite a written and verbal language difference.

We arrived after a scenic bus trip, as solo passengers (leading to concerns as to whether or not we were on the right bus).

The most difficult part was trying to find the museum entrance. Google maps for the second time had lead us to the back entrance. Frustratingly we could see over the fence into the beautiful grounds filled with sculptures but no way in.

Eventually we found someone to ask, and as always we were given a map with the route to entrance marked. On the way we even assisted a trio of young Japanese women also looking for the entrance!

Once inside the grounds- what a treasure trove: a cluster of sculptures set in an outdoor garden surrounded by heavily wooded hills with slowly changing autumn colours.

A visual and emotional feast with a perfect sunny but cool day to wander. Aided by the public foot spa at the midway point to rest and bath your feet.

An indoor exhibit and studio of Yusuke Asai “Seeds of Imagination, Journeys of Soild reminded both of us of Australian indigineous work. The artist uses soils gathered throughout the world creating works on the walls

The final indoor gallery contained works describing “What is Sculpture” and “Innovation in Modern Sculpture” -the latter displayed exquisite small sculptures that were bypassed by most as they exited.