MIHO MUSEUM

It is an art museum standing in the green mountains of Shigaraki located in the southern part of Shiga prefecture. It houses about 3,000 pieces of ancient art from Egypt, Greece, Rome, West Asia, South Asia, and China, as well as Japanese art such as Buddhist art and tea ceremony art. About 250 of them are exhibited at all times.

In addition to precious art appreciation, MIHO MUSEUM is attracting worldwide attention for its architectural beauty. From the reception building to the museum building, you have to move on the approach road about 500m across the valley. The space of the premises area of about 990,000 m2 is designed with the motif of "Togenkyo".　

Mr. I. M. Pei who worked on the Louvre Pyramid of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France and the National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D. C., USA was in charge of the architecture and design. About 80 % of the museum building is buried underground in consideration of the surrounding natural environment. Once stepping into the entrance, you will be overwhelmed by the bright light shining down from the glass roof and the great panoramic view of the mountains.

When walking along the approach road from the reception building, at first, you will see a promenade with weeping cherry blossoms in spring, and then an all-over silver tunnel. The inner wall of the tunnel with stainless steel plates reflects the pink of cherry blossoms, the green of mountains, the orange of the evening sun, and creates an illusionary space that varies depending on the season and time. The reason why the gentle curve makes it difficult to see ahead is apparently a mechanism to bring expectations and excitement to the walking people.

After going through the tunnel, there is a suspension bridge of about 120m, and the museum building appears ahead of it. Under the idea of being beautifully healthy from inside your body, the menus offered at restaurants and cafes use materials grown by transparent-natural farming, which uses no pesticides or fertilizers. There is also a museum shop where you can buy souvenirs.