The Garden of Fine Arts, Kyoto

Located next to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens, this is the world’s first outdoor painting garden. In this unique corridor-style facility designed by Tadao Ando, you can view masterpieces by Monet, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and others, reproduced in high definition on ceramic panels. Thanks to their excellent weather resistance, these ceramic artworks retain their color and texture even outdoors, offering a viewing experience in harmony with nature amid large and small waterfalls, ponds, and reflections of sunlight.

There are eight works on display in total: Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgment,” Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” Monet’s “Water Lilies, Morning,” Renoir’s “On the Terrace,” Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” Van Gogh’s “Road with Cypress and Star,” Toba Sojo’s “Scrolls of Frolicking Animals,” and Zhang Zeduan’s “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.”

Each piece is reproduced at either full size or twice the original size, making for an impressive sight. Another highlight is the sloped corridor that gently descends to the second basement level, allowing you to enjoy the works from a three-dimensional perspective.