Collection of more than 9.500 works with Monet, Picasso and Renoir in a building set into the beech forest; admission 1.800 ¥.
The Pola Museum of Art, opened in 2002 in the beech forest of the Sengokuhara area in Hakone, is one of the most important private museums in Japan and houses one of the largest collections of impressionist and post-impressionist painting outside Europe. The permanent collection includes more than 9.500 works, with special emphasis on Claude Monet (with several of his water-lily series), Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Georges Braque, along with a section of modern Japanese art and art glass. The building was designed by the architect Kazuhiko Namba to blend into the forest: the lobby gradually goes underground while natural light enters through large windows that frame the foliage. The museum café has a terrace with views of the beech forest and a walkway connecting to the outdoor sculpture garden (included in the admission). Admission costs 1.800 ¥ for adults and 1.300 ¥ for university students. Hours: 9:00-17:00, open every day. It is reached by bus from Hakone-Yumoto station or from Gora, Pola Bijutsukan-mae stop.
