Miho Museum

Located in the Shigaraki region of Kōka City, Miho Museum is renowned for its unique architecture by I.M. Pei, blending seamlessly with the natural landscape. The museum houses a diverse collection of approximately 3,000 pieces, including ancient art from Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, and Japan. Visitors can enjoy exhibitions, a café, and a restaurant offering meals prepared with organic ingredients. The museum is accessible via bus from JR Ishiyama Station, approximately a 50-minute ride.

Planning your visit

The Miho Museum is worth the journey largely because of the journey. I.M. Pei designed it in the mountains of Shiga prefecture, and the approach is deliberately staged after the Chinese tale of the Peach Blossom Spring: you leave the reception building, walk or ride through a curving tunnel bored through a hill, emerge onto a suspension bridge over a ravine, and arrive at the museum entrance framing the valley beyond. Eighty percent of the building is underground, buried to preserve the forested ridge, with only the glass-and-steel roof structures visible.

The collection of roughly 3,000 objects is unusual in its range: Japanese art alongside ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Persian, Central Asian and Chinese material, assembled by the museum's founder. Individual pieces are displayed with considerable space around them, in Pei's characteristic controlled light.

The critical practical point is that the museum is not open year-round. It operates in seasonal periods with substantial closures between them, so checking the calendar before planning is essential. The cherry blossom approach in spring and the autumn foliage are the most sought-after times.

It sits about fifty minutes by bus from JR Ishiyama Station. Bookable options are day trips from Kyoto and Osaka, often combined with Shigaraki, the nearby pottery town famous for its tanuki figures and its ancient kiln tradition. Current departures are shown below.