MOA Museum of Art

MOA Museum of Art sits on a hillside above Atami with panoramic views of Sagami Bay, housing one of Japan's major private art collections spanning Japanese paintings, ceramics, lacquerware, and Chinese antiquities, including works recognized as National Treasures such as the folding screen Red and White Plum Blossoms by Ogata Korin. Visitors enter through a long series of escalators cut through the hillside and illuminated with changing colored light and projected imagery, itself considered part of the museum experience before reaching the main galleries. The main exhibition halls rotate displays across the collection's categories, and a Noh theater stage and tea ceremony room inside the complex host occasional performances and tea sessions. A thorough visit covering the escalator approach, main galleries, and the observation terrace overlooking the bay takes 2 to 3 hours. Weekday afternoons are less crowded than weekend and holiday visits, and because key National Treasure items rotate on a schedule, checking current exhibits before visiting helps confirm whether particular pieces will be on display.