Few places in Japan blend art and nature as effortlessly as Hakone. Tucked into the volcanic mountains southwest of Tokyo, this hot-spring resort town has quietly assembled one of the country's densest concentrations of museums — and in the summer of 2026, the stage is set for something special. Three major exhibitions open at Pola Museum of Art on June 17, while a dazzling show on Japanese gold-and-silver art launches nearby just days earlier. Pair them with Hakone's legendary hot springs and mountain scenery, and you have one of the best weekend trips from Tokyo this season.
Pola Museum of Art: A Triple Opening
Nestled in a beech forest at 750 meters above sea level, the Pola Museum of Art has long been one of Japan's finest venues for Impressionist and modern art. This June, it unveils an ambitious triple program.
Cézanne Legend (June 17, 2026 – April 7, 2027) is the headline act: a comprehensive exhibition tracing the life and masterworks of Paul Cézanne, the father of modern art. Expect paintings, sketches, and multimedia displays that follow his journey from early Provençal landscapes to the revolutionary still lifes and bather compositions that changed painting forever.
Running alongside it is Monet: 100th Anniversary — New Eyes (June 17, 2026 – April 7, 2027), marking a century since Claude Monet's death. The show pairs Pola's own Monet holdings with contemporary artists to explore how Monet's way of seeing continues to shape 21st-century art — a fresh, dialogue-driven approach rather than a simple retrospective.
Completing the trio is Collection Cinema (June 17, 2026 – April 7, 2027), a special screening program celebrating Pola Museum's 25th anniversary. Films inspired by or related to the permanent collection are shown in a dedicated space, offering a meditative, multisensory way to experience art.
Tip: All three exhibitions share the same venue and dates, so a single visit covers them all. The museum opens at 9 AM; arriving early lets you enjoy the galleries before the midday rush and still have time to walk the surrounding Promenade of the Forest — a gentle trail through the beech woods with outdoor sculpture.
Kira: The Radiance of Japanese Art
A few stops down the Hakone Tozan Railway, the Miyanoshita and Kowakudani area hosts Kira — The Radiance of Japanese Art (June 14 – December 6, 2026). The exhibition illuminates kira — the traditional technique of applying gold, silver, and mica powder to create shimmering surfaces in paintings, screens, and manuscripts. From Heian-era sutras dusted with mica to Edo-period folding screens gleaming with gold leaf, the show traces how Japanese artists harnessed light itself as a medium. If you love craftsmanship and material culture, this one is unmissable.
The Wider Museum Trail
Hakone's art scene extends well beyond these special exhibitions. A full museum trail could easily fill two days:
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Hakone Open-Air Museum — Japan's first open-air museum, with over 120 sculptures scattered across rolling lawns against a mountain backdrop. The Picasso Pavilion alone is worth the detour. In early summer, the lush greenery frames the sculptures beautifully.
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Okada Museum of Art — A sprawling collection of East Asian art, from ancient Chinese ceramics to Rinpa-school masterpieces. The museum's own foot bath with garden views is a nice way to rest between galleries.
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Narukawa Art Museum — Perched on the shore of Lake Ashinoko, this museum specializes in modern Japanese painting (nihonga). The panoramic lounge offers one of the best views of Mt. Fuji across the lake — on a clear summer morning, it's extraordinary.
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Enoura Observatory — A short trip from Hakone proper, this stunning architectural complex by artist Hiroshi Sugimoto sits on a Sagami Bay clifftop. Glass stages, stone amphitheaters, and optical glass installations frame the sea and sky. Reservations required.
Beyond Art: Hakone Essentials
No Hakone trip is complete without experiencing the volcanic landscape and hot springs that made the town famous.
Ride the Hakone Ropeway up to Owakudani, a volcanic valley with active sulfur vents and the legendary black eggs (kuro-tamago) boiled in the hot springs — eating one is said to add seven years to your life. On clear days, Fuji looms above the steam.
Walk through the towering cedar avenue to Hakone Shrine, one of Kanto's most iconic spiritual sites. The vermillion torii gate standing in Lake Ashinoko is the quintessential Hakone photo.
And then there's the onsen. Hakone Hot Springs encompasses dozens of unique thermal sources across different areas — from the bustling ryokan of Hakone-Yumoto to the quieter hillside inns of Miyanoshita and the highland lodges of Sengokuhara. After a day of museum-hopping, sinking into a rotenburo (outdoor bath) as mist drifts through the mountain valley is about as good as life gets.
Getting There
From Shinjuku, take the Odakyu Romance Car express to Hakone-Yumoto (about 85 minutes, reserved seats). The Hakone Free Pass (2 or 3 days) covers the Hakone Tozan Railway, cable cars, ropeways, buses, and the pirate ship on Lake Ashinoko — an excellent deal for museum-hopping. If you're coming from Tokyo Station, take the Shinkansen to Odawara (35 minutes) and transfer to the Hakone Tozan line.
Best timing: Weekdays in late June or early July offer smaller crowds and the deep green of rainy-season foliage. The Pola and Kira exhibitions run for months, so there's no rush — but the first weeks always have the freshest buzz.
Whether you spend a full day circuiting the museums or stretch it into a two-day onsen retreat, Hakone in the summer of 2026 is serving up one of the richest art seasons anywhere in Japan. From Cézanne's Provence to Monet's water lilies to centuries of Japanese gold, the mountain air itself feels gilded.
Image: Pola Museum of Art, Hakone, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
