Nariwa Museum

The Nariwa Museum sits in the quiet mountain town of Nariwa, part of Takahashi City, and blends architecture and art in equal measure. It opened in 1953 as the first municipal art museum in Okayama Prefecture, established to honor Torajiro Kojima, a Western-style (yoga) painter born in Nariwa in 1881. Kojima was a significant figure in modern Japanese art and is especially remembered for his role in helping to found the celebrated Ohara Museum of Art in nearby Kurashiki, using his connoisseur's eye to help assemble one of Japan's first collections of Western painting.

The museum most visitors see today dates from its major 1994 renewal, designed by Tadao Ando, one of Japan's most internationally acclaimed architects. In his signature style, Ando used unadorned exposed concrete, clean geometric volumes and carefully framed light, setting the modern building against the green mountain scenery so that architecture and landscape play off one another. A water feature in the grounds was created in the image of the Nariwa River, giving the approach a calm, reflective quality. For architecture enthusiasts, the building itself is a primary reason to make the trip.

Inside, the collection centers on Kojima's own paintings and on the eclectic array of objects he gathered during his travels abroad, which reportedly includes ancient Egyptian and other antiquities - an unexpected find in a rural Okayama town. The museum also displays fossils excavated from the Nariwa area, reflecting the region's notable paleontological record, so a visit ranges from fine art to archaeology to natural history under one roof. Rotating special exhibitions supplement the permanent holdings, so the admission price and displays can vary with the current show.

A visit takes around 75 minutes to enjoy both the galleries and the building, and the setting is peaceful year-round. Autumn, when the surrounding hills color, and spring are the most pleasant seasons, and a bright day best reveals Ando's play of light across the concrete and the reflecting water. The museum has restrooms, parking and a cafe, and the modern building is comfortable and accessible for most visitors. It is closed on Mondays.

Nariwa lies on the road between central Takahashi and Fukiya, which makes the museum easy to fold into a day exploring the Bitchu hills. Take the JR Hakubi Line from Okayama to Bitchu-Takahashi Station - about 35 minutes on the Limited Express Yakumo or around 50 minutes by local train, covered by a Rail Pass with IC cards accepted on the trains. From the station, a Bihoku bus bound for Nariwa or Fukiya reaches the Nariwa area in roughly 15 to 20 minutes, leaving a short walk to the museum; drivers reach it easily from the town center. Because it sits on the way to Fukiya and the Hirokane Residence, many travelers pause here to break the mountain journey with a dose of art and architecture, making Nariwa a cultural anchor for inland Takahashi.