Miho Museum

MIHO MUSEUM is an art museum in Shigaraki-cho, Koka City, on the south side of Lake Biwa. From JR Ishiyama Station, it takes about 50 minutes by bus bound for “Miho Museum.” By car, it is about 15 minutes from Shin-Meishin Expressway Shigaraki IC. Designed around the theme of “Shangri-La (Togenkyo),” the museum was created by architect I. M. Pei, also famous for designing the glass pyramid of the Louvre in Paris. Like the story of “The Peach Blossom Spring,” you approach the museum by passing along a weeping-cherry-lined path, through a gently curving tunnel, and across a suspension bridge. The exhibition areas, consisting of a North Wing and South Wing, display about 250–500 works at any given time from the collection of founder Mihoko Koyama, including Japanese antiquities such as tea utensils, calligraphy, paintings, and ceramics, as well as ancient art from Egypt, Greece and Rome, West Asia, and more. The museum building also features a cafe using ingredients grown without any pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The museum shop, which carries original goods, is another spot worth visiting.