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Hakone Museum of Art
Sharing grounds with a lovely velvety moss garden and teahouse (¥700 matcha green tea and sweet), this museum has a collection of Japanese pottery dating from as far back as the Jōmon period (some 5000 years ago). The gardens are spectacular in autumn.
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Korean Atomic Bomb Victims Memorial
This memorial in the Peace Memorial Park honours the Korean victims of the atomic bomb. Many Koreans were shipped over to Japan to work as slave labourers during WWII, and Koreans accounted for more than one in 10 of those killed by the atomic bomb.
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Ino Japanese Paper Museum
Make your own Japanese paper for ¥300 at this museum, about 10km west of Kōchi. From the Harimaya-bashi tram stop, take a tram to the last stop in Ino. From there, walk westward until the next main intersection, turn right and find the museum 100m ahead.
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Ikeda Museum of 20th Century Art
Art lovers will not want to miss out on this treasure trove of big names, such as Dalí, Warhol, Picasso, Lichtenstein and Miró, all on show in an abstract silver cube-shaped building. Take the bus from platform 6 at Itō Station (¥680; 30 minutes).
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Spinners Farm Tanaka
This place specialises in wool, offering an opportunity to feed the sheep outside, then spin their wool inside. There are classes, but youll need to book ahead for these. They have all sorts of woollen articles to meet your Hokkaidō souvenir requirements.
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Gamadas Dome Mt Unzen Disaster Memorial Hall
About 4km south of the town centre, this excellent high-tech museum about the 1991 eruption and vulcanology in general is plonked eerily at the base of the lava flow. Get the free English audioguide, and visit the disturbingly lifelike simulation theatre.
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Hanazono
During the day merchants from nearby Kabukichō come to this Shintō shrine to pray for the solvency of their business ventures. At night, despite signs asking revellers to refrain, drinking and merrymaking carries over from the nearby bars onto the stairs here.
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Fukuoka Yafuoku! Dome
This monolithic, retractable-roof stadium is the home field of Fukuokas much-loved SoftBank Hawks baseball team. Tours (in Japanese) are offered and theres a museum of the life of Oh Sadaharu, the worlds all-time home-run king (best for die-hard fans).
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Mie
In the basement of Mie-dō, visitors can traverse a 100m-long passageway (戒壇めぐり) in pitch darkness: by moving carefully along with your hand pressed to the wall (painted with mandalas, angels and lotus flowers), you are said to be safely following Buddhas way.
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Nagoya City Archives
Built in 1922 this grand Taisho-era Court of Appeal now houses the city archives. Whilst the archives themselves are difficult to navigate for non-Japanese speakers, the attractive neo-Baroque building, with its fine stained-glass ornamentation, is worth a look.
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Hokusai Museum
Japans most famous ukiyo-e (woodblock) artist, Hokusai, spent his final years in Obuse. Over 30 of his works are exhibited in this gallery, which recently reopened after extensive renovations. Its a 10-minute well-signposted walk from the Obuse train station.
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Hida Takayama Museum of Art
Set back from town, lovers of art-nouveau and art-deco glassware and furniture will appreciate this large private gallery with a ritzy cafe, its own London Bus shuttle (ask at the Tourist Information Center) and a spectacular glass fountain by René Lalique.
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Historical Obata (NK Agent) Building
This wonderful, unique museum, or rather, the building which houses it, featured in the 2009 Academy Award–winning Best Foreign Language film, Okuribito (おくりびと; Departures ). A bunch of other locations around town were used in the film – ask about them here.
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Izu Chōhachi Art Museum
This museum showcases the work of native son Chōhachi Irie (1815–99) including one of his masterpieces, Shungyo-no-zu (Dawn in Spring; 1875). His frescos and plaster works are unimaginably detailed – magnifying glasses are available so you can get a better look.
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Nawate
Nawate-dōri, a few blocks from the castle, is a popular place for a stroll. Vendors along this riverside walk sell antiques, souvenirs and delicious taiyaki (filled waffle in the shape of a carp) of varying flavours. Look for the big frog statue by the bridge.
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Nakayama Rice Fields
About 4km inland from the Ikeda ferry terminal are Nakayamas thousand rice fields. The terraces are pretty in any season but are especially picturesque after rice planting in late April or early May, when the water-filled fields become a hillside of mirrors.
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Nagase
This former home of the doctors to the Maeda clan has exhibits of herbal medicine. The butsudan (Buddhist altar) dates from the Muromachi period. In the attic, you can get an up-close look at the construction of the roof, which took 530 people to re-thatch.
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Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art
This museum hosts blockbuster shows on loan from international museums (such as New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art). Other exhibition halls are given over to local artistic associations, whose shows include works (ceramics, calligraphy etc) from living artists.
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Tōrin
Founded in 1614, the Zen temple of Tōrin-ji, near the intersection of Shimin-kaikan-dōri and Rte 79, is home to the 18th-century guardian statues of Deva kings. Adjacent to the temple is Gongen-dō , a small shrine rebuilt after being destroyed by a tsunami in 1771.
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Suizenji
Southeast of the city centre, this photogenic lakeside garden represents the 53 stations of the Tōkaidō (the old road that linked Tokyo and Kyoto). The miniature Mt Fuji is instantly recognisable, though much of the rest of the analogy is often lost in translation.
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