MOA Museum of Art

On the hillside above Atami and Sagami Bay, the MOA Museum of Art brings collection and architecture together in a visit that begins before the galleries: the bus climbs from the station to the entrance in about seven minutes. Inside are around 3,500 works of Japanese and East Asian art, including three National Treasures, along with a Japanese garden, a tea house and broad views over the sea. The scale of the grounds allows visitors to spend several hours here without relying on a single temporary exhibition.

The museum is open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, with last admission at 4:00 pm. It normally closes on Thursdays except national holidays, and may close for exhibition preparation. Adult admission is ¥2,000. Visitors often praise the artworks, the outlook, the gardens and the calm galleries; less favourable comments tend to focus on the price, the steep location and the bus journey rather than the collection itself. Travellers with limited mobility or luggage can make use of lifts and should check accessibility details before setting out.

The route through the building moves between spacious galleries, escalators and a panoramic entrance hall, so the architecture itself becomes a transition into the collection. The garden and tea house offer a slower interlude afterwards. The museum also operates a restaurant, café and shop and hosts cultural programmes, although schedules vary. Allow for the return bus as well as gallery time. Parking on the hill can fill up, and the museum recommends public transport when spaces are unavailable.

Kiunkaku offers a different side of Atami: rather than a large art collection, it opens a former villa and ryokan with Japanese and Western rooms, historic carpentry, period glass and a garden. It sits lower in the town and is about ten minutes by bus from the station. The two places complement one another, but visiting both at an unhurried pace takes much of a day. Choose MOA for art and panoramic views; choose Kiunkaku for domestic architecture and the history of Atami’s hot-spring tourism.