Visited 22.04.2015 (Wed)
Best. After spending an enjoyable morning with flowers and Mt Daisen at Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park, we returned to Yonago JR Station to connect to the next complimentary shuttle bus to our next destination - Adachi Museum of Art. Note: Complimentary shuttle bus departing from Yonago JR Station has ceased operation. Currently, bus service is only available from Yasugi JR Station. This was a place of interest which I almost gave it a miss largely due to its expensive admission fee (2,300 yen). However, I was totally captivated by the pictures showcasing what the museum had to offer and wanted very much to see it for myself. The landscape gardening already looked amazingly breathtaking simply on paper media and to some extent, felt a bit surreal. Seeing is indeed believing and I am glad that I eventually made my way here before concluding this chapter of my expedition in the San-in region! To date, I am still ranking this as the best landscaped garden I have ever seen in Japan.
Highlights:
Picturesque. Adachi Zenko (1899-1990) was a successful businessman but his passion and love for art and gardening gave rise to the establishment of this museum in his hometown in 1980. Apart from 165,000 m2 of beautifully landscaped gardens, the museum also houses an extensive collection of paintings and ceramics from influential artists. Unlike other gardens which I have visited before in Japan (usually public parks), visitors are not allowed to venture into these aesthetic gardens here. I can totally relate to the painstaking efforts invested to maintain the landscape/compound in such impeccable state while admiring these gardens from behind the glass panels. It is a pleasure to admire how the well-sculptured gardens harmonised with surrounding natural mountainous landscape, and this fully resonates with Adachi Zenko's belief that a Japanese garden is a "living painting". Its beauty has won itself three star listing in the Michelin Green Guide Japan and ranked top among all other gardens in Japan for consecutive years as part of Shiosai Project.
The first scene which made me awed in exhilaration was the Dry Landscape Garden, the main garden of Adachi Museum of Art. The central rock formation resembles a mountain from which a river flows, which is represented by the white gravel stones laid out smoothly on the ground. In this enclosure, seats were also provided just in front of the tall glass panels for visitors to admire the well balanced landscape comfortably. Standing in front of this therapeutic scenery, a sense of calmness was instilled in my mind unconsciously. I truly think I can sit here all day long to marvel at this artistic masterpiece!
Living Picture. This particular window frame definitely lives up to its name as a living framed painting. The garden view through this window is reminiscent to a Rinpa School (one of major historical schools of Japanese painting) folding screen. A different view of this elegant garden through the same window is experienced throughout the day, due to shifting sunlight, and year, due to changing seasons. If you cannot imagine how different it looks like at different times of throughout the year, you can refer to this postcard showcasing the transformation across four different seasons, which is also available for sale at the museum shop.
There are a handful of outdoor sections where visitors can come closer to these gardens. One at the Pond Garden and the other at White Gravel and Pine Garden. The latter was inspired by Yokoyama Taikan's painting bearing the same name, and the contrast between the green pine trees and white gravel hills is remarkably sensuous to the eyes. Kikaku Waterfall, standing majestically at 15 m tall, can also be seen in the backdrop, adding another dimension to this graceful living picture.
Tea with a view. There are coffee shops and tea houses situated at different areas of the museum where visitors can take a break in. If you are a fan of Dry Landscape Garden like myself, the coffee shop named Midori 翠 should be the one to head down to. The other coffee shop named Taikan 大観 is surrounded by the Pond Garden and serves curry dishes and light meals in addition to drinks and sweets. At Midori, I extended my "visual therapy" and had the luxury to enjoy a panoramic view of the garden while sipping away an expensive cup of tea (cost 1,000 yen for 1 cup of coffee/tea). Despite the pricey tea, being able to embrace this beautiful scenery once again (for the last time) made the drink worthwhile.
======
Adachi Museum of Art 足立美術館
〒692‐0064 島根県安来市古川町320
Operating hours:
Apr - Sep: 0900 - 1730 hrs
Oct - Mar: 0900 - 1700 hrs
Admission fee = 2,300 yen
http://www.adachi-museum.or.jp/
How to get there?
(1) By complimentary shuttle bus departing from Yasugi JR Station 安来駅.
Bus schedule: https://www.adachi-museum.or.jp/en/shuttle_bus
Best. After spending an enjoyable morning with flowers and Mt Daisen at Tottori Hanakairo Flower Park, we returned to Yonago JR Station to connect to the next complimentary shuttle bus to our next destination - Adachi Museum of Art. Note: Complimentary shuttle bus departing from Yonago JR Station has ceased operation. Currently, bus service is only available from Yasugi JR Station. This was a place of interest which I almost gave it a miss largely due to its expensive admission fee (2,300 yen). However, I was totally captivated by the pictures showcasing what the museum had to offer and wanted very much to see it for myself. The landscape gardening already looked amazingly breathtaking simply on paper media and to some extent, felt a bit surreal. Seeing is indeed believing and I am glad that I eventually made my way here before concluding this chapter of my expedition in the San-in region! To date, I am still ranking this as the best landscaped garden I have ever seen in Japan.
Highlights:
Picturesque. Adachi Zenko (1899-1990) was a successful businessman but his passion and love for art and gardening gave rise to the establishment of this museum in his hometown in 1980. Apart from 165,000 m2 of beautifully landscaped gardens, the museum also houses an extensive collection of paintings and ceramics from influential artists. Unlike other gardens which I have visited before in Japan (usually public parks), visitors are not allowed to venture into these aesthetic gardens here. I can totally relate to the painstaking efforts invested to maintain the landscape/compound in such impeccable state while admiring these gardens from behind the glass panels. It is a pleasure to admire how the well-sculptured gardens harmonised with surrounding natural mountainous landscape, and this fully resonates with Adachi Zenko's belief that a Japanese garden is a "living painting". Its beauty has won itself three star listing in the Michelin Green Guide Japan and ranked top among all other gardens in Japan for consecutive years as part of Shiosai Project.
The first scene which made me awed in exhilaration was the Dry Landscape Garden, the main garden of Adachi Museum of Art. The central rock formation resembles a mountain from which a river flows, which is represented by the white gravel stones laid out smoothly on the ground. In this enclosure, seats were also provided just in front of the tall glass panels for visitors to admire the well balanced landscape comfortably. Standing in front of this therapeutic scenery, a sense of calmness was instilled in my mind unconsciously. I truly think I can sit here all day long to marvel at this artistic masterpiece!
Living Picture. This particular window frame definitely lives up to its name as a living framed painting. The garden view through this window is reminiscent to a Rinpa School (one of major historical schools of Japanese painting) folding screen. A different view of this elegant garden through the same window is experienced throughout the day, due to shifting sunlight, and year, due to changing seasons. If you cannot imagine how different it looks like at different times of throughout the year, you can refer to this postcard showcasing the transformation across four different seasons, which is also available for sale at the museum shop.
There are a handful of outdoor sections where visitors can come closer to these gardens. One at the Pond Garden and the other at White Gravel and Pine Garden. The latter was inspired by Yokoyama Taikan's painting bearing the same name, and the contrast between the green pine trees and white gravel hills is remarkably sensuous to the eyes. Kikaku Waterfall, standing majestically at 15 m tall, can also be seen in the backdrop, adding another dimension to this graceful living picture.
Tea with a view. There are coffee shops and tea houses situated at different areas of the museum where visitors can take a break in. If you are a fan of Dry Landscape Garden like myself, the coffee shop named Midori 翠 should be the one to head down to. The other coffee shop named Taikan 大観 is surrounded by the Pond Garden and serves curry dishes and light meals in addition to drinks and sweets. At Midori, I extended my "visual therapy" and had the luxury to enjoy a panoramic view of the garden while sipping away an expensive cup of tea (cost 1,000 yen for 1 cup of coffee/tea). Despite the pricey tea, being able to embrace this beautiful scenery once again (for the last time) made the drink worthwhile.
======
Adachi Museum of Art 足立美術館
〒692‐0064 島根県安来市古川町320
Operating hours:
Apr - Sep: 0900 - 1730 hrs
Oct - Mar: 0900 - 1700 hrs
Admission fee = 2,300 yen
http://www.adachi-museum.or.jp/
How to get there?
(1) By complimentary shuttle bus departing from Yasugi JR Station 安来駅.
Bus schedule: https://www.adachi-museum.or.jp/en/shuttle_bus
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