Photo: 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
The Akita Museum of Art opened in 2012 in the Nakaichi district, facing Senshu Park across a shallow water garden. It was designed by Tadao Ando, with a triangular motif echoing the roof of the old museum, a spiral staircase with no supports, and a lounge whose windows frame the park like a painting.
The museum's centrepiece is the Large Mural Gallery, which holds 'Akita no Gyoji' (Events of Akita) by Tsuguharu Foujita, a work the museum says is more than 20 metres wide, from the collection of the Hirano Masakichi Art Foundation. It is a rare chance to see a major Foujita mural in a place built around it.
The catch is the clock. The museum is about an hour from the berth by bus, and the weekday bus back leaves the station at 15:20 at the latest (14:25 at weekends and holidays, per the board), so you have roughly two hours in town. Special exhibition prices apply when one is showing, so check what you pay for.
Five things the plaques won't tell you
- Check the day of the week first: weekends and holidays have only 3 buses each way, last back from the station at 14:25.
- Entry rules change with exhibitions. The current special exhibition is ¥1,000 until 29 November; ask at the desk about the mural gallery.
- The museum's lounge looks over the water garden to Senshu Park; coffee and cake are served.
- Tickets are sold until 17:30; the museum closes at 18:00.
- Closing days are irregular; look at the museum's year schedule if you can before you plan the day.
It is a rare chance to see a major Foujita mural in a place built around it.
Guided days from Akita
Booked before you sail — there is no tour desk at the pier. Booking through these links supports the site.
More in Akita
Spot guideNeburi Nagashi-kan
They hand you fifty kilograms of bamboo and let you fail
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Spot guideKakunodate
Black wooden walls, weeping cherries, and a street plan from 1620
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Spot guideSenshu Park
A castle with no stone walls, and a red-brick bank that survived everything
Open the guideQuestions people ask here
What is at the Akita Museum of Art?
Tsuguharu Foujita's mural 'Akita no Gyoji', which the museum says is over 20 metres wide, plus changing special exhibitions in a Tadao Ando building.
How do I get from Akita cruise port to the Akita Museum of Art?
Walk about 10 minutes to the Selion stop, take the Akita Chuo Kotsu bus to Akita Station West (about 25 minutes, ¥550), then walk about 10 minutes. Mind the last bus back.
How much is the Akita Museum of Art?
The current special exhibition, until 29 November, is ¥1,000, including for visitors 70 and over. The English page lists ¥310 for ordinary admission when no special exhibition is on.