I have long believed that when travelling you should only do those things that you enjoy when you are at home. As such, I feel entirely liberated from visiting fine art galleries, places of historical import and museums – all of which I will find boring. Instead I do things in new countries that I love doing at home – eating good food, hiking, running, and enjoying modern art. So this week I wanted to share some of the more weird and wonderful art sites I have found in my travels…
Hakone sculpture park, Hakone, Japan
You arrive at Hakone via a complicated set of small trains up into the hills from the coast between Tokyo and Kyoto. It appears complicated as you have to transfer from Japan Rail to a private rail line, but you can find out more here. We combined visiting the sculpture park with a stay at the very traditional Hakone-Ginyu Ryokan with a traditional hot onsen on the terrace and they served us an amazing 20 course dinner in our suite.
The sculpture park was one of my favourite places in Japan, and particularly seeing the kids clamber on some of the kid friendly sculptures.
Danubiana, Bratislava, Slovakia
Few people know about this museum, which is situated on an island about 15k downriver from Bratislava. It is a reason to visit Slovakia! You can cycle there, take a boat, or take a bus and walk a few km (which I did). More details here. Bratislava is also a lovely town to visit for a couple of days, but Danubiana was absolutely the highlight
Europas Park Lithuania
The highlight here is the worlds largest sculpture made of television sets – 3000 of them. It is a bit tricky to get here without a car, so I took two buses. Vilnius is also a lovely town for a wander around so worth spending the weekend if coming from London.
Other recommendations
Other places worth the effort to get to…..
- Kumu museum in Tallinn, Estonia
- Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden
- Mudam in Luxembourg (the building is stunning too!)
- Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Australia
You saw Niki de Saint Phalle’s sculptures in Japan and Slovakia, how cool is that!
I’m a big fan of her, she’s got her own Tarot Garden in Italy, the sculptures are kinetic and hypnotic, you would love it. <3