The 10 Best Specialty Museums in Takayama, Chubu

Takayama Finn Juhl hus

This museum displays hundreds of lion-masks traditionally used in ritual Japanese dance.

HIKARU MUSEUM is located in the city of Takayama. The building is reminiscent of the remains of Maya civilization,and there are exhibition rooms of art,history and natural history. It has about 2,000 works of art,including the national treasure "Tachi :Long Sword forged by Yasutsugu",and in particular a lot of contemporary calligraphys of TESHIMA YUKEI and his pupils. In the field of Modern japanese paintings,it has art works of Taikan, Shoen, Kiyokata and others. In the field of Ukiyo-e, it has "Thirty-six views of Mt.Fuji" by Hokusai, "The Fifty-three stations of the Tokaido highway" by Hiroshige and many handwriting ukiyo-e works. In Western paintings, art works of such as Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir. It has historical materials around the world mainly Maya and Inca. It has also natural history materials and exhibits fossils in the Hida area and dinosaur models.

'Chanoyu Museum' Chanoyu Museum displays artwork created by craftsmen who are considered living national treasures, as well as other prominent artists who carry on the tradition. The museum also displays artwork created by successive masters of the Raku family, works of grand tea masters, historical calligraphy, folding screens, and lacquer craft made using the wings of tamamushi (jewel beetles). Here, visitors can encounter the world of traditional techniques and beauty. Tea House 'Zuiun-an' The tea ceremony house, with its elegant and ornate design, exhibits a refined, comfortable atmosphere. The arranged tea ware selected from the works of skilled artisans, some of whom are considered living national treasures, blend seamlessly with the interior. Chanoyu Museum 9:00am - 5:00pm (Entrance permitted until 4:00pm) Tea House 10:00am - 4:30pm (Entrance permitted until 4:00pm) Closed: Wendsdays (Open if it is a national holiday) & Winter Holidays (Please contact us for details)

A replica of the beautiful Takayama Castle gate provides entrance into this gallery, which is small but teeming with interesting household items, tools and artifacts.

The Takayama Matsuri (Festival) is regarded as one of the three most beautiful festivals in Japan. (along with Chichibu Matsuri in Saitama Prefecture and the Gion Matsuri in Kyoto.) The focus of the festival is the magnificent floats which are pulled through the strees of the town. The Takayama Matsuri actually composed of two festivals: the Spring Festival in which 12 floats take part, and the Autumn Festival which features 11 floats.The Takayama Festival began about 350 years ago as a simple village ceremony. Since Takayama is in Hida, the center of Japan’s timber producing region, the town grew as an important distribution center for the area, attracting large numbers of sake brewrers, cloth merchants, woodworkers, and other craftsmen.