Venetian Glass Museum

Hakone Garasunomori Museum, or the Venetian Glass Museum in Hakone, is the first museum to specialize in Venetian glass in Japan. On the premises, there are the Venetian Glass Museum, which exhibits 100 excellent works of Venetian glass objects from the 15th century to 19th century, and the Modern Glass Museum, which exhibits glass sculptures of contemporary artists. In the garden, from which the entire Owakudani Valley can be viewed, “Hikari-no-Kairo,” a crystal glass arch sparkles in seven colors reflecting the sunlight. Also, the seasonal exhibits such as cherry blossoms, Japanese silver grass, and Christmas trees made of crystal glass are must-see. There is a workshop where you can experience glass making, and you can create your original work there. A restaurant where you can enjoy live canzone sung by an Italian singer (six performances a day) and a museum shop that handles 100,000 items of Venetian glassworks and accessories are also on the premises. The museum is a 25-minute bus ride from the Hakone-yumoto Station by the Hakone Tozan (mountain) bus.