Asahi Museum of Art
The Asahi Museum of Art is a museum located in Asahi Village, Nagano Prefecture.
Access from Tokyo is anything but easy, but as it happens to be Hikari Shimoda’s hometown and her solo exhibition was being held there, I decided to make the trip.
Traveling by car is easy to look up via car navigation or Google Maps, but public-transit routing is surprisingly hard to find. I actually tried Google Maps, and it “didn’t show up” at all.
Access from Matsumoto Station
Board the JR Shinonoi Line at Matsumoto Station in Nagano Prefecture and you will reach Hirooka Station in about 12 minutes. You can catch a taxi at the station taxi stand — the museum is about 10 km away, roughly a 20-minute ride. This is probably the “best” route. *You can also reach the museum via the same method from Shiojiri Station. The distance is nearly identical, but Hirooka Station is closer to Matsumoto Station.
What surprised me was that there was no air conditioning inside the museum. As the day’s temperature climbed toward 35°C — a proper midsummer day — the interior grew somewhat warm (though it may partly have been due to the heat of the visitors themselves…).
I have compiled the details of Hikari Shimoda’s solo exhibition in the article below.
https://art-on.jp/hikari-shimoda-2018/
Summary
The area around the museum sits at nearly 800 m in elevation, so it is likely a relatively cool region. Some winter closures are apparently observed as well — no doubt because it is heavily snowbound.
The gallery staff also received me with great kindness.
The atmosphere feels like a communal gathering place for residents, and it gave me a chance to reflect on the meaning of having an art museum in such a location.
Asahi Village — a place where art exists within daily life. What a lovely town!
The Asahi Museum of Art also adjoins the “Asahi Village Museum of History and Folklore.” If it interests you, do stop by.
Overview
Asahi Museum of Art
Opening hours
9:00 – 17:00 (last admission 16:30)
Closed
Mondays (or the following day if Monday is a public holiday)
Winter closure (December – January)
Admission
■General: 200 yen
■University / high school students: 100 yen
■Middle / elementary school students: 50 yen
■Age 70 and over: Free
■Disabled visitors: Free (one accompanying person also free)
(20% discount for groups of 20 or more)
*Admission may vary depending on special exhibitions and planned exhibitions, so please check the “Current Exhibitions” section.
Contact
Asahi Museum of Art (Shunsuke Kamijo Memorial Hall)
〒390-1104 1308 Furumi, Asahi Village, Higashi-Chikuma-gun, Nagano Prefecture
TEL (0263) 99-2359 FAX (0263) 99-3624
