Aomori Museum of Art — Attraction in Aomori

Such a beautiful place.

青森県立美術館, Aomori Kenritsu Bijutsukan

Open until 5 pm, so ensure proper timings when you visit. 9:30 - 17:00 Closed on 2nd and 4th Monday of each month (or the following day if Monday is a national holiday), New Year holidays, and irregularly for exhibit changes!! *Final Admission 30 minutes before closing. Ticket is required, 510 (410) yen for adult!

Parking is available in the premises.

I visited there in August 2020 during summer vacations.

You can enjoy watching show but check the timings through their website! Kids friendly! Access: The museum is located next to the Kenritsu Bijutsukanmae bus stop (県立美術館前), a twenty minute, 280 yen bus ride from Aomori Station. It is also a five minute walk from the Sannai Maruyama Jomon Archaeological Site.

Known for its exceptional architectural design. The ground under the museum was cut in a geometric style to resemble the trenches of the excavation area. Structure enveloped by white-painted bricks lands these trenches. The concave/convex trenches and white structure are interlocking but maintain spaces. Since opening in 2006, the Aomori Museum of Art with its goal of introducing the arts of Aomori to the world has collected and exhibited works from Aomori native artists such as Shiko Munakata, Shuji Terayama, Yoshitomo Nara, and Tohl Narita. The Aomori Dog by Yoshimoto Nara has become the museum's iconic symbol. Highly recommended. Happy...

The art was fine but the staff was either racist or unwelcoming.

After reaching the end of the suggested route (which is the same room as the start of the suggested route) instead of heading out the exit, I went onto the route again to look at my favorite pieces some more, skipping past most pieces. About halfway through I reached my favorites (mostly the ones by Abe Gosei) I took a bit longer at each piece and studied it carefully. Suddenly a staff member approaches me, wildly waving a ticket and demanding I show her mine. I did not see her do this to anyone else. She also didn't even properly look at my ticket when I did show it, just nodded and backed off. Clearly she can't have been all that concerned that I snuck my way in if she doesn't then actually look at the ticket.

Either I was singled out for being the only tall, white guy (aka, the only "gaijin" looking person) or they wanted me out instead of doing a second round. Either way I was clearly not welcome and walked through the rest of the museum to the exit and left this time.

Note that it was on a weekday and approaching closing time in an hour, so it's not like the museum was crowded. Also I only spent about an hour in there, so it's not like I took unreasonably long.the art itself was fine but not something you can't have elsewhere where you aren't made to feel unwelcome.

I cannot recommend going here for the above reasons and definitely...

Gotta say, I wasn’t impressed. I paid the extra money (¥1400!) for the special exhibition and was greatly disappointed. Purportedly about the great east Japan earthquake 10 years ago, it was mostly a series of photos with tangential relation to the places and people. And a few “experimental” video projects that looked as dull, unoriginal, and pointless as every other “experimental film/video” from the past 60 years. Not shocking or disturbing, just felt like a waste of time. The rest of the museum (a bargain at 600¥) was mildly better. But, even then most of the art felt derivative and nothing I’d remember an hour later. The only 2 that felt interesting were Nara’s cartoon style work, and the last room with the original designs for Ultraman monsters. If you want an interesting modern art experience,skip this and check out Towada City’s. Just my...