Asakura Museum of Sculpture

I went on a whim when I happened to be nearby, had time to kill and noticed the high review score. I also noticed that this museum was on the "grutto pass" list of museums that had discounted or free entrance fees with the pass.

I was very glad I went. The visit was a highlight of the museum visits that I've made in the last 4 weeks.

I can confirm the house itself is gorgeous and well worth looking at, with fantastic views from the roof.

The exhibit at the time was a collection of bronzes of cats, which were fun. There were many other things to look at that were not the work of Fumio Asakura. The library and book collection he inherited and several of his personal collections were quite interesting. Even a small selection of photos of his family (his daughters, also artists) were interesting.

A high point of the visit was the guide that walked through the first floor with me. I believe her nametag said Keiko. I didn't fully understand that I wouldn't be seeing her again after the first floor or I would have made a point of noting her name. She was very helpful in answering questions and providing background about the house. Her English was very good. There's an audio highlight tour available for like 200 yen, but I had skipped that. I likely got lucky in that I was there early and could be afforded more attention. By the time I left quite a few more people were in the house and in line to get in.

The site does have a mishmash of rules. No photos except outside or from specifically labeled vantage points (this was a new one to me). The other is "no shoes in the house." You carry your shoes in a provided bag. No big deal, but you will be putting on and taking off your shoes a couple of times. Also, they warn you on the roof to be careful if you have stability issues or problems with heights and want to go to the roof. It's a fairly steep set of metal stairs to get to the roof garden.

Absolutely worth checking out. There's a unique nearby shopping street and some other touristy things to do so you're not necessarily going to the area for just one thing.