Miho Museum

The Miho Museum sits deep in the hills near Shigaraki, and about eighty percent of its structure lies underground to preserve the forested skyline. Designed by the architect I. M. Pei around the idea of a hidden 'Shangri-La', it is entered at a reception building by the car park, where you buy your ticket, before a walk or a short electric-cart ride carries you through a curving, mirror-finished tunnel and across a suspension bridge to the museum building beyond. Buy your ticket at this first reception building before you head up, or book online in advance: the on-site ticket counter is here rather than at the galleries, and the museum building's own reception only checks tickets and helps visitors. Both buildings have free lockers. Inside are two wings: one for Japanese art including tea utensils and Buddhist works, the other for antiquities from Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Asia. The museum keeps a seasonal calendar and is closed in winter and during exhibition changeovers, so it is essential to check opening dates in advance.