Kanazawa 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art

We really enjoyed our time wandering through the museum. The art is contemporary and different, with moments for contemplation. We loved many of the artworks that the museum was showing (inside and outside). The space, which is modern and beautiful, wasn’t overly crowded when we went. You need to reserve a time to enter Leandro’s Pool, which you can do at the museum if you forget to do it prior.

I made my way here from the D.T. Suzuki Museum. Just when I thought that the rains have eased, it started pouring when I reached this museum. I used the Bunka no Mori Odekake Pass to enter the museum. My first impression was that the museum is chaotic—the place was full, and I really didn't know where to go first. I eventually followed a group of people lining up for a room. I didn't really stay long in the room, the experience of which repeated throughout the other displays I visited in the museum. For sure, there were many interesting things to see, but it was all a bit too disconnected and random for me. This is to be expected I guess, since artists are bound to be different, but I'd like to feel some sense of connectedness between the exhibits, which I didn't find here. The museum is a huge circular structure, with many exhibits inside. I followed a circular route, expecting to find something that would make an impression, but unfortunately I didn't find anything. The crowds definitely affected my experience negatively. I guess most people came to see the Swimming Pool, but it was closed due to the rain, so that left people wandering aimlessly. The Maru sculpture and the surrounding open area outside was refreshing, in contrast to the crowded interior. All in all, I would say that if visiting Kanazawa, one should visit this place, but do not expect too much.

The 21st Century Museum is a great public space to enjoy, even without going into the paid exhibitions. There are plenty of free areas to explore and lots of good photo spots. My kids especially loved the green open space around the museum where they could run and play. Inside, there are art workshops for children, and the staff are very friendly and helpful with the handmade activities. It makes the place welcoming for families. The famous swimming pool artwork is currently closed until September 19, so plan accordingly if you want to see it. Still, the museum and its surroundings are worth visiting for both art and relaxation.

The Kanazawa pass only gets you to half of the museum. Cool to see James turrel on a snow day though. The outdoor installation was fun. For the pool installation, you’ll have to sign up agita’s of time and wait for awhile. I skipped it as I’ve been to the one in the Netherlands.

I visited the museum at night. The experience where you can enter the pool was already fully booked, but the nighttime illumination was beautiful. The museum is open until 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Kenrokuen Garden and Korinbo are nearby, making the area lively and pleasant to walk around.

This is a good museum. It has some interesting spaces and I saw a very good collection of photographs. It was also very lively. It was an enjoyable way to spend some time in Kanazawa, and it is close enough to the nearby gardens that it is possible to combine it into a nice day with both outdoor and indoor activities.

Beautiful museum inside out. You can visit a lot of exhibitions without going into the paid area. A large part of the museum is public, almost like a community center. This includes an art library, a cafe and children’s area. Even some of the bathrooms have art.

The world renowned pool piece! Extra modern architecture design! Intriguing exhibitions! Extremely close to downtown! What other can you ask for? The pool piece itself needs a few hours of waiting, but we managed to get back after went back to hotel for some rest.

Small, but mighty, art museum. Entirely worthy of the 1,100¥ price tag, which included special exhibits. You can easily spend an hour or two exploring the dozen-ish installations. In general, I'm not much of an art aficionado--especially when it comes to contemporary art--but I found this museum to be very approachable. During our visit, we experienced a wide array of different art forms, some more obscure and avant-garde than others. My favorite pieces were the incredibly intricate and elaborate sculptures made out of cardboard and the exceptionally Instagrammable "swimming pool." I also really enjoyed the interactive heartbeat filaments piece, mostly because of its nerd factor. To get the full experience, definitely wait in line to add your heartbeat to the artwork. Reflecting back on my memory of the visit, I recall the art evoking feelings of awe, whimsy, sadness, ennui, and befuddlement in me. If you subscribe to the notion that art is meant to make you think and experience a range of emotions, then job well done! Note: if you're planning on visiting the "swimming pool," be sure to book your time slot in advance online. I found the museum's website manageable (though not entirely intuitive) to navigate. They thoughtfully meter the volume of visitors into the small space, and you'll want to pop into the underground grotto for the full effect.

This museum of contemporary art is pretty neat. I'm gonna be honest though, I only visited the free areas. The line to get a ticket was too long and I just didn't need to spend more money that day. However, it's cool that there are free areas at all! They had a couple exhibits from 'amateur' artists that were pretty neat, as well as some audio rooms. We saw the top of the famous swimming pool exhibit from a distance. The other more famous exhibit ('Colour activity house') is actually outside and totally free to wander through. The round building with big windows is itself neat as well, and my partner loved the piston-operated elevator. I don't always "get" contemporary art, but visiting this museum is something unique to do in Kanazawa!

This is just about the most modern thing in Kanazawa. The stunning alien design of the building sticks out like a sore thumb among the traditional wood buildings the city is known for. But what a beautiful sore thumb it is. It's a round glass maze housing interesting sculptures, thought-provoking photographs, and some of those most curious exhibits. While not the largest collection in the world, there are some very worthy pieces to see here. Given its sole dedication to contemporary art, it's also definitely worth a visit just to have the fun experience of deciding whether something is a masterpiece, or someone is trolling the art world. Large colourful sculptures surround the building, which you can observe (and climb some) for free. Exhibits showcasing funky looking paintings, photography, and videos are all found inside. 1000 yen will get you in the museum itself. This is the option we chose but for an extra 300 yen or so, you can visit whichever special exhibit they're showcasing at the moment (the line was too long so we didn't). Even with the 1000 yen, we thought it was enough. Sure, we couldn't enter some areas, but we still got to see most of those aforementioned paintings, photographs, and surreal experiences. While not intentionally an exhibit, we thought the glass elevator that gets pushed up from the ground rather than held by cables one of the most interesting things there. The most famous exhibit would be the Swimming Pool...which we didn't even know was here until we saw it. Luckily it wasn't that busy and we got to really go up, observe, and take pictures. What a trippy experience, staring down at the people "in" the water. It was a very pleasant surprise and even though we weren't able to go down "into" the water without that extra exhibit ticket, it was still a great experience. If art museums are your thing, this museum is definitely an interesting stop on your trip. If art museums aren't your thing...well modern art isn't exactly regular art so you might find yourself enjoying it anyway! (88/100) - 2018

Modern art in a traditional town. There were some amazing works of art inside and outside the museum. Interesting Japanese and international artists were represented. Buy ahead for any special exhibits as they will sell out.

x3* 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art Round building; modern Japanese art The swimming pool exhibit, both top and bottom, are fun Different rooms with low light Restaurant, museum store

Myself and the group I came with were largely unimpressed. I know that art is very subjective, however most of the exhibits didn't feel very well put together. My other gripe was that the staff was mostly unpleasant and some rules seemed unreasonable: - they would not let me take my bamboo go pro stick in although I saw another person let in with a telescoping go pro stick. The reason they would not allow the stick was because they said it could be used as a weapon... - the second thing that bothered me was that you could photograph every exhibit except for one (they had a couple very small no photo signs not visible from the doorway). So when I entered I took a photo with my phone. The staff quickly informed me that no photos were allowed. I apologized and put my phone away, however the staff kept following me around the remainder of the time in the room. It was just annoying. Overall it was ok and I had fun largely due to the group I was with, but in my opinion there are many nicer things to do and see in Kanazawa.

I liked this museum and especially the pool exhibit, but what I also wanted to review was their fusion21 restaurant that I couldn't find a page for in yelp. So after walking around the museum this place (within the museum) was a great treat. It was recommended by a local medical student that took me there. We chose a fixed menu including all you can eat appetizers, a main, a dessert and one drink. We were handed a very cool porcelain plate in the shape of a painter`s palette ( great artsy theme to go along with the museum). I loved my cherry blossom ice cream. The atmosphere and decor was modern and classy. Also lots of glass walls to look through to the outside with lots of natural light.

I usually avoid art museums like a plague, but I surprisingly loved this one. It reminds me of the Mattress Factory art museum in Pittsburgh except the art exhibits here are more cultural and less grotesque. We were only here for an hour and were able to cover one floor. You could spend hours here exploring all the exhibits. My favorite exhibit was the "Swimming Pool" by Leandro Erlich. You are not allowed to bring backpacks or large bags into the exhibits, so they have some bag check-in tables before the entrance of one of the exhibits. Additionally they have some lockers which you can use for about 100 yen. The items at the gift shop are quite expensive. The museum is near Kenrokuen Garden, so chances are you'll be visiting both places. Even if you're uninterested in art like I am, I believe you will still find something to interest you here.

This museum is quite marvelous! This museum was consisted of abstract arts mainly produced by Leandro Erlich. His art named Leandro's pool is so cool.Other arts was also so nice. I recommend this museum to the all of the tourists who visited to Kanazawa .

We just made a 30-minute stop on our sightseeing bus (LL) route to see he "swimming pool" . Unfortunately it was closed because of rain (I wonder why). Besides there was no obvious sign for it and we couludn't find it first (We assumed it was outside so just went around the building instead of going in) and that's what made our stop a 30-minute stop instead of 15-minute. Also please be aware you'd have to pay money to go under though looking into it is free.

I absolutely love this place!!! Super cool and has many exhibits. Its definitely worth your visit to Kanazawa. My favorite is a room in which you get to lay down on a pillow and sleep!!! haha.....genius. i tell you.