Editor Pick
The Suntory Museum
- January 27, 2004
- Rated 3 of 5 by
david from brooklyn, New York
Located across from the Osaka Aquarium and along the same subway line that takes visitors out to Universal Studios Japan, The Suntory Musuem's primary attraction is the building itself, completed in 1994 by Tadao Ando, a native of Osaka one of Japan's most famous and influential architects. Without any formal architectural training, Ando developed a signature style using plain reinforced concrete, relating to traditional wood/plaster Japanese architecture in its elegant simplicity and respect for the qualities of the material. He was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize (architecture's highest award) in 1995.
The building houses an art/design bookstore, a museum with changing exhibitions (usually focusing on design, and usually worth seeing), and an Imax movie theater (20 meter high screen) showing the usual Imax films.
Much of the building can be viewed free of charge, though if you wish to view the exhibition or the Imax feature admission, prices are as follows: Museum only: Adult ¥1000, HS high school/college students, seniors ¥700, middle/elementary school students Ǵ. Museum and Theater: Adult ¥1600, seniors ¥1,400, HS high school/college students ¥1,100, middle/elementary school students ̠.
The Suntory Museum is a 10-minute walk from the green Chuo line Osakako subway station.
From journal Osaka, a city firmly rooted in Japan