Asakura Museum of Sculpture

The Fumio Asakura Museum of Sculpture is set in the artist's former home and studio in rural Oita Prefecture, preserving the intimate space where one of modern Japan's most celebrated sculptors lived and worked. Asakura was known for his powerfully realistic bronze figures, and the museum displays dozens of his pieces alongside personal effects, tools, and photographs that reveal his creative process. The building itself is striking, with a rooftop garden, a sun-filled atrium, and a courtyard pool that Asakura designed to bring nature into his daily life. The quiet, off-the-beaten-path setting adds to the feeling that you are visiting a private world rather than a conventional museum.