Miho Museum

The approach to this museum is part of the experience: visitors walk through a tunnel and cross a suspension bridge before the building reveals itself, half-embedded in the forested hills of Shiga's Koka area. I.M. Pei designed it around a Chinese Shangri-La legend, and the result is one of Japan's most architecturally distinctive cultural destinations. Inside, naturally lit galleries display ancient works from Egypt, Greece, Rome, Gandhara, China, and Japan, all of remarkable quality. The museum opens mainly in spring and autumn, and timing a visit with cherry blossoms along the tunnel approach or autumn foliage makes the journey even more worthwhile. Plan around an hour for the bus from Ishiyama Station.