SIMOSE Art Museum: "The World’s Most Beautiful Museum" Hidden near Hiroshima

A glimpse into one of SIMOSE Art Museum’s six architectural “portals”—floating pastel-colored galleries mirrored in still water, hinting at the sensory experience ahead.

Six Architectural Portals: A Visitor's Guide

Most travelers to Japan will never see this place.

Set along the Seto Inland Sea near Hiroshima, the SIMOSE Art Museum was named the world’s most beautiful museum in 2023—yet it remains almost entirely unknown outside Japan.

And that’s what makes it so extraordinary.

What awaits is not a traditional museum, but an immersive architectural landscape of mirrored walls, floating glass galleries, and secluded villas—an experience that feels less like visiting a destination and more like stepping into another world.

Aerial view of SIMOSE Art Museum’s waterfront villas and floating galleries, set between sea, sky, and the quiet hills of Otake.

Most visitors to Hiroshima focus on the Peace Memorial and nearby Miyajima Island. But just 30 minutes away near the coastal town of Otake lies one of Japan's most remarkable art experiences—making it either a perfect Hiroshima day trip or a place to spend a serene few days—a museum complex so innovative it redefines what a museum can be.

The SIMOSE Art Museum (pronounced "Shi-mo-se") offers visitors an unprecedented blend of contemporary architecture, fine art collections, and luxury accommodations in one stunning waterfront location.

The SIMOSE Art Museum is not a single venue, but rather an astonishing interaction of six distinct mini-universes, each accessed through its own striking portal, each providing a unique visual, spatial, sensory, gustatory and…relaxatory experience. Each is entered through its own distinct portal, each element uses space, light, water, glass, mirrors and, yes, even signage, in ways you’ve never seen before.

The complex is comprised of:

• the stand-alone Reception Center

• SIMOSE Art Museum

  • Floating Galleries

  • Exhibition Halls

• the SIMOSE Art Garden Villas, featuring ten all-suite villas

• standing apart from the museum, a quite wonderful haute cuisine French Restaurant.

Our path into this stunning complex was rather prosaic: from Shin-Osaka station we took the Shinkansen to Hiroshima station, then switched to the JR line train to the unremarkable town of Otake nestled along the shore of the Seto Inland Sea. As part of our villa reservations, we’d arranged to have the SIMOSE people (who like to capitalize the museum’s name) pick us up at the station.

That’s when the tone shifted: our ride was a sleek black limousine outfitted with the most comfortable reclining seats ever to cradle a traveler—think first-class luxury on a Boeing 777, minus the turbulence.

The journey to SIMOSE sets the tone: fully reclining leather seats and footrests—first-class comfort, reimagined on four wheels.

We rode several miles through an industrial district lined with drab warehouses and factories and a couple of giant big-box stores and then turned toward the sea and passed through our first portal onto the grounds of the wonderful alternative universe of SIMOSE.

Architect Shigeru Ban's Masterpiece Design

SIMOSE is an astonishing art complex set, in dramatic contrast to its industrial surroundings, on an eleven-acre site on the shore of the Seto Inland Sea. The museum owes its life to the sponsorship and enthusiasm of Yumiko Shimose (note the “h” in the spelling of her name), current President of the Marui Sangyo Corporation, a large conglomerate started by her family in 1958 that manufactures various building and construction materials.

Designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect and living national treasure Shigeru Ban, SIMOSE Art Museum was completed in 2023. If you’re an architecture buff, you’ll know Ban for his signature use of recycled cardboard tubes as a major component in his innovative structures, but at SIMOSE Art Museum glass, mirrors and water take center stage to create trick-the-eye vistas and intersecting design elements that draw you in and spin your head around over and again.

The Portal that Leads You in to SIMOSE

The first portal: SIMOSE Art Museum’s reception building glows at night—warm wood and geometric precision marking a calm, deliberate entry into another world.

When you enter the SIMOSE complex you are greeted by staff in a simple stand-alone administration building that resembles a wooden Scandinavian barn until you go inside and  see its imaginative use of a newly-designed wooden construction method called “wooden L-angle” ― the intersection of hundreds of light geometrical beams and trusses that from the inside suggest the building is floating on air. From this deceptively simple beginning, everything you see and touch at SIMOSE is surprising and different, at once stimulating and soothing.

The Mirrored Wall Experience: SIMOSE's Signature Feature

In the visual center of the SIMOSE site, running parallel to the coastline, is a 60-yard-long, 25-foot-high mirrored glass wall erected to create a stunning visual effect that doubles the landscape through reflection and intersects a high, carefully-landscaped berm. At the berm’s base is the portal leading up a zig-zagged ramp topped by a long viewing platform with a sweeping view out over the Seto Inland Sea.

Approaching SIMOSE’s mirrored wall along a berm-top path—landscape, architecture, and sky dissolving into a single continuous reflection.

The overall effect is fabulous―and unique. The juxtaposition of the sea view, the landscaping, the stands of thoughtfully positioned trees and the combination of these images caught and doubled in the mirrors ― well, it has to be seen to be appreciated.

A seamless illusion: SIMOSE Art Museum’s mirrored façade reflects sky, stone, and sea—drawing you forward toward what lies beyond.

At its northern end, this shining wall contains a startling square opening that punches an inviting hole through the surrounding reflection and leads you through the mirrored wall to Emile Gallé’s outdoor garden. This spare, graceful garden terminates in a graceful circular pool and features the seasonal flowers and plants that were used as motifs by the French art nouveau artist, designer and botanist Emile Gallé (1846-1904), whose works form a major part of the museum collection.

Seasonal blooms and autumn foliage in Emile Gallé’s Garden, where nature and art nouveau sensibility meet in quiet balance.

As you walk around the southern end of the great wall, you are stopped in your tracks.

At water level, SIMOSE Art Museum’s floating galleries form a luminous archipelago—each glass volume a movable exhibition space shifting with light and reflection.

Abutting the wall is a shallow water basin where eight movable galleries – floating boxes, really, each covered with different-colored glass— dance lightly on the surface and kiss each other in variable designs intended to create a symbolic landscape evoking the beauty of the Setouchi islands on the horizon.

At night, SIMOSE’s floating galleries glow like lanterns on water, their reflections shifting subtly with each new configuration.

These whimsical pastel boxes are in fact distinct galleries, floating on separate barges and connected by short bridges. The boxes, warmly lit at night, can be repositioned into different configurations by just two people, so the whole interior display area can easily be changed to accommodate changing exhibition narratives.

The Doorway to Unique Art

To visit the museum―and many day visitors go to SIMOSE to do only that―you enter a fully-mirrored glass rotunda into a large circular reception area containing the ticket windows, an open gift shop, and a bar selling coffee and light snacks.

Inside SIMOSE Art Museum’s rotunda, wooden “trees” branch outward in soaring arcs—creating one of Japan’s most dynamic interior spaces.

Sound dull? Well, wait until you see this space. The ceiling is supported by soaring sculptural wooden “trees” that spring from the floor and spread out all across the top of the room in dramatic arcs creating an intense sensation of movement. The service counters describe circular arcs that compound the sensation of movement as you spin to take it all in.  Breathtaking.

The Floating Gallery Experience

One of SIMOSE's most striking features is the series of eight movable exhibition rooms housed inside the museum's floating galleries. These intimate spaces provide an unexpectedly contemplative counterpoint to the complex's dramatic architecture—their spare, minimalist interiors allow the artworks to breathe and command attention.

Inside one of SIMOSE’s floating galleries, contemporary works shimmer under soft light while mirrored platforms deepen the sense of stillness.

The museum houses a collection of approximately 500 works assembled over half a century by Marui Sangyo's President Yumiko Shimose, including many pieces inherited from her parents, the company's co-founders. What makes this collection particularly intriguing is its eclectic range and deeply personal curation.

Art Collection Highlights

While you'll find significant pieces of modern art and portraiture alongside traditional Japanese crafts such as Hina and Kyoto dolls, Emile Gallé's exquisite glasswork, handcrafted furniture, and sculpture, the collection's heart lies in its remarkable assemblage of delicate, colorful, and historically significant porcelain. Many pieces depict elaborate tableaux populated with vivid characters—a visual feast that initially struck us as almost overwhelming in its ornate detail.

A 19th-century porcelain doll and a surreal humanoid chair—just one glimpse of the unexpected juxtapositions within SIMOSE Art Museum’s eclectic collection.

For us, it took time to appreciate the ornate and whimsical subject matter of many pieces, but when we slowed down and looked closely, we found ourselves astonished by the incredible attention to detail and superb artistry throughout the collection.

Promising Signs

Villa 5, the “Paper House”—one of SIMOSE’s all-suite garden villas, where minimalist design and natural materials create a quiet architectural retreat.

Complementing Ban’s architectural genius, even SIMOSE’s signage is unique and engaging. Created by Ban’s close friend and collaborator Kenya Hara of the Hara Design Institute, SIMOSE’s array of "ant signs," black circles from which extend long, thin legs, clearly organize and inform, conveying different information keyed to the level at which the circle is positioned. While blending into the landscape as if they were part of nature, they were designed to create a sense of anticipation as you wander around the spacious grounds.

Yes, You’ll Want to Stay in the Villa Accommodations

SIMOSE’s accommodations are spread across the site, and the design of each of its ten elegant villas is different. Four of the larger villas at the south end of the complex ― behind the French restaurant and the herb garden ― are full houses and are recreations of some of Ban’s iconic and whimsical early designs ― the “House of Double-Roof,” the “Furniture House,” the “Paper House,” and the “Wall-Less House.” A fourth large villa, the “Cross Wall House” was designed as an homage to John Hejduk, formerly head of the architecture department at Cooper Union, who Ban says influenced him strongly during his student years.

At twilight, SIMOSE’s forest villas glow with quiet restraint—each a minimalist retreat facing water, sky, and the distant shoreline.

What It Feels Like to Stay Here

On the north side of the complex are five superb “forest villas” facing an extended water basin, each surrounded with trees and each with a connected sleeping area, sitting room, Japanese bath. hyper-modern toilet area and plentiful closet space.

Left: Forest villa interior with open-plan sleeping and living spaces. Right: A private open-air bath and tatami area designed for unhurried relaxation.

These villas, each offering a slightly different floor plan, are constructed of wood and are alike in their stark elegance, use of moveable interior walls, and dazzling views out over the Seto Inland Sea.

Minimalist lighting and handcrafted details create a sense of calm—where every element is considered, and nothing is extraneous.

We selected and stayed in Kielsteg House B, which had a balance of privacy and openness that we liked (and did not want to leave!). To have the complete experience, we selected the All-Inclusive Plan which included dinner, breakfast, beverages in the villa's mini-bar and mini wine fridge, food and beverages at the free lounge, museum entrance ticket, and car service from Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport, JR Kuba, Otake or Shin-Iwakuni stations.

Whether enjoying the panoramic vista and natural lighting outside our glass-walled living room or our space’s subtle interior lighting at night, we immediately found ourselves at peace, wishing that our stay was weeks, not days.

At sunset, the view from our villa unfolded like a living painting—light, water, and distant islands shifting by the minute.

At between $800 a night for a small villa (double occupancy) and over $2,000 a night for one of the houses, staying at SIMOSE certainly is not cheap, but it provides rewards in abundance.

All Things French

Dining at SIMOSE is more than a meal—it’s an experience that mirrors the museum’s commitment to artistry, detail, and atmosphere.

A seasonal installation at SIMOSE’s French restaurant—light reflected on water, transforming the waterfront into something quietly magical.

SIMOSE’s auberge style French restaurant is simple, elegant, and really quite wonderful. Occupying a square, glass-walled building separate from the museum, every table provides soothing views in all directions, and every dish provides a sophisticated treat for the palate.

SIMOSE’s French restaurant—an understated, glass-and-stone structure set at the water’s edge, where architecture and setting quietly frame the experience within.

The moment you step into the restaurant’s glass-walled cube, with chefs at work in full view and the sea shimmering beyond the windows, you know you’re in for something special.

SIMOSE’s open kitchen is part theater, part precision—where each dish begins its transformation into something both exacting and expressive.

The “kitchen” stands in the open in the middle of the restaurant, showcasing the hustle and bustle of a busy and utterly professional staff. Whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, the food is uniformly haute (with prices to match), and the service attentive and friendly.

Every seat at SIMOSE’s restaurant is oriented toward light, water, and horizon—creating a dining experience that feels both expansive and deeply personal.

A sequence of artful courses from SIMOSE’s multi-course dining experience—each plate composed with the same precision and restraint as the architecture itself.

When we remarked on the singular quality of an upscale Japanese single malt, our waiter befriended us, gave us a tutorial on high-end Japanese distilled spirits, and arranged for the purchase of several carefully-packaged gins and single-malts to take home, where they serve as a wonderful reminder of our time at SIMOSE.

Recognized as the World’s Most Beautiful Museum

If this sounds almost too extraordinary to believe about SIMOSE’s many charms, don’t just take our word for it. In the year it opened, 2023, a panel of qualified experts named the SIMOSE Art Museum the world’s most beautiful museum at the Prix Versailles, the French world architecture and design awards that highlight the finest contemporary achievements globally.

A final view across SIMOSE’s floating galleries—where art, architecture, and water dissolve into a single luminous composition.

SIMOSE isn't just a museum—it's an immersive aesthetic encounter. Whether you're drawn by architecture, design, culinary experiences, or contemporary art, a visit here invites you to slow down, look closely, and experience beauty in motion and stillness. As one of the most remarkable art museums near Hiroshima — or anywhere in Japan — SIMOSE redefines what an art destination can be.

In a country filled with extraordinary destinations, SIMOSE stands apart—not because it is famous, but because it isn’t. This is not a place you add to a checklist or visit in passing. It’s a place you seek out—one that rewards those willing to go a little further, look a little deeper, and experience Japan beyond the expected.

Planning Your Visit to SIMOSE Art Museum & Villas

SIMOSE Art Museum is an easy and rewarding Hiroshima day trip option, with excellent train access and a free shuttle to the museum. Here's everything you need to know for your visit to this architectural masterpiece:

Museum Information

• Address:           2-10-50 Harumi, Otake, Hiroshima, 739-0622

• Phone:             +81 (827) 94-4000

• Hours:              Closed Monday

• Sunday, Tuesday - Saturday     9:30 AM–5 PM

• Website:          https://simose-museum.jp/en/  

• Free Shuttle Bus Between JR Otake Station and the Museum Check for updates as times change seasonally.

• Time Needed: Plan to spend two to three hours for the art collections, the outside gardens, paths around the grounds and viewing from the rooftop terrace.

Accommodation Information

• Address:          2 Chome-10-50 Harumi, Otake, Hiroshima 739-0622

• Phone:             +81 (827) 93-0101

• Website:          https://artsimose.jp/villa/ 

© 2025 Zen Gaijin. This content is original research and may not be reproduced without permission.