Japan Guide
Central Honshū
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Giving Kenroku-en stiff competition as the city's prize attraction is the impressive 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, opposite the garden's southwest entrance. Since it opened in 2004, the museum has been an enormous shot in the arm for Kanazawa, highlighting a forward thinking attitude that had previously been obscured by the city's love of the traditonal arts.
The hyper-modern design by the architectural practice SANAA (also responsible for the renovations of New York's Museum of Modern Art) – a circle of glass embracing a series of galleries and other facilities – is like a giant geometry puzzle and perfectly suited to the multiple uses of the space. Exhibitions are frequently changing, although there are some works on permanent display, which were commissioned specially for the space. James Turrell's Blue Planet Sky is a great place to relax and watch the clouds float by, while Leandro Elrich's Swimming Pool is an actual pool that allows you to see from beneath the water. The twelve tuba-shaped tubes that sprout out of the lawns surrounding the gallery are by the German artist Florian Claar; speak into one and the sound comes out of another. Features such as this, the library packed with interesting design and art books and magazines, and the free crèche, have drawn in over 1.38 million people a year, nearly three times Kanazawa's population, since the gallery opened in 2004. Opening time: Tues– Sun 9am–10pm Price: ¥350, extra charges for special exhibitions 
076/220-2800 
www.kanazawa21.jp