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HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Imabari’s Toyo Ito Museum
Japan’s first museum of contemporary architecture is in an eye-catching spot on the Seto Inland Sea
Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture
On Omishima, an island on the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido - the 60 km-long road that connects Honshu to the island of Shikoku - is the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, dedicated to the Japanese conceptual architect.
Located on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, the museum’s most striking feature is that the building itself is one of Ito’s works.
The black, polyhedral building known as the Steel Hut is a mysterious structure in which all the walls stand diagonally and there is no distinction between roof, wall, and floor. Inside the building, there is an exhibition about the design work of architect Toyo Ito.
Adjacent is the Silver Hut, a replica of Ito’s eponymous Tokyo home, which features porthole windows and a metal, arching roof made from rhombic frames over beams. The rooms look out onto magnificent views of the Inland Sea and exhibit materials relating to some of the many buildings Ito has created in his lifetime. An annex provides a library and space for workshops to support students and young architects.
How to get there
Take the Shinkansen bullet train from Shin-Osaka Station to Okayama Station, which takes about 45 minutes. Then, take the express train to Imabari Station, which takes about 2 hours. From there, take the express train or bus to Miyaura Port, which takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Take the bus to Tokoro Museum Oshima, then walk about 3 minutes to the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture.
2418 Urado, Omishima-cho, Imabari-shi, Ehime-ken
