ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN OITA / Oita City

The Oita Prefectural Art Museum (OPAM) and the ‘Oita Art Museum’ in Oita City are must–visits for art lovers. OPAM was designed by world–renowned architect Shigeru Ban and opened in 2015 as “an art museum open to the city”. The large glass–fronted structure offers a spacious environment and features a design which blurs the divides between indoors and outdoors. The museum has a collection of approximately 5,000 pieces and showcases many works associated with Oita Prefecture, including Bungo Nanga paintings, Japanese paintings, and bamboo crafts.

The Oita Art Museum is situated in the lush green Uenogaoka Kodomo no Mori Park, located a short distance from JR Oita Station. The museum was designed by Japanese–architect Shozo Uchii and opened in 1999, as “an art museum for enjoyment, appreciation, and learning”. The park’s –walking paths lead to the museum, where visitors can encounter works by local artists.

Oita Prefecture boasts numerous buildings designed by well–known architects. For example, The ‘Art Plaza’ and ‘B–Con Plaza’ were designed by Oita City–born Arata Isozaki, the ‘Oita Studium (Crasus Dome Oita)’ by Kisho Kurokawa, and the ‘Oita Bank Red Brick Building’ by Kingo Tatsuno, just to name a few. Architecture enthusiasts can discover masterpieces in every corner of the prefecture.