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Hakone Museum of Art Tickets and the 2026 Reopening: ¥1,000 Pre-Opening Price, Moss Garden Dates, Hours

Updated 2026-10-30

The Hakone Museum of Art in Gora is open again from 30 October 2026, but only in part. The museum calls this a pre-opening: the gardens, the annex galleries and a new café are open, and the main building galleries stay shut until 23 December. The trade-off is the price. An adult pays ¥1,000 instead of the regular ¥1,500, high school and university students ¥500 instead of ¥700, and junior high school students and younger go in free as always. Hakone Navi, Odakyu's Hakone site, lists the ¥1,000 rate through 20 December. The Weathernews forecast puts the maples over the moss garden at their best from 18 November to 6 December, so the whole colour window falls inside the cheaper weeks. The museum is closed every Thursday. Dates and prices are from the museum's own notices and Hakone Navi, checked 2026-10-30.

Calendar strip for the Hakone Museum of Art from 30 October 2026 to 10 January 2027. Gardens and moss garden open from 30 October, inner garden included during the pre-opening. Annex galleries and new cafe open from 30 October. Main building galleries from 23 December. Adult ticket 1,000 yen in the pre-opening period to 20 December, then 1,500 yen. Maple colour over the moss forecast 18 November to 6 December. Closed on Thursdays, marked with crosses: 5, 12, 19, 26 November, 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 December and 7 January. A note says the whole colour window sits inside the 1,000 yen weeks.
Read the fourth and fifth rows together: the forecast colour window ends two weeks before the price goes back to ¥1,500.

What you can see during the pre-opening

The museum closed completely on 7 May 2026 for renovation work and reopened in stages. The notice of 19 January 2026 names two stages, and the museum's own posts from October add what is open in the gardens.

Area 30 Oct – 22 Dec 2026 (pre-opening) From 23 Dec 2026 (grand opening)
Moss garden (Shinsenkyo) and the other gardens open open
Inner garden (normally not open to visitors) open as a special measure not announced
Annex galleries open open
New café in the former rest area open open
Tea house Shinwatei (matcha with a view of the moss) 10:00–15:30 10:00–15:30
Main building galleries (the ceramics collection) closed open, renewed

The museum's exhibition pages list the main building and the annex as its two gallery buildings. So a ticket in November buys you the gardens and about half the gallery space, at two-thirds of the regular price. If the ceramics are the reason you are going, wait for 23 December. If the moss and the maples are, November is the better deal and the better month.

Ticket prices

Who Pre-opening (to 20 Dec 2026) Regular (from 21 Dec 2026)
Adult (15 and over) ¥1,000 ¥1,500
High school and university students (show ID) ¥500 ¥700
Junior high school students and younger free free
Disability certificate holders, plus up to two companions free free
Group of 20 or more (counter only) ¥900 adult / ¥400 student ¥1,400 / ¥600

Two things the museum's price page says that resellers' pages usually don't:

Older guides still quote ¥1,430 for an adult. That was the price before the renovation closure. The regular price is now ¥1,500.

With the Hakone Freepass or the Hako Ticket

Ticket table for the Hakone Museum of Art, pre-opening price then the price from 21 December 2026. Adult at the door 1,000 yen then 1,500 yen. Adult with the Hakone Freepass 800 yen then 1,300 yen, 200 yen off, to be confirmed at the counter for the pre-opening. High school and university students 500 yen then 700 yen. Junior high and younger free in both periods. Group of 20 or more 900 yen then 1,400 yen. Hako Ticket holders included. Below, the route: Hakone-Yumoto to Gora by Hakone Tozan Train about 41 minutes 460 yen, Gora to Koen-kami by cable car about 3 minutes 170 yen, about 1 minute on foot to the gate.
Children of junior high school age and under pay nothing in either period, so a family's bill is just the adults.

Hours and closing days

Period Open Last entry
April to November 9:30–16:30 16:00
December to March 9:30–16:00 15:30

In November the garden closes at 16:30 and the last cable car connections down the Hakone loop run into the early evening, so this is an easy first stop of the day or a last one. In December the museum shuts at 16:00, half an hour earlier, and the ropeway's inspection closure between Owakudani and Sounzan begins on 7 December; the Hakone in winter guide has those dates.

The moss garden in autumn 2026

The garden is called Shinsenkyo. The museum's English page says it was laid out by Mokichi Okada between 1944 and 1953, and the museum itself opened in 1952, which makes it the oldest museum in Hakone. The Kanagawa Prefectural Tourism Association counts over 130 kinds of moss and about 200 Japanese maples in it. The maples are what people come for in November: red leaves above, green moss below, and stone paths between them.

For how the museum fits into the rest of the autumn, including the ten-spot forecast board and the order to ride the loop in November, see the Hakone autumn leaves 2026 guide.

How to get there

The gate is about 1 minute on foot from Koen-kami Station on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car, two stops above Gora.

Leg Time Adult fare Child
Hakone-Yumoto → Gora, Hakone Tozan Train about 41 min ¥460 ¥230
Gora → Koen-kami, Hakone Tozan Cable Car about 3 min ¥170 ¥90
Koen-kami → gate, on foot about 1 min – –

Buying tickets

Hakone passes and day tours

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Hakone Museum of Art open in November 2026?

Yes, as a pre-opening from 30 October 2026. The gardens, including the moss garden and the normally closed inner garden, the annex galleries and a new café are open. The main building galleries are closed until 23 December. It is closed on Thursdays (official notices, checked 2026-10-30).

How much is a Hakone Museum of Art ticket?

¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for high school and university students during the pre-opening, which Hakone Navi lists as running until 20 December 2026. From 21 December the regular price is ¥1,500 and ¥700. Junior high school students and younger are free.

Does the Hakone Freepass cover the museum?

No. Hakone Navi lists ¥200 off for adults and ¥100 off for students with the pass, which makes the regular adult ticket ¥1,300. The pass does cover the train and cable car to the gate. The Hako Ticket includes admission.

When is the best time to see the moss garden's autumn leaves?

Weathernews forecasts the peak from 18 November 2026, with leaves falling by 6 December. The typical peak is late November. The garden is open 9:30–16:30 until the end of November and closes at 16:00 from December.

Which cable car station is the museum at?

Koen-kami, the second stop above Gora on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car. The gate is about a minute's walk from the station. The fare from Gora is ¥170 (child ¥90), or free with the Hakone Freepass.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-30)

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