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Ichihara Lakeside Museum

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Ichihara Lakeside MuseumArt MixTakataki lakecontemporary artKominato Railway

Illustration of Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba — Illustration — not a photograph

Ichihara Lakeside Museum doesn't fit neatly into a single category, which is part of why it's easy to overlook in Chiba.

A 1990s municipal sculpture museum on the shore of a reservoir in inland Chiba was, by the early 2010s, the kind of place that quietly closes. Instead the city had it rebuilt — the existing concrete shell wrapped in perforated steel plate, with new terraces cut out toward the water — and reopened it in 2013 with a programme that treats the whole surrounding region as the exhibition space.

It is now the anchor of the Ichihara Art Mix triennial, which puts work into closed schools and disused buildings along the Kominato Railway. The museum itself is small, with a permanent collection at ¥200 and changing exhibitions priced separately, and the terraces over Takataki lake are as much of the visit as the galleries. It sits directly on the railway line that crosses the peninsula, which makes it a natural stop rather than a detour.

Visiting essentials

Cost

Permanent collection ¥200 general, ¥100 university and high school students and visitors aged 65 and over | Free for junior high school age and under | Special exhibitions priced separately

Hours

Weekdays 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Saturdays and the day before a holiday 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM | Sundays and holidays 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM

Closed: Closed Mondays, or the following weekday when the Monday is a holiday | 29 December – 3 January | Extended closures for building works have occurred

Best season

Year-round | Triennial years for the wider Art Mix programme

How long to allow

60–90 minutes

Finding your way there

Directions

Ichihara, on the shore of Takataki lake. Car recommended; also reachable from stations on the Kominato Railway. Closed Mondays, or the following weekday when the Monday is a holiday, and 29 December – 3 January. Permanent collection ¥200 general and ¥100 for university, high school students and visitors aged 65 and over; free for junior high school age and under. Special exhibitions priced separately. The museum has closed for extended periods for works — confirm it is open before travelling.

Beyond the guidebook

**Confirm it is open.** The building has closed for extended renovation periods. Check the museum's own site before making the trip; this is not a place with alternatives nearby. **The building is the collection, partly.** The 2013 rework wrapped the old concrete in perforated steel and cut terraces toward the water. Walk the outside and the roof level as well as the galleries. **Time it with the triennial if you can.** Ichihara Art Mix puts work into closed schools and disused buildings along the Kominato Railway. The museum is the hub and the region is the exhibition. **Combine with the railway crossing.** The Kominato line runs through here on the way to Kazusa-Nakano, so this fits into a peninsula crossing rather than requiring its own day.

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