Hakone Open-Air Museum closes Woods of Net on 30 November

Hakone Open-Air Museum will close Woods of Net from 30 November to 4 December 2026 for inspection and repair work. The five-day closure affects access to one of the museum’s interactive artworks in Hakone, Japan. The operator says visitors will not be able to enter or play inside the installation during the work.

Woods of Net closure begins at Hakone Open-Air Museum

The closure starts on Monday 30 November 2026 and ends on Friday 4 December 2026. It is an operator-announced maintenance measure rather than a closure of the whole museum, and the notice specifically identifies Woods of Net as the affected facility.

The Hakone Chokoku no Mori Art Foundation says inspection and repair work will take place throughout the period. Its closure notice for Woods of Net states that visitors cannot enter and play inside the artworks while the work is under way.

For families planning a visit at the end of November, this means the wider museum remains the relevant venue, but Woods of Net should not be included in the available programme between 30 November and 4 December. The notice does not announce a wider admission restriction or a closure of the sculpture grounds.

How the closure fits the museum’s sculpture landscape

The museum opened in 1969 and combines outdoor sculpture with indoor exhibition spaces. Its Sculpture Garden contains approximately 120 works by modern and contemporary sculptors across a site of about 70,000 square metres overlooking the mountains of Hakone.

Woods of Net is one part of that larger setting. The operator also lists the Symphonic Sculpture, the Picasso Pavilion, the Multi Hall and the Forest Footbath among its facilities. The planned repair period therefore concerns a specific artwork, while the museum’s broader combination of garden, galleries and visitor facilities remains the context for the November visit.

The museum’s location makes the date especially relevant to an autumn itinerary. It stands in Ninotaira, and access information places it near Chokoku-no-Mori Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway. A regional guide describes the museum’s 1969 opening and its position on the railway route in its Hakone autumn travel guide.

Visiting Hakone Open-Air Museum: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Woods of Net is closed at the Hakone Open-Air Museum from 30 November to 4 December 2026 for inspection and repair work.
• Visitors cannot enter or play inside Woods of Net during those dates, while the official notice does not state that the whole museum will close.
• The museum is in Ninotaira, Hakone, and Chokoku-no-Mori Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway is the named rail reference for reaching the site.
• The grounds cover about 70,000 square metres and include outdoor sculpture, so visitors should expect substantial walking across an open landscape.
• Japan’s official language is Japanese and its national currency is the yen.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

Searching for Hakone Open-Air Museum on social platforms

These links open searches for Hakone Open-Air Museum on each platform.

Frequently asked questions about Hakone Open-Air Museum

When is Woods of Net closed at Hakone Open-Air Museum?

Woods of Net is closed from 30 November to 4 December 2026 for inspection and repair work.

What has changed at Hakone Open-Air Museum?

Access to Woods of Net is suspended during the five-day maintenance period. The operator’s notice does not announce a full museum closure.

Where is Hakone Open-Air Museum and how do you get there?

The museum is in Ninotaira, Hakone. Chokoku-no-Mori Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway is the named rail reference for reaching the site.