Architectural Brilliance
The museum structure itself is absolute top-tier, designed by the world-renowned architectural firm SANAA (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa), who were awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize—essentially the Nobel Prize for architecture—for their innovative, accessible design. Featuring iconic, headline-grabbing installations like The Swimming Pool, Blue Planet Sky, and The Man Who Measures the Clouds, the museum is a resounding triumph of modern architectural design.
Iconic Highlights & Key Experiences
* The Swimming Pool (Leandro Erlich):
Under a clear blue sky, you can view The Swimming Pool from above for free; however, entering the underwater chamber requires a advance reservation.
* Blue Planet Sky (James Turrell):
Located in the permanent collection, this open-air room with a square aperture in the ceiling framing the sky evokes a strangely mesmerizing, contemplative sensation.
* Migratory Life (Satoshi Murakami):
Another standout in the permanent collection by the architect Satoshi Murakami. Following the 2011 earthquake, Murakami spent seven years traveling across Japan carrying a lightweight styrofoam house on his back—sleeping inside it and creating a series of striking drawings along his journey.
Notable Contemporary & Temporary Works
# Street (Chim↑Pom from Sogo & Tsei): A compelling, high-energy conceptual piece exploring urban spaces and public dynamics.
#Air-Conditioned Car (Untitled by Elmgreen & Dragset): A provocative installation featuring a classic car fitted with an active air conditioning system inside a museum setting.
#Green Wall (People’s Pavilion / Green Wall by Patrick Blanc): The striking vertical garden installation seamlessly blending living botanical art with SANAA’s glass architecture.
Tip for Visitors: Plan ahead! While walking around the exterior and viewing the upper level of The Swimming Pool is free, popular installations and lower-deck access require timed-entry tickets booked online in advance.
The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art opened in Kanazawa in 2004. The building was designed by the architectural firm SANAA and features a circular layout with glass walls, allowing visitors to see inside from the outside and vice versa. The museum is divided into a Public Zone, which can be accessed without a ticket until 10 p.m., and an Exhibition Zone, which closes at 6 p.m. and requires a ticket costing ¥1,200 (about €6.50). I initially came to this museum mainly because it was raining, but it turned out to be much more interesting than I expected, and I'm glad I visited. The most unusual artwork is undoubtedly The Swimming Pool by Leandro Erlich: to enter it, you need to book a time slot online while you are inside the museum.
Great museum. Great curation of artists. Incredible installations. I really loved how the space was arranged. It was slightly confusing and disorientating, but in a fun and engaging way. Almost like you had to just let go of your inner compass and follow the path.
THE SWIMMING POOL
You must reserve your time to enter the pool, which I did online on the day once we had worked out what time we could get to the museum. The museum tickets can just be purchased from the desk when you get there. You show them your pool reservation, and they will tell you what room to enter and when to get there. You have 5 mins from when you check-in to the pool area to go see it, take photos, then get out. They let in 3-4 groups at a time, and everyone is polite and tries to take it in turns and avoid photo-bombing each others photos.
Important note - There are stairs or an elevator that takes you down, but waiting for the elevator eats into your allotted time, so ideally you don't want to take a pram. We did, hoping we could leave the pram outside the pool area and take the stairs, but they don't allow it.
Don't miss this museum if you are heading to the Castle and Kenrokuen Park. It's opposite these 2 attractions. You can visit the museum for free but need to get the special exhibition tickets (I paid 1000Y) in order to go into the famous swimming pool exhibit. Do remember to reserve your slot on their website for the swimming pool visit on the day that you are going (I made the reservation at 9am for the 12-12.55pm slot. There are many slots available). Also book your tickets online much - there was a queue when I visited. The rest of the exhibits are also very interesting. Spent about 1hr there.
A wonderful visit. Easy to pre-book your tickets online (especially for The Swimming Pool) and the gallery is open until really late which is nice!! I enjoyed Blue Sky Planet and The Swimming Pool, which are permanent, but the current temporary exhibitions were also very interesting. Also loved the shop!
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