This was a bizarre but delightful place. I stumbled across the museum by accident because I was attracted by it's villain's lair-like appearance of a quirky design located atop a hill and overlooking the local district. The first few floors are dominated by crystals and are a little kitschy, but fun. Then, there's a floor filled with Rodin sculptures. And then another floor with Utrillo masterpieces. It was unexpected but wonderful! The cafe makes a lovely coffee and the view is sublime. This was a truly entertaining site, doubly so because it is packed with all sorts of terrific little surprises!

+3

Not suitable for wheelchair users.

An art museum displaying a private collection, but it also holds special exhibitions for limited periods. You can get close by bus, but climbing the hill is pretty tough, so I recommend going by car. Utrillo's paintings are the main feature, and you can appreciate how the painter's work changed over his lifetime. Besides that, there are Rodin sculptures and lots of collected stones like crystals—it's a little wonderland. In the café, you can have coffee in Meissen cups. You can pick your favorite cup and spend a while enjoying the view from the hilltop.

Works by Rodin and Utrillo are on display. And big stones… amethyst, rose quartz, and more, really amazing. To think this is someone's private collection😳 And a lovely garden. You can look out over the town of Machida from the high ground.

I visited at the end of the year. If you're coming from central Tokyo by public transport, the nearest station is Tsurukawa Station on the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku. From the North Exit, it's about 10 minutes by bus to the nearest bus stop. If you go knowing nothing, you enter through a big tile-roofed gate like the ones at temples, climb stairs or a slope up to a hilltop with a great view, and are greeted by a very atmospheric Western-style building surrounded by unusual giant rocks, along with a small shrine. When I was half-prompted to mention that I'd come after seeing the website, they gave me a discount. I'd like you to come and experience the inside for yourself, but I've visited around 100 art museums in Japan and abroad, and I think anyone who likes Utrillo absolutely has to visit.

+3