Museum Mountain (Museum Ticket + James Turrell Hall + Meditation Hall)
#Domestic travel
When traveling around Japan, I naturally visit Tadao Ando's buildings. I've been to more than 15 of them, so it's not strange at all to say that I'm an aspiring architecture student.
Of course, that's not the case, but at some point, along with Yayoi Kusama, it became a journey that was incorporated into the travel course. That's how I ended up visiting Museum Mountain this time.
Last summer, I first visited the Bonte Museum in Seogwipo, Jeju, and that's how I came to know about Museum Mountain. I'm traveling to this place in Wonju as a project to welcome the new year in 2022.
I don't ski, but I knew the name Oak Valley, but I didn't find out that this art museum was located there until a week before my departure. Hahaha
Since I have to travel by public transportation, I diligently look at the transportation information on the website. I find that there is a Wonju tour bus at Wonju Station or the bus terminal.
I got on a bus from Suwon to Wonju and got off at the Wonju Intercity Bus Terminal to catch a tour bus. There was a brief temptation to take a taxi, but...
The day I visited happened to be the day when the new Wonju Tour Bus schedule was applied. If you buy a one-day pass from the driver on the bus for 5,000 won, it's 1/5 the price of a one-way taxi fare.
Plus, you get a 20% discount on the Museum Mountain admission fee, so it's definitely worth buying. With about 40 minutes to spare, I head to Starbucks, my hometown.
Here, I make my schedule and reserve a ticket for the express bus back to Seoul. There is a separate Wonju Express Bus Terminal across from the Wonju Intercity Bus Terminal.
I move according to the tour bus schedule. I and two Korean men who seem to have foreign friends get on board and buy a one-day pass.
The bus passes Manjong Station and climbs the winding mountain road. It arrives at Oak Valley first. The condos are spread out. The next stop is Museumsan Entrance.
After getting off the bus, go up for about 3 minutes and you will find the ticket booth. It is located at a fairly high altitude. While going up the bus, I remembered visiting the Miho Museum in Shiga Prefecture.
It is also known as the Mureungdowon Art Museum, and it is a place that boasts one of the most beautiful views in Japan. I remember going up from the bus stop in front of the station for over 40 minutes like this.
If the Miho Museum has the feeling of a Mureungdowon in a high mountain, the museum is full of Ando's style, and there is a James Turrell Museum here, just like the Chichu Art Museum and the Bonte Museum.
I paid 2,500 yen to visit the Chichu Art Museum in Naoshima 10 years ago, and Museumsan is also 39,000 won. (Including James Turrell Museum and Meditation Museum)
Instead, if you present a one-day Wonju Tour Bus ticket, you can get a discount of 7,800 won, which is more than the round-trip bus fare. And make sure to buy a set ticket.
The two places cannot be purchased separately, but can only be purchased in addition to the basic museum ticket, and on-site reservations are required. The time is set when ticketing, and it closes on a first-come, first-served basis.
Since I came for a half-day trip, I planned my schedule according to the bus schedule. Fortunately, if I move quickly, I can even secure tea time.
I feel like I am traveling to Japan for the first time. Since the Meditation Museum is right in front, I hurry there. It feels like entering a tomb.
Like the royal tombs of Gyeongju or Buyeo, I enter a tomb designed by Ando himself. I lie down here and move one by one to the beat of the voice, and I finish the meditation.
It is an amazing experience where my body becomes lighter, my head becomes clearer, my mood improves, my heart becomes calmer, and my thoughts become deeper.
It was a play that gave me a little rest and nutrition. There are many tombs on the way to the James Turrell Museum. If you go there yourself, you can understand the meaning of the tombs.
I first encountered James Turrell's work at the Chichu Art Museum in Naoshima, the Ie Project, and Benesse House, and later saw it at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa and the Jeju Bonte Museum.
It seems that many people here are most satisfied with this visual art that combines light, nature, and the sky.
Before the bus time, instead of lunch, I had a geisha coffee in an expensive cup at a cafe and satisfied my hunger with strawberry shortcake, and had a paradise time.
It was a precious and noble space where I could feel the Miho Museum and Chichu Art Museum at the same time. It's also good for taking pictures. Museum Mountain exceeded my expectations. Thank you.
#Gangwon-do travel #Places to visit in Gangwon-do #Tadao Ando #Museum Mountain #Wonju travel #James Turrell