Otsuka Museum of Art
Last updated: September 13, 2026
The Otsuka Museum of Art retells the story of Western art inside a hillside at Naruto: across the largest exhibition space in Japan, more than a thousand masterpieces — the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Guernica, Monet's water lilies — reproduced at full size on ceramic boards that hold their colour for centuries. The viewing route runs some four kilometres, climbing from ancient frescoes to the twentieth century, with entire chapels rebuilt room for room. Just outside, the famous Naruto whirlpools churn beneath the Onaruto Bridge, making the museum the anchor of a full day on the strait.
Itinerary
- Stop at: Otsuka Museum of Art
Frequently Asked Questions
Each work is photographed at its home museum, transfer-printed onto large ceramic boards, fired and hand-retouched — a technique that fixes the colours for centuries. The reproductions match the originals' true size, from hand-sized icons to the entire Sistine Chapel, rebuilt as a walk-in hall.
Give it at least half a day. The route through the galleries runs about four kilometres, arranged chronologically from the ancient world up to the twentieth century — many visitors happily spend the whole day and still leave a wing unseen.
It sits within Naruto Park at the northern tip of Naruto in Tokushima, just south of the Onaruto Bridge — local buses from Naruto Station toward the park stop right outside, and the drive from Tokushima City takes under an hour.
The Sistine Hall is the showpiece, but seek out the Scrovegni Chapel glowing in Giotto blue, Monet's large water lilies displayed outdoors in natural light as he intended, and Leonardo's Last Supper shown before and after restoration on facing walls.