Miho Museum

First-time visitors to the Miho Museum are always amazed at how harmoniously it melts into the surroundings. Nestled among the mountains an hour from Kyoto, the path to the museum passes through a tunnel and over a hanging bridge before you arrive at the entrance. The concern for the environment is evident throughout: the exhibition hall and the reception building are linked by an electric car, and the restaurant is proud to serve only food made with natural ingredients, grown without any pesticides or chemical fertilizers.

The buildings were designed by I.M. Pei, the celebrated architect of the Glass Pyramid at the Louvre and the West Wing of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Based on an image of Shangri-La, 80 percent of the building is buried under ground in order to blend into the natural landscape. The collection contains antique and ancient pieces from a range of regions, including Japan, China, Greece, Rome and the Middle East.