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This is a museum I had been wanting to visit for a while, as I was originally attracted by its remarkable building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Ban Shigeru. So, I took the journey south to Kyushu Island and then to the heart of Oita City to find the Oita Prefectural Art Museum, also known as OPAM.

OPAM is unmissable as I begin to walk in downtown Oita. I am excited to finally come face to face with the building, a substantial structure in the shape of a long rectangle, with an 80-meter-long façade opening onto the street. The upper part of the edifice is wrapped in timber lattice covered in glass, which I find very attractive. I admire how this unique design gives an impression of lightness to the edifice. To cross over the multi-lane road running in front of OPAM, I use a foot bridge, also designed by Ban.

As I get closer to the museum, I notice that its frontage consists of huge glass screens; these can be folded upwards and therefore the length of the building can be opened towards the sidewalk. This feature encourages visitors to enter freely and casually, from anywhere along its attractive and extensive façade. Shigeru Ban’s approach with this remarkable aspect of the architecture is indeed very welcoming and attractive. It fits in well with the museum’s spirit, making it tempting for everyone to walk in, freely taking a look at its atrium and discovering what is taking place inside.

Inaugurated in 2015, OPAM is a public institution founded to foster and stimulate art appreciation among the citizens of Oita. But the museum has also been attracting visitors from further afield, just like myself, and it has become a vibrant cultural hub. Upon reading its greeting to visitors, I can sense that the museum is welcoming to all and noticeably convivial. It articulates its identity around three enticing and refreshing concepts, namely a “Museum of Encounters and of the Five Senses”, a “Museum where visitors can think as their living room” and a “Museum that grows with the citizens of the prefecture”.

Inside the expansive foyer there is a gallery, a shop, a café and several permanent art installations. Walking in, I gasp, taking in the spaciousness of the impressive and airy two-storey high atrium. It is occupied by three large site-specific commissions hinting at the theme of encounters. Inspired by the cultural exchanges between Japan and Holland that began in the 16th century, Dutch designer Marcel Wanders created his Eurasian Garden Spirits. These are huge eye-catching egg-shaped balloons; I touch them, encouraged by a sign nearby, and they gently move, rocking back and forth towards me. Nearby, the creations of celebrated textile designer Sudo Reiko, hanging from the ceiling, are meant to symbolise our bond with water. There are also several works installed by Miyake Mai, including a series of wall clocks forming a map of the world and calling for peace and harmony.

OPAM is divided in three levels, and I decide to start my visit on the top floor. There I encounter Amaniwa, a kind of sculpture garden open to the sky but surrounded by glass walls, with works by three contemporary craft artists: Tokumaru Kyoko, Isozaki Mariko and Takahashi Yoshihiko. The ceiling is covered in timber trellis that seems to expand the internal volume. Observing it here and on the building’s façade, I like how this wooden lattice is a nod to local craftsmanship and materials. The spacious galleries on this floor house a rotating selection from the permanent collection, as well as temporary exhibitions.

The museum’s collection covers art from the Edo period to today, mostly created by artists from Oita, but not exclusively. Early painting includes works by Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835) and some of his followers such as Takahashi Sohei (c. 1804–35). Tanomura Chikuden was a famous exponent of the Nanga school (‘Southern painting’), thus called because the style was brought to Nagasaki by Chinese literati painters circa 1700. Other Oita-born artists of note include Fukuda Heihachiro (1892-1974), a painter whose style always based on close observation of nature evolved from realism to near abstraction, and the sculptor Asakura Fumio (1883-1964), who had a successful career in Tokyo during the Taisho and Showa periods.

The presentation of local crafts is noteworthy, in particular the fine pieces by Shono Shounsai (1904-74), the first bamboo artist to have been honoured with the title of ‘Living National Treasure’. An important amount of bamboo is produced in Oita Prefecture, from daily-use items to intricate artistic pieces, and so OPAM often reflects this significant craft tradition in its displays. Special exhibitions, occurring four to five times a year, cover a range of themes and feature both Japanese and international artists.

The museum’s next level down is dedicated to activities, among which lectures and workshops (all held in Japanese). Wanting to be a ‘playground for all generations’, OPAM has for example created a series of boxes and vitrines where an array of diverse fragments - stones, pigments, shells, plants, objects - found across the region have been gathered. There is also a library and a pleasant restaurant serving local produce; I enjoy the fact that the furniture here has also been designed by Ban Shigeru and features his signature tubes.

OPAM wants to be an ‘open’ art museum. Having spent time there, I feel its architecture, airy and with several movable parts, its atrium free for everyone to access and its range of activities certainly all contribute to the success of this unique cultural facility.