Lalique Museum Hakone

The museum exhibits the works of René Lalique (1860-1945), a French glassworker and jewelry designer.

René Lalique was active in both Art Nouveau and Art Deco art styles.

The collection contains approximately 1,500 works, of which about 230 are on permanent display. Visitors can view René Lalique’s creative activities, including jewelry and decorative objects from his early years, glass works from his middle years, and architectural decorations from his later years.

Lalique’s Workroom” is a recreation of Lalique’s workspace, complete with doorknobs designed by Lalique.

The “Belle Epoque Room,” a room that recreates France around 1900 when Lalique was active as a jewelry artist, is also on display.

The building itself was also awarded the 47th BCS Prize by the Japan Federation of Construction Contractors in 2006.

The museum has an area called “Special Exhibit Le Trin” where Lalique’s interior decorations are on display.

Orient Express (Special Exhibit Le Tran)

A Côte d’Azur Pullman car (No. 4158E) that was once used on the Côte d’Azur Express and Orient Express is also on display.

Visitors can actually ride in this car, which ran in Japan in 1988 as the Orient Express ‘88, and since it is open as a cafe, visitors can also enjoy tea and sweets.

Facilities include a museum, a store with a selection of Lalique perfumes, a café-restaurant, and a special exhibit, Le Tran. The courtyard is surrounded by beautiful greenery, providing a refreshing view all year round.

René Lalique

Lalique’s glassworks are often decorated with motifs favored during the Art Nouveau period, such as animals, female figures, and flowers.

He mainly used opalescent glass, which is milky white and translucent, and took advantage of its characteristic of subtly changing hues depending on the way light hit it.

Although colored glass became more common in the mid-1920s, he generally used a single color. Mold-blown molding” and “press molding” were the most commonly used techniques.

Mold-blown molding” is a method in which molten glass is pressed into an iron concave mold under air pressure.

Press molding” uses a concave mold and a convex mold, with the glass poured into the concave mold and then pressed into the convex mold.

Visitors can walk through the rooms overlooking the garden or along the outdoor wooden paths and enjoy the seasonal plants! In addition, the building in front of the museum houses an entire train car that was actually used as the Orient Express. The interior of this car is open as a café and is decorated with designs by Mr. Lalique (*direct reservation is required). Visitors can also encounter cool old cars, such as a red Ford and a green car, inside the museum.