The Ohara Museum of Art, known for its Roman temple-style architecture, and the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum, notable for its namako walls, are representative institutions that could be called symbols of the Bikan Historical Area.
However, because both are museums, some people with babies may worry that they could be a nuisance, while others may feel that they cannot easily visit because of a disability or other reason.
To address this, the Ohara Art Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation, planned guided tours for people with babies and people with disabilities, as well as events where everyone from children to adults can ask “What is this?”, think together, make things, play, and enjoy adding color to the museum.
Here we introduce “Nannan DAYS,” first held in 2025.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in January 2026. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About the Ohara Museum of Art
Ohara Museum of Art was established in 1930 and was Japan’s first private museum focused on Western art. It is divided into the Main Gallery, the Crafts and Oriental Gallery, and the Kojima Torajiro Memorial Gallery, and its collection comprises approximately 3,000 items.
In many cases, museum etiquette calls for viewing exhibits quietly. However, the Ohara Museum of Art embraces a variety of ways to experience art under the slogan “Everyone’s My Museum,” including dialogue-based viewing, where visitors share their thoughts and feelings about artworks, and outreach programs for children in hospital classrooms.
From 2002 to 2019, the Ohara Museum of Art held an annual August event called “Children’s Art Museum (commonly known as Chilmuse).” However, it was canceled as part of measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 starting in 2020, and has been suspended ever since.
“Nannan DAYS” was planned as an event that would draw on the history of the “Children’s Art Museum” and resume it in a new form.
What is Nannan DAYS 2025?
In Okayama dialect, “nannan,” the first part of Nannan DAYS, means “What is this?” or “Why?”
Nannan DAYS was held on Saturday, November 15, and Sunday, November 16, 2025, as an event where people of all ages could explore the Ohara Museum of Art and the Kurashiki Archaeological Museum and encounter many paintings, sculptures, archaeological objects, and buildings that made them wonder, “What is this?”
A variety of guided tours and craft corners were available on the day, with a packed program offering opportunities to think about art, make things and play, and enjoy adding color to the museum.
The programs held were as follows.
As a writer with a hearing disability, I experienced Nannan DAYS 2025
I enjoy viewing art, but because I have a hearing disability, I cannot understand the audio guides and audio content available inside museums.
On Sunday, November 16, I took part in programs including a tour with sign language interpretation. Here, I’ll share what the experience was like.
Making the museum easier to visit for people from diverse backgrounds! Environmental features you can see
As someone with a hearing disability, what I appreciated first was the abundance of written information, such as signs and maps, throughout the venue, especially around the main reception desk.
Various events were taking place simultaneously at Nannan DAYS, so staff holding placards with the titles of the tours happening right in front of them made it easy to see what events were underway.
Care was also taken to make staff easy to identify.
Knowing whom to ask when you have a question is another helpful feature for participants from diverse backgrounds.
Behind the main reception desk, there was also a “calm-down space,” a place where people with sensory sensitivities to light or sound can settle themselves.
The installation of “calm-down spaces” in various public facilities has advanced since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021, and one was also set up at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai venue. There is also a permanent one at Okayama Momotaro Airport.
The wall art was created by Bunya Yusuke, an artist with an intellectual disability who lives in Kurashiki City.
When no one was using the space, participants were also free to look around inside.
A variety of tours tailored to different needs
The Ohara Museum of Art regularly holds dialogue-based viewing tours.
In dialogue-based viewing, participants share their thoughts and feelings about artworks through conversation. As a result, it is generally livelier than a typical museum visit.
For someone with a hearing disability like me, “dialogue” is difficult because I cannot hear what staff and other participants are saying. Art history explanations also include technical terms, which can make it difficult for children and people whose first language is not Japanese to take part.
However, I clearly remember how much I enjoyed dialogue-based viewing, where I could listen to explanations and reflect on them, when I previously asked for an individual sign language interpreter to accompany me on an evening tour at the Ohara Museum of Art.
I had hoped that “someday, people who need sign language, like me, would also be able to enjoy dialogue-based viewing,” so I was really looking forward to the sign-language-interpreted gallery tour in this program.
At Nannan DAYS, there was a range of tours, including not only a gallery tour with sign language interpretation for people who need sign language, but also tours in “easy Japanese,” which explains technical terms in simpler Japanese.
Although only a few participants gathered at the meeting point for the gallery tour with sign language interpretation, the group gradually grew as we walked through the museum.
It’s true that when people hear “with sign language interpretation,” they may think, “That doesn’t concern me because I can hear.” But the tour content is the same as a regular gallery tour, with a sign language interpreter alongside the group interpreting the same content.
People with hearing disabilities are simply unable to hear or have difficulty hearing; like hearing people, they enjoy entertainment. During this tour, some people may have joined after hearing an interesting story and only later noticed the sign language interpreter.
I felt that it was truly a tour that embodied “living together”, where hearing and deaf people could listen to the same stories and share the same experience.
The Easy Japanese Tour was initially intended for people whose native language is not Japanese, such as international students. But once it got underway, elementary school students interested in museums and their parents also took part.
With illustrations and hard-to-understand technical terms displayed in writing, even elementary school students unfamiliar with the terminology can fully enjoy the tour.
Other tours included “Museum Tour with Babies,” for parents with babies, and “Get Healthy with a Building Walk!” for older participants looking to take care of their health. There were also tours that could be enjoyed at a pace suited to different age groups, as well as tours focusing on crafts and the Oriental Gallery.
It seemed that an environment was in place where participants could choose tours to suit their needs.
The Museum Becomes a Playground for Children
At the venue, I spotted several participants wearing “My First Museum Visit” stickers.
These stickers were given to participants visiting the Ohara Museum of Art or Kurashiki Archaeological Museum for the first time.
That day, many workshops were held alongside the museum tours. Toddlers and lower-grade elementary school students, for whom it was still a little early to appreciate art, enjoyed the workshops with “My First Museum Visit” stickers on their chests.
Since it can be difficult to speak loudly in a regular art museum, some parents may feel hesitant about taking their toddlers or children in the lower grades of elementary school for a leisurely visit.
However, Nannan DAYS offered many workshops for children, including crafts and puzzles, so many families with children joined in, thinking, “Let’s start with something hands-on.”
The courtyard of the Ohara Museum of Art, where the craft activities took place, is outdoors, so it was fine for children to run around a little. Kurashiki Archaeological Museum, meanwhile, offered a quiet setting where children who find noisy places difficult could comfortably take part in the workshops.
As the event drew to a close, participants’ creations were displayed one after another inside the museums.
Participants gazed happily at their own creations adding color to the Ohara Museum of Art.
From the Writer
“I’m glad people of all ages enjoyed the event. We’ll learn from what we’ve reflected on this time and plan more events in the years ahead to help everyone feel closer to museums.”
The researcher in charge of planning the event spoke with a smile, looking around the venue after the two days had come to an end.
Nannan DAYS has only just begun.
We look forward to seeing how it continues to bring art within everyone’s reach as “Everyone’s My Museum.”
Articles about the Ohara Museum of Art
Nannan DAYS 2025 Information
| Name | Nannan DAYS 2025 |
|---|---|
| Dates | November 15 and 16, 2025 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (last admission at 4:30 p.m.) |
| Location | 1-1-15 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Adults: ¥2,000; elementary, junior high, and high school students (under 18): ¥500; elementary school students and younger: free *Some programs require an additional fee |
| Website | Nannan DAYS Special Website |
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