Initiatives and events marking the 20th anniversary of the Hakone Glass Forest Museum to restore visitor numbers

「During the fiscal year, we steadily developed the foundations for new business formats and human-resource development, which are priority areas of the medium-term plan. Effective 1 October 2025, we transferred the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass, to the successor entity and advanced the restructuring of our business portfolio.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass held the 2025 early-summer collection exhibition “19th-Century Venetian Glass: Supple Forms” from 19 April to 13 July 2025, followed by the 2025 special exhibition “The Sparkle of a Journey: Mysterious Radiance, Glass and Shellcraft” from 18 July of the same year.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass held the 2024 early-summer collection exhibition “Venetian Glass and the City of Celebration” from 27 April to 15 July 2024, this fiscal year’s special exhibition “The Adornment of Fragrance: The Journey of Perfume Bottles” from 19 July 2024 to 13 January 2025, and the 2025 early-spring collection exhibition “Venetian Glass and the World of Carnival” from 25 January through 13 April, the latter period falling in the following fiscal year.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass held the collection exhibition “Venetian Glass with a Thousand Blossoming Flowers: A Sparkling Early-Summer Garden” from 22 April to 9 July 2023, this fiscal year’s special exhibition “Venice, Prague, Paris: A Tale of Three Cities of Glass—The Splendid World of Glass That Passed Through History” from 15 July 2023 to 8 January 2024, and the New Year 2024 special exhibition “The Maestro’s Brilliant Artistry: Venetian Glass of Dragons and Other Creatures” from 20 January through 21 April, the latter period falling in the following fiscal year. Using these exhibitions as the centrepiece, we developed various programmes and changed the crystal-glass displays in line with seasonal changes, while strengthening detailed promotional activities and marketing to companies, including travel agencies, to attract many visitors.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass held the collection exhibition “Venetian Glass with a Thousand Blossoming Flowers: A Sparkling Early-Summer Garden” from 22 April to 9 July 2023, followed by this fiscal year’s special exhibition “Venice, Prague, Paris: A Tale of Three Cities—The Splendid World of Glass That Passed Through History” from 15 July 2023 to 8 January 2024. Using these exhibitions as the centrepiece, we developed various programmes and changed the crystal-glass displays in line with seasonal changes, while strengthening detailed promotional activities and marketing to companies, including travel agencies, to attract many visitors. In addition to the effects of these marketing initiatives, rising travel demand following the reclassification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law to Category 5 supported the recovery of group and inbound visitors as well as individual visitors, and visitor numbers increased substantially year on year.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass is holding the collection exhibition “Venetian Glass with a Thousand Blossoming Flowers: A Sparkling Early-Summer Garden” from 22 April to 9 July 2023, followed by this fiscal year’s special exhibition “Venice, Prague, Paris: A Tale of Three Cities—The Splendid World of Glass That Passed Through History” from 15 July 2023 to 8 January 2024. Using these exhibitions as the centrepiece, we changed the crystal-glass displays in line with various programmes and seasonal changes and strengthened detailed promotional activities and marketing to companies, including travel agencies, to attract many visitors. In addition to the effects of these marketing initiatives, rising travel demand following the reclassification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law to Category 5 supported the recovery of group and inbound visitors as well as individual visitors, and visitor numbers increased substantially year on year.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass held the collection exhibition “Venetian Glass with a Thousand Blossoming Flowers: A Sparkling Early-Summer Garden” from April through July 2023. During the first quarter, using this exhibition as the centrepiece, we changed the crystal-glass displays in line with the progression of the seasons and strengthened detailed promotional activities and marketing to companies, including travel agencies, to attract many visitors. In addition to the effects of these marketing initiatives, rising travel demand following the reclassification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Control Law to Category 5 supported the recovery of group and inbound visitors as well as individual visitors, and visitor numbers increased substantially year on year.」

「In October 2022, we also renewed the menu at Cafe Terrazza Ukai, the cafe-restaurant adjoining the facility. Based on the theme “Experience Ukai in Hakone,” the new menu was supervised by the executive chef of our brasserie group and created jointly by the Restaurant Business Division and the Cultural Business Division. By enabling visitors to enjoy the “taste of Ukai” at Hakone Venetian Glass, we are enhancing the museum’s value and encouraging visits.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass is holding the special exhibition “The Beauty of East and West in Resonance: The World of Glass Art” from April 2022 through April 2023. This new type of exhibition presents a broad range of works by contemporary Japanese glass artists alongside works from the museum’s collection, with the exhibits changed between the first and second halves. At the same time, the exhibition “The Four Seasons of Venetian Glass,” which presents works from the 15th to 20th centuries under the themes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, is being held so that visitors can enjoy them together with the museum’s seasonal gardens and glass objects. Using these exhibitions as the centrepiece, we are planning and implementing various programmes and events to attract visitors. Since all priority preventive measures were lifted in March 2022, visitor traffic has gradually recovered. The resumption of tourism-support measures such as the “Residents’ Discount,” together with the first Golden Week and summer holiday period in 3 years without requests for voluntary restraint, strengthened the recovery trend in both individual and group visitors, and visitor numbers increased.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass is holding the special exhibition “The Beauty of East and West in Resonance: The World of Glass Art” from April 2022 through April 2023. This new type of exhibition presents a broad range of works by contemporary Japanese glass artists alongside works from the museum’s collection, with the exhibits changed between the first and second halves. At the same time, the exhibition “The Four Seasons of Venetian Glass,” which presents works from the 15th to 20th centuries under the themes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, is being held so that visitors can enjoy them together with the museum’s seasonal gardens and glass objects. Using these exhibitions as the centrepiece, we are planning and implementing various programmes and events to attract visitors. Since all priority preventive measures were lifted in March 2022, visitor traffic has gradually recovered. With the resumption of tourism-support measures such as the “Residents’ Discount” and the first Golden Week in 3 years without requests for voluntary restraint, both individual and group visitors showed stronger signs of recovery, and visitor numbers increased.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass celebrated its 25th anniversary in August 2021. To mark the occasion, from 1 April of the same year we began selling the attractively priced 25th Anniversary Special Ticket, which includes vouchers usable for shopping and dining inside the facility, and many visitors have used it. In addition, looking ahead to our future strategy, we revised the regular admission fee with the aim of improving services and the facility environment and enhancing the value of a visit. To attract visitors, we held the 25th-anniversary special exhibition “The Art of Fire and Skill: Masterpieces of Venetian Glass” from April through November, developing and implementing various initiatives around the exhibition as the centrepiece to attract visitors. However, because the facility is located in a tourist destination, recovery has taken longer than in the food and beverage business, as the number of foreign tourists and group visitors has continued to decline due to the impact of the infection, while domestic tourists also tended to refrain from travelling through September because repeated states of emergency and priority preventive measures were imposed intermittently.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass celebrated its 25th anniversary in August 2021. To mark the occasion, from 1 April of the same year we began selling the attractively priced 25th Anniversary Special Ticket, which includes vouchers usable for shopping and dining inside the facility, and many visitors have used it. In addition, looking ahead to our future strategy, we revised the regular admission fee with the aim of improving services and the facility environment and enhancing the value of a visit.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Venetian Glass will celebrate its 25th anniversary in August 2021. To mark the occasion, from 1 April of the same year we began selling the attractively priced 25th Anniversary Special Ticket, which includes vouchers usable for shopping and dining inside the facility, and many visitors have used it. In addition, looking ahead to our future strategy, we revised the regular admission fee with the aim of improving services and the facility environment and enhancing the value of a visit. To attract visitors, we began holding the 25th-anniversary special exhibition “The Art of Fire and Skill: Masterpieces of Venetian Glass” in April, and have been developing various initiatives around this exhibition as the centrepiece to attract visitors.」

「In addition, we applied to become an operator handling the regional common coupons under the Go To Travel Campaign, which began in October, and actively marketed Hakone to visitors using Go To Travel, while also working to create opportunities for visits.」

「From 1 June, after the state of emergency was lifted, the Company resumed operations after implementing infection prevention and spread-control measures, including ensuring social distancing, installing alcohol-based disinfectant throughout the museum, and suspending live canzone performances and museum concerts that had been held at the facility.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2019 special exhibition “A New Breeze from the Adriatic: The Synthesis of Art and Craft—Venetian Glass Sculptures by Picasso, Chagall and Others” from April through November 2019. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2019 special exhibition “A New Breeze from the Adriatic: The Synthesis of Art and Craft—Venetian Glass Sculptures by Picasso, Chagall and Others” from April through November 2019. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors. As the Golden Week holiday period was extended to an unprecedented 10 consecutive days, the Company held the popular Venetian Mask Festival at the museum for the first time during this period under the title “Golden Week Family Fun: Venetian Mask Festival.” It also held a design competition for elementary and junior high school students as a program linked to that year’s special exhibition, expanding family-oriented programs to attract visitors. Visitor numbers remained steady as a result, and cultural business revenue rose 6.5% year on year to ¥628 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2019 special exhibition “A New Breeze from the Adriatic: The Synthesis of Art and Craft—Venetian Glass Sculptures by Picasso, Chagall and Others” from April through November 2019. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors. As the Golden Week holiday period was extended to an unprecedented 10 consecutive days that year, the Company held the popular Venetian Mask Festival at the museum for the first time during this period under the title “Golden Week Family Fun: Venetian Mask Festival.” It also introduced quiz-style worksheets that families could enjoy while viewing the exhibits as a related program to the special exhibition, expanding family-oriented programs to attract visitors.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2018 special exhibition “The Magnificent Barovier Family—The Family That Created Miraculous Glass” from April through November 2018. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, including the Rose Garden and the Hydrangea Festa from spring through early summer, “Glass Insects” and summer holiday canzone concerts in summer, and “Autumn Mountains and the Glass Garden,” “Christmas Crystal Illumination” and the Venetian Mask Festival from autumn through winter. It conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2018 special exhibition “The Magnificent Barovier Family—The Family That Created Miraculous Glass” from April through November 2018. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, including the Rose Garden and the Hydrangea Festa from spring through early summer, “Glass Insects” and summer holiday canzone concerts in summer, and “Autumn Mountains and the Glass Garden” and “Christmas Crystal Illumination” from autumn through winter. It conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors. However, visitor numbers failed to grow from the same quarter of the previous year due partly to record summer heat, typhoons and torrential rain, and cultural business revenue fell 2.4% year on year to ¥966 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2018 special exhibition “The Magnificent Barovier Family—The Family That Created Miraculous Glass” from April through November 2018. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, including the Rose Garden and the Hydrangea Festa from spring through early summer, and “Glass Insects” and summer holiday canzone concerts in summer, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies, to attract more visitors.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2018 special exhibition “The Magnificent Barovier Family—The Family That Created Miraculous Glass” from April through November 2018. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa and violin concerts, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies. Although visitor numbers increased as a result, revenue per visitor declined, and cultural business revenue fell 0.4% year on year to ¥273 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2017 special exhibition “A 2,000-Year Journey Through Venetian Glass” from April through November 2017. During the fiscal year, using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various exhibitions and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa, violin concerts, the summer holiday program “Glass Insects” and the Venetian Mask Festival, conducted detailed promotional activities and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies. Although visitor numbers remained steady as a result, revenue per visitor declined, and cultural business revenue fell 0.8% year on year to ¥1,218 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori held the 2017 special exhibition “A 2,000-Year Journey Through Venetian Glass” from April through November 2017. During the fiscal year, using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa, violin concerts, the summer holiday program “Glass Insects” and the Venetian Mask Festival, conducted detailed promotional activities to attract more visitors, and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies. Visitor numbers remained strong as a result of these activities, and cultural business revenue rose 3.6% year on year to ¥990 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori has held the 2017 special exhibition “A 2,000-Year Journey Through Venetian Glass” since April 2017. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held various programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa, violin concerts and the summer holiday program “Glass Insects,” conducted detailed promotional activities to attract more visitors, and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies. Visitor numbers remained steady as a result of these activities, and cultural business revenue rose 3.1% year on year to ¥612 million.」

「In the cultural business, Hakone Glass no Mori has held the 2017 special exhibition “A 2,000-Year Journey Through Venetian Glass” since April 2017. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company has held various programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa and violin concerts, conducted detailed promotional activities to attract more visitors, and strengthened sales activities targeting companies, including travel agencies. As a result of these activities, visitor numbers remained steady and revenue rose 0.4% year on year to ¥274 million.」

「Hakone Glass no Mori held the “20th Anniversary Special Exhibition: The Art of Fire and Craftsmanship—Venetian Glass” from April through November 2016. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held a range of programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa, violin concerts, Crystal Illumination and the Venetian Mask Festival, and strengthened promotional activities to attract more visitors. As a result, visitor numbers, which had declined due to increased volcanic activity around Hakone Owakudani two years earlier, recovered to normal levels, and revenue rose 28.1% year on year to ¥1,228 million.」

「Hakone Glass no Mori celebrated its 20th anniversary in August 2016 and held the “20th Anniversary Special Exhibition: The Art of Fire and Craftsmanship—Venetian Glass” from April through November of that year. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held a range of programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa, violin concerts and the Venetian Mask Festival, and continued to strengthen promotional activities to attract more visitors. As a result of these strengthened sales activities, visitor numbers, which had declined due to increased volcanic activity around Hakone Owakudani two years earlier, recovered to approximately normal levels, and revenue rose 30.8% year on year to ¥956 million.」

「As Hakone Glass no Mori approached its 20th anniversary in August 2016, it held the “20th Anniversary Special Exhibition: The Art of Fire and Craftsmanship—Venetian Glass” from April of that year. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held a range of programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa and violin concerts, and stepped up promotional activities to attract more visitors. As a result of these strengthened sales activities, visitor numbers, which had declined due to increased volcanic activity around Hakone Owakudani the previous year, recovered to approximately normal levels, and revenue rose 36.8% year on year to ¥593 million.」

「As Hakone Glass no Mori approached its 20th anniversary in August 2016, it began holding the “20th Anniversary Special Exhibition: The Art of Fire and Craftsmanship—Venetian Glass” in April of that year. Using the special exhibition as its centerpiece, the Company held a range of programs and events, including the Rose Garden, the Hydrangea Festa and violin concerts, and stepped up promotional activities to attract more visitors.」