Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka

What makes it special

From the street the museum is a plain black cube. The architect, Endo Katsuhiko, cut a public passage through it, and inside it opens into a tall atrium crossed by long escalators.

Two large works by the Osaka artist Kenji Yanobe stand out. Ship's Cat (Muse), a 3.5-metre sculpture of a white cat in a spacesuit, was set outside as the museum's guardian, and its contrast with the dark walls makes it the photograph to take. Inside, his Giant Torayan has filled the height of the top two floors; check the museum's site that both are still on view.

The galleries draw on a collection of more than 6,000 works, many of them donated, spanning Western and Japanese painting and modern and contemporary art. Look for the paintings of Saeki Yuzo, Modigliani's nude sculptures and work by Yoshihara Jiro, who led the Gutai Art Association.

Visiting

One floor up from the street is where the visit begins: the ticket counter and the way into the exhibition rooms are both on the second floor. Take the main staircase, or the lift on its south side. Tickets are sold per exhibition at the counter.

Backpacks, carry cases and large bags are not allowed in the exhibition rooms, so put them in a coin locker first; lockers are for same-day use only. The artworks hang on the third floor and above, a precaution against flooding, so ride the escalators up the atrium.

On the way out, the museum shop and the café-restaurant need no ticket. On a sunny day, take a seat on the terrace.

Tips

Leave the selfie stick at your hotel: monopods, tripods, gimbals and selfie sticks are banned anywhere on the museum grounds, not only in the galleries. Flash is not allowed in the exhibition rooms. The only drinks you may carry in are water and unsweetened tea.

The galleries, shop and café are all indoors, which makes the museum a good choice when it rains.