Kurashiki Museum of Natural History is located in the city center, where Kurashiki Central Library and Kurashiki City Art Museum are also found. It has more than 11,000 items on display at any given time, covering fields such as insects, plants, animals, and geology.
It opened in 1983 and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023. Its collection now exceeds 1.04 million items.
Kurashiki Museum of Natural History was started by citizens who love nature, rather than being initiated by the local government.
Along with the permanent exhibition rooms, we’ll introduce the storage rooms, which are not normally open to visitors, and some of the collection items.
The information in this article was current when it was published in June 2023. Please note that it may differ from current information.
About Kurashiki Museum of Natural History
When I hear Kurashiki Museum of Natural History, the first thing that comes to mind is the pair of Naumann’s elephants that greet visitors in the first-floor entrance hall.
▼ On the left is the museum’s beloved “Pao-chan,” and on the right is Pao-chan’s mother, “Naumama.”
Knowing their names makes you feel even more attached to them, doesn’t it?
Their lifelike presence is overwhelming, with their trunks moving and making sounds.
▼ Here is the general location of Kurashiki Museum of Natural History.
It is west of the Bikan Historical Area, where you’ll find places such as the Ohara Museum of Art.
It is on the north side, next to the Kurashiki City Art Museum and Kurashiki Central Library.
It is located in an area of Kurashiki City where cultural facilities are clustered in the heart of the city.
▼ Enter through this entrance, and the Kurashiki Museum of Natural History is on your left. It is in the same building as Kurashiki City’s tourist rest area.
As soon as you enter, Pao-chan and Naumama, introduced earlier, are there to welcome you.
Exhibits
At Kurashiki Museum of Natural History, you can see mainly permanent exhibitions and special exhibitions held for a limited time.
Let’s take a look in the order visitors follow, starting from the first-floor entrance hall and continuing to the second and third floors.
Entrance Hall
In addition to the Naumann’s elephant pair mentioned earlier, the entrance hall also welcomes visitors with a “stuffed polar bear” and a “Triceratops skull model.”
The stuffed polar bear was previously displayed at a bowling alley, then donated to Kurashiki Museum of Natural History by its subsequent owner.
It is an impressive polar bear in excellent condition, looking as if it could spring to life at any moment.
Children in elementary school or younger can climb onto the “Triceratops skull model.”
I remember how delighted my daughter was to climb on it.
In fact, it was handmade by a curator at Kurashiki Museum of Natural History.
It was made using materials such as urethane foam and plaster. I’m amazed by the creativity and initiative behind it.
2nd Floor: How Okayama Prefecture Was Formed (Exhibition Room 1)
Exhibition Room 1 features a fossil collection assembled by Yamamoto Keiichi, a local historian from Shimotsui, Kojima, Kurashiki City.
From around 1950, Yamamoto collected fossils caught in fishermen’s nets in Shimotsui.
He later donated his collection of more than 1,000 items to Kurashiki Museum of Natural History.
I’ve heard that before Yamamoto began collecting these fossils, they were nothing but a nuisance to fishermen because they tore their nets when caught, so they “just threw them back into the sea.”
The number and size of the Naumann’s elephant fossils hauled up from the seabed are astonishing.
▼ This is an exhibition room where you can learn about the history of life on a global scale through fossils.
Take a close look at these beautifully gleaming fossils in excellent condition.
Magnifying glasses are available, too.
2nd Floor: Wildlife of Okayama Prefecture (Exhibition Room 2)
Exhibition Room 2 has an extensive collection of taxidermied animals, including various birds and nutria.
Nutria and the wild boar and sika deer on display were obtained through culling or accidents, then prepared and exhibited as animal specimens.
Among the taxidermied animals, the Asian black bear on display is particularly striking.
You can observe Okayama Prefecture’s wildlife up close, including animals that are rarely seen in the wild.
Don’t those bright eyes make you feel better?
2nd Floor: The World of Insects (Exhibition Room 3)
Exhibition Room 3 is devoted to insects.
▼ Below is a “specimen that shows individual variation within the same species.”
The regional differences by location, an important record when collecting specimens, are displayed in an easy-to-understand way.
You can see and compare subtle regional variations among individuals of the same species, from Hokkaido to Kyushu.
The “Insects of the Southern Islands (Ryukyu Islands)” exhibit also features the “Ishigaki Aojokai,” collected by the museum’s insect curator when he was a third-year university student.
There had apparently been previous records of the same kind being collected on Okinawa Island, but this was the first time one of this group had been collected on Ishigaki Island.
It was recognized as a new species and given the scientific name “Temus ishigakiensis.”
Without an explanation, it would be hard to realize that this is a rare insect and a new species.
Be sure to take a close look at this “Ishigaki Aojokai,” too.
The “Research Applications” exhibit introduces research findings on new insect species such as the “Ishigaki Aojokai.”
The “Diversity of Food” exhibit is also a must-see.
It features “the food eaten by insects living in a variety of habitats,” prepared by the curator.
▼This photo introduces insects that eat animal droppings.
The curator freeze-dried these droppings.
These exhibits look just like the real thing. Try pressing all the buttons and enjoy!
The warm gaze fixed on the butterflies is a must-see.
The specimens of butterflies sipping nectar from flowers are also beautifully recreated, making them look as if they were alive.
3rd Floor: The World of Plants (Exhibition Room 4)
As you enter Exhibition Room 4, the first thing you see is an exhibit recreating a room from the Showa era.
The theme is “Plants in Everyday Life,” reminding visitors that in the Showa era, people lived surrounded by everyday necessities made from plants such as wood and bamboo.
▼The following exhibits show plants in forms that look as if they are alive.
Unlike pressed-flower specimens, these displays show not only the colors of the flowers and leaves, but also the overall appearance of each plant.
This section introduces timely topics. At the time of our visit, it featured the special exhibition “Makino Tomitaro and the Plants of Okayama,” about Makino Tomitaro, the model for the protagonist of the NHK morning drama series “Ranman,” airing in 2023.
The specimens were apparently discovered recently in a collection of plant specimens gathered by naturalist Sato Kiyoaki, who was born in Satosho, Okayama Prefecture.
The specimen labels are also thought to be in Dr. Makino’s own handwriting, making this truly a treasure on display.
To make the characteristics of each bamboo and sasa grass easy to see, some specimens are mounted on boards so that the features on both sides of the leaves and even the stems can be examined.
Each specimen is labeled with its scientific and Japanese names, collection location, and collection date.
3rd Floor: New Acquisitions Exhibition (Special Exhibition Room)
Donations are by far the most common way specimens enter the collection.
Just hearing that about 93% of the specimens in the collection as of the end of March 2023 were donated makes it clear how closely Kurashiki Museum of Natural History is connected with local residents.
Tens of thousands of specimens are donated each year, so selected special specimens from among the donations are displayed annually in the “New Acquisitions Exhibition.”
Unlike natural objects such as plants and rocks, which are considered the property of the landowner, insects can move around, so apparently they have no legal owner.
I had never even thought about it, but it makes sense when explained.
This exhibition includes about 5,000 of the many donated insects.
Many taxidermy specimens have also been donated.
In ordinary households during the Showa era, taxidermied animals were popular decorations in alcoves and entryways, but they have become less common in modern homes.
Many taxidermy specimens are apparently being given up due to generational change and stricter regulations on rare wild animals.
3rd Floor: Bryde’s Whale Skeleton (in front of the elevator)
In front of the elevator on the third floor is a skeleton specimen of an 11.67-meter-long whale discovered at Mizushima Port in Kurashiki in September 2021, now on display in the collection.
The whale had become caught on the bow of a tanker that had called at Mizushima Port. It was enormous, unlike anything seen in the local Seto Inland Sea, and apparently even hauling it up was a major undertaking.
It is a shame that the specimen is too large to be displayed permanently, but thanks to the cooperation of many people, this precious skeleton will be passed on to the next generation.
Introducing the Collection Storage
We were given a tour of the collection storage, the heart of the Natural History Museum, which is normally off-limits to visitors.
▼ Precious specimens, including insects, are stored to the left of this narrow passageway.
To protect specimens from pests and mold, the storage rooms require temperature and humidity control and annual fumigation to kill insects.
As we were shown to the shelves where the insects are stored, the curator asked, “Is there an insect you’d like to see?”
▼ When the writer requested a sawtooth stag beetle, they were shown a specimen from the collection.
The specimen was brought out in less than 10 seconds, without any hesitation or searching after the question was asked.
You can see how the specimens are organized by taxonomic classification.
▼ Next, they showed us another specimen: “10 individuals arranged neatly in a row.”
The writer confidently identified the specimen on the left as a “sawtooth stag beetle” and the one on the right as a “small stag beetle,” but was completely wrong.
In fact, they were all “sawtooth stag beetles.”
We were told, “To assemble a complete set of 10 specimens that show individual variation, you have to collect hundreds of precious specimens and carefully select specimens of different sizes in a balanced way.” This gave us an even greater appreciation of the importance of natural history museums.
Next, we were shown a specimen of a yellow-winged darter from Okayama Prefecture.
The specimen was collected in Sawada, Okayama City (now Sawada, Naka Ward) in 1938, but the yellow-winged darter is now extinct in Okayama Prefecture.
Two precious specimens remain, but the curator says, “People probably didn’t realize they were rare at the time.”
Today, the species survives at only a few sites nationwide, and is considered at risk of extinction even within Japan. It is a nationally rare wild species.
The collection holds specimens of many rare organisms that can no longer be obtained, making them truly treasures.
To mark the collection surpassing one million items, the museum website features “100 Treasures from the Secret Collection of Kurashiki Museum of Natural History (updated regularly).”
Be sure to check it out on the website.
We were told, “We receive tens of thousands of donated items each year, so the storage capacity has already been exceeded.”
As a result, homemade storage shelves made by the curators have been installed on top of the regular shelves.
This thoughtful solution reflects their desire to store as many specimens as possible.
We interviewed Yuichi Okushima, the curator in charge of insects, who showed us the exhibits and collection storage, about Kurashiki Museum of Natural History.
Kurashiki Museum of Natural History Information
| Name | Kurashiki Museum of Natural History |
|---|---|
| Location | 2-6-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-425-6037 |
| Parking | None As there is no dedicated parking, please use a nearby paid parking lot. ・Kurashiki City Central Parking Lot ・Kurashiki City Bikan Historical Area South Parking Lot ・Kurashiki City Achi Terrace Kurashiki Parking Lot |
| Opening hours | 9:00 a.m.–5:15 p.m. (last admission at 4:45 p.m.) |
| Closed | Mondays However, if Monday is a public holiday or substitute holiday, the museum is closed the following day. Closed for the year-end and New Year holidays (December 28–January 1); may also close temporarily for fumigation of the collection storage and other reasons. |
| Admission (tax included) | Adults: Individual ¥150, groups (20 or more) ¥100 University students: Individual ¥50, groups (20 or more) ¥30 High school students and younger: Free Age 65 and over: Free Persons with disabilities and one accompanying person: Free ※Admission fees may be set separately during special exhibitions. ※Other discounts are available. Please inquire. |
| Payment methods |
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| Reservations | Available Schools and groups can make reservations in advance by phone (086-425-6037). Online applications and email reservations are not currently accepted. When calling, please provide the following information: ・Name of school or group ・Number of visitors and accompanying staff ・Date of visit ・Start and end times of the visit ・Name of the person in charge ・Contact phone number |
| Smoking | Entire facility is non-smoking |
| Restrooms | Western-style restrooms, accessible restrooms, public restrooms |
| Childcare facilities | Nursing room, diaper-changing table, stroller rental |
| Accessibility | Accessible restrooms, elevator, wheelchair rental |
| Website | Kurashiki Museum of Natural History |
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