Museum / Science Museum Spots in Nagano Area

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Nagano
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Category

Leisure / Hobbies

Culture / Tour

Museum / Science Museum

Niekawa Sekisho

3.5

12 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Shiojiri-shi Niekawa 1568-1

A five-minute walk from Niekawa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. Standing at the northern entrance to the section of the Nakasendo Road known as the Kisoji road, this ancient checkpoint barrier was built as a substation of the Fukushima Sekisho, considered one of the three most important checkpoint barriers in Japan. Before it was demolished in the early Meiji period, the barrier was used as a guardhouse to monitor the comings and goings of people and property on the Nakasendo Road, and to control the movement of runaway wives and shipments of unfinished lumber. The barrier was rebuilt on land owned by JR based on a large number of documents; even the layout and plot size have been faithfully recreated. Inside, visitors can view exhibits on the barrier as well as pottery and stone tools dating to the Jomon period discovered as part of archeological excavations in the Kiso area.

開館前に到着したが、親切に案内解説してくれて感激しました。岩倉具視の恋文？など、当時の位ある者はやたら女に声掛けた話は「さもありなん」。ただ期待していた周辺遺跡の考古資料の展示は人気が無い？早々に撤去されたのは残念でした。その手の情報は無く、臨時休業なども管理者が独断で決めている？又、電車の本数がやたら少なく中山道歩くには程よいが一般旅行者には「二度とくるな」扱い(日本中JRは縮小して車以外は不...
Omachi Energy Museum

3.0

13 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Omachi-shi Taira 2112-38

This fun and educational museum uses models and experiment exhibits to reveal the hidden fundamentals behind how energy can be transformed into heat, light, movement, and electricity. Museum exhibits also include a real, now retired water turbine, and visitors can follow the history of the development of hydraulic power as well.

子ども向けと聞いていたけど、理系を選んだ後の学年以上向けかと思うくらい内容は高度。ボタンを押したら装置が動く展示が多様にあり、楽しみながら学べます。難しいことが分からなくても、レトロな展示を見るだけでも楽しめます。
ASAMA JOMON MUSEUM

4.5

9 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Kitasaku-gun Miyotamachi Maseguchi 1901-1

"This museum is part of the Ecole Miyota cultural complex. Its themes cover the Jomon period between 15,000 and 2,500 years ago, as well as Mt. Asama, a symbol of Nagano. There are 13 sub-themes and displays include pit dwellings and hunting tools. More than 100 of the items are National Important Cultural Properties. There are plentiful workshops that take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour making Jomon pottery, building fires, and making comma-shaped magatama beads and ""Jomon coasters."""

This was a surprising find. The museum is located within a drab building which seems to double up as the local municipal office and the museum itself is located in an obscure corner. The area around...
Chie Koike Collection - World Folk Doll Museum

4.0

8 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Suzaka-shi Nobe 1367-1 Suzaka Art Park

This museum has been selected for inclusion in a list of Japan's 100 most popular tourism facilities as chosen by professionals. The museum preserves and displays a collection of over 3,000 folk dolls from more than 100 countries around the world donated by honorary chairperson Chie Koike. The museum is a fun destination where visitors can get a deeper understanding of the cultures, histories, lifestyles, and fashions of other nations through folk dolls.

須坂版画美術館＆平塚運一版画美術館の奥に位置しています。入館料３００円。ＪＡＦ等２割引。展示室内一部撮影可。文化服装学院名誉学院長が世界９０数か国で収集した２，０００体あまりの民俗人形のコレクションは壮大です。
Shiojiri City Hiraide Historical Museum

4.0

8 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Shiojiri-shi Soga 1011-3

A museum situated along the scenic Shinonome no Michi road a 10-minute drive from the Shiojiri Interchange on the Nagano Expressway. Hiraide is the location of the Hiraide ruins, one of Japan's three largest archeological sites, and this museum primarily displays around 20 thousand pottery and stone tools excavated at the site dating to between the Jomon period and the Heian period. Some of the objects on display are extremely valuable and rare, such as the Prefectural Treasure-designated Shibamiya Dotaku bell; and the Shobusawa Gato spire, Japan's largest at 232 centimeters tall. The museum also holds events which enable participants to experience what life was like for Japan's ancient peoples, such as fire starting, pottery making, and magatama comma-shaped stone jewel making classes. The museum has designed the events to enable children to experience the wonders of ancient times, as well.

こちらの展示は館内と屋外に分かれており展示物が種々ありますが最も印象に残ったのは館内の展示物として《菖蒲沢瓦塔奈良時代高さ232cm 全国に残る瓦塔では高さNO.1 とのこと》、屋外では《登り窯奈良時代》でした。《登り窯》も全国あちこちで鑑賞したことありましたが [奈良時代]の《登り窯》となると非常に珍しいのではないでしょうか。なおこちらは公共交通を利用して訪問出来ない場...
Azumino Tensan Center

4.5

6 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Azumino Hotaka Ariake 3618-24

A museum located in Azumino City which introduces the history of the cultivation of the Japanese oak silkmoth. Thread made using the cocoons of the moths is produced similar to that of regular silk, but the resulting fabric is lighter and softer, and possesses a distinctive color and luster. Inside, visitors can learn about the history of Japanese oak silkmoths and their ecology. In the adjoining studio, visitors can watch as textiles are woven from the moths' cocoons. The museum's shop sells Japanese oak silkmoth silks and accessories. In addition, visitors can also see actual Japanese oak silkmoths being raised in an open breeding house on the grounds.

We visited Azumino during the off season of March. The town bus was not running during our visit. We took a taxi to the Azumino Tensan Center. The taxi was about $23.00 US from the Hotaka station...
Sanadashi History Museum

4.0

1 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Pref. Uedashi Sanadamachimotohara 2984-1

This is a museum in Sanada Town, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture. displaying materials related to the Sanada family. The history of the Sanada family is introduced through documents and arms focused mainly on Yukitaka Sanada, Masayuki Sanada, and Yukimura Sanada, members of the 24 generals of Shingen Takeda, and Yukimura’s brother Nobuyuki Sanada, the first lord of the Matsushiro feudal domain. A highlight is the sight of the restored armor and helmets belonging to Masayuki, Yukimura and Nobuyuki. At the connected Sanada-an one can try local cuisine like chestnut and sesame rice balls and Soba-Suiton (open only weekends and holidays from April 15 to the beginning of November, except in May when it is open every day).

おはぎとすいとんをいただきました。特別味がいいとか素材がずば抜けているわけではありませんが、おばあちゃんたちの素朴な料理をいただけて満足でした。値段は安いです。
Sakai Meijo Brewery Shuzo Collection

4.0

5 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Chikuma-shi Togura 1855-1

Several famous breweries and a portion of their storehouses which produced countless liters of seishu refined sake. There are also four museums - the Kaya Shirao-kan, Yumeji Kaiga-kan, Shuzo Shiryoshitsu, and Hokkoku Kaido Rekishi Shiryoshitsu. The current oldest brewery was established in the Horeki era, and there are also breweries from the Kansei, Keio, Meiji, and Taisho eras; visitors may freely view the breweries, as well. Portions of the museum exhibits are changed on a seasonal basis, and reviews note this is a valuable space where one can learn about folk culture.

戸倉駅から国道に向かって5分くらいの所にあります。茅葺き屋根なのですぐ見つかります。お酒以外にも地元産の果物なども買えます。
Usuda Star Dome

4.0

4 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Pref. Sakushi Usuda 3113-1

The Usuda Star Dome lets visitors enjoy a genuine stargazing experience, with a reflecting telescope featuring a 60-centimeter aperture being the main attraction. The “eyelid dome” and “sliding roof” where the telescopes are set up are bigger than normal domes and display countless stars in the night sky between observation sessions. When the weather isn’t good for stargazing, you can enjoy a star slideshow. It’s about a 20-minute drive from the Sakuminami Interchange on the Chubu-Odan Expressway.

運動公園を通り過ぎた山頂付近にあるこじんまりとした天文台。夏は観測会を開催しているので調べてから行くべし。駐車場脇にキャンプできるスペースもあるし周辺の森も散策にオススメ。
Shiojiri City Museum of Natural History

3.5

4 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Shiojiri-shi Shiojirimachi 1090

A seven-minute taxi ride from Shiojiri Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. A fun and educational destination for adults and children alike, this museum has a variety of exhibits on the natural world, animals, and insects, and also hold special seasonal exhibitions. The museum's nature watching events, held throughout the year, enable participants to see seasonal plants and animals in the wild, including the wilderness of Kamikochi and waterfowl on the Saigawa Swan Lake. The museum holds five special exhibitions a year as well as plant painting exhibitions, insect specimen exhibitions, and a variety of events. The museum shop's cardboard 3D insect puzzles are particularly popular.

道の駅でトイレ休憩しようと思い、駐車場に入ると、、、。何と、博物館のような施設が。塩尻市立自然博物館と書かれている。時間的にも余裕があったので、入館。入口横には妖怪あまびえの像が。館内は、高ボッチ高原などの動物・植物の紹介展示となっている。特に、蝶の標本が多く展示されている。キジ・鹿のはく製展示は今にも動き出しそう。地下には、翌日からの特別展示（野鳥の切り絵）の準備が進んでいた。
Postal Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Pref. Kisogunnagisomachi Aduma 2197-5

This historical museum is located in Nagiso Town, Kiso County, Nagano Prefecture, and adjoins the Tsumago Post Office, which is still in use today. Tsumago Post Office was featured in Toson Shimazaki’s “Before the Dawn,” and was restored under the guidance of the current Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in fiscal year 1978. It has Japan’s only black mail box modeled after that in use when the post office first opened. Inside you can find Japan’s first stamp, the actual marks used before the current postal mark, correspondence from Toson Shimazaki’s older brother and niece, and other items for a total of approximately 270 articles being stored and exhibited.
Kiso Lacquerware Museum

3.5

3 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Shiojiri-shi Kisohirasawa 2324-150

A 10-minute walk from Kiso-Hirasawa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. This museum was remodeled and reopened in June 2001. The museum collects and displays 3,729 designed National Important Tangible Folk Cultural Properties, examples of Kiso lacquerware and the tools used to create this craft, and items created by artisans designated Living National Treasures and Living Prefectural Treasures. Particularly eye-catching are the lacquerware face washing basins and the vessels and boxes used to transport food as part of high etiquette from the middle ages to the early modern period. The museum also holds events in which visitors can try lacquering, decorate chopsticks, or watch as a master creates lacquerware.

平沢宿にある漆器の資料館。周辺には漆器の会社があちこちにあるし、ちょっと紛らわしいです。展示は、木曽だけでなく、全国的に有名な作家の作品もありました。
Shiojiri Tanka Museum

4.5

2 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Shiojiri-shi Hirokaharashinden 288-1

"A museum operating out of a fascinating old Japanese residence built in 1868 which was dismantled and moved to this site. Located in the center of the city a five-minute drive south of the Shiojiri-kita Interchange on the Nagano Expressway, the museum displays personal belongings and documents belonging to tanka poets connected to Shiojiri. The museum's collection notably primarily consists of letters, hanging scrolls, and poetry anthologies, and the facility focuses on ""poets"" over ""individuals."" The museum also invites celebrated poets to participate in high level tanka poetry classes, and is also used as an event space in order to promote interest in tanka poetry."

塩尻市広丘にある、歌人の資料を飾ってある短歌館があります。広丘は短歌が盛んなので、有名な人たちが昔いっぱいいたみたいです。自分自身もそんなに短歌のことが、詳しいわけでは無いですが、資料を見て調べてみると、歌人の方たちの恋愛話などあって、広丘周辺でのストーリーが書いてありとても面白いです。短歌になじみのない方も、いちど寄ってみてもいいかもしれないです。
Japan Ukiyo-e Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Pref. Matsumotoshi Shimadachi New cut 2206-1

The Sakai collection, as it is called, started with the woodblock prints of sixth-generation Yoshiaki Heisuke Sakai. It was the10th-generation Fujiyoshi Sakai who took the works spanning a period of 200 years and established the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum in 1982 in order to share the precious collection, which includes handwritten works and woodblock-printed books, with the rest of the world. It is the largest collection of 19th-century woodblock prints in the world. It’s a minute by car from the Matsumoto Interchange on the Nagano Expressway.
Takeda Memorial International Marionette Museum

4.0

1 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Iida-shi Zakoji 2535

Four theater troupes, including Imada Ningyo Shibai and Kuroda Ningyo, in operation continuously for 300 years, continue to preserve and share the history of puppet theater in the Ina Valley. This museum was built to house the puppets donated by Sennosuke Takeda which he had collected from across Japan, as well as to memorialize his achievements. The museum is one of many fun and interesting facilities visitors can check out in the area.

展示の中心は地元出身の人形芝居の名人、竹田扇之助氏のコレクション。一方の「雪ん子」特設ステージは、人形芝居の範疇を超えて、世界最高峰の芸術。高い天井裏からはるかに長い糸を何本も垂らして微妙な動きも表現する。係の人が世界の操り人形を実演しながら説明してくれました。ここには深い感動があると思います。
Minowa Town Folk Museum

3.0

1 Reviews

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Kamiina-gun Minowamachi Nakaminowa 10286-3

A museum where visitors can experience how life was once lived in Minowa Town. The museum is divided into four areas - a folk customs exhibit which recreates what a living room in the area looked like somewhere between the mid-1950s and 60s, a nature exhibit with information on the area's wildlife, an archeological exhibit where visitors can see pottery and stone tools from various ages, and an art exhibit with works connected to Minowa Town. Visitors can also come in contact with a loom, radios, and other daily life implements now not part of our daily lives; and learn about the careers of various Japanese poets and Nihonga painters.

■立地・周りの環境■ 箕輪町役場の隣、商工会と同じ敷地にありました。 - - ■駐車場■ 商工会と博物館の間に駐車場があります。 - - ■外観■ 少し古い建物という感じです。歴史を感じます。目の前に電車の展示がありました。 - - ■料金■ 入場料大人一人100円でした。 - - ■内容・感想■ カテゴリで分かれていて、観やすかったです。動物の剥製や土器、昔の暮らしなど観れました...
Shinshu Shinmachi Fossil Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Nagano-shi Shinshushinmachi Kamijo 88-3

This museum, attached to the Shinshu-Shinmachi Museum of Art, was opened in December 1993 with the donation of the late Isamu Nishizawa's fossil collection of approximately 6,000 fossils from Shinshu-Shinmachi, Nagano. The museum exhibits a wide variety of fossils from 53 countries and materials related to the geological strata in the Shinshu-Shinmachi area, including the collections mentioned above.
Ina City Takatomachi History Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Ina-shi Takatomachi Higashitakatoo 457

A museum in Higashi Takato, Takato-machi, Ina City. In addition to Takato Castle and its castle town, the museum exhibits items on the history, culture, and folklore of the region from primitive times to the present day. In addition to precious items designated as municipal Cultural Assets and a model replica of Takato Castle, there's also a replica of the Ejima Kakomi-yashiki residence where during the reign of the 6th Tokugawa Shogun Ienobu, a high-ranking woman known as Ejima, lived out her days due to the Ejima-Ikuushima Affair.
Matsumoto City Shiga Fossil Museum

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Matsumoto-shi Nanaarashi 85-1

"When local elementary school students discovered part of a whale fossil in 1986, a large excavation was conducted. They uncovered the ""Shiga Sperm Whale,"" now the museum's main exhibit. Located in northern Matsumoto City, this region is known as a prefectural treasure trove of marine mammal fossils (whales and pinnipeds). It was only the second complete fossil sperm whale skeleton ever excavated along the Pacific Rim, as well as the world's oldest. Fossils of shellfish, fish, and plants are also on display."
Shimosuwa Konjakukan Oideya, Watch and Clock Museum Gishodo

Leisure / Hobbies

Nagano Suwa-gun Shimosuwamachi 3289

"A 10-minute walk from Shimosuwa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. Shimosuwa is known as the birthplace of the modern clock in Japan, and ""Shimosuwa Konjakukan Oideya"" is a museum where you can learn about how clocks work. The courtyard has the world's first fully restored and operational water-powered astronomical clock tower. They also have an experiential program where you can assemble a mechanical watch under the guidance of a nationally qualified technician. You can take the completed watch home with you the same day. You can also learn about the local culture and obsidian during the Jomon period at the adjacent ""Hoshigato Museum Yanoneya""."

Nagano

Around Nagano City Kita-Shinano Eastern Shinshu Hakuba / Azumino Kisoji Around Suwa Southern Shinshu

Leisure / Hobbies Culture / Tour Museum / Science Museum

Nagano Areas

Nagano prefecture is an exciting mix of mountains, hot spring monkeys, and preserved Edo history. At the heart of the Japanese Alps, Nagano is one of the country’s most popular destinations, whether in winter for its snow sports and the much-loved Jigokudani Monkey Park or in the warmer months for discovering the undulating hills on foot. For fantastic Edo architecture, head to the Kiso Valley for a 60-kilometer stretch of quaint wooden buildings that marked the Nakasendo route 200 years ago.