7 Strange Museums In Japan
Unique alternatives to the typical history and art museum
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When traveling to destinations around the world, people love to see famous architecture, landmarks, and attractions of the city. Touring the markets, beaches, or terrain of a country helps you understand the lifestyle, people, and way of life.
Similarly, to appreciate a country, its people, and its culture, one must also learn about their art and history. Famous art museums like the Louvre or history museums like the Smithsonian are great places to not only spend a rainy day but to learn about society and where it’s been.
But if you want an even deeper dive into the differences in culture from your own, then some of the best and strangest places are random museums. Each country has its share of museums that highlight its own odd and bizarre subject matter.
Here are seven museums in Japan that do not only contain strange items but the entire concept is so bizarre, it’s interesting to wonder who thought of making the museum, and why people visit. The fact that these places even exist shows how Japanese society differs from other countries.
Cat Museum
Open all year round, this museum that’s open from 9 am to 5 pm hosts a variety of exhibits including an extinct cat exhibit that houses many bones and recreations of prehistoric wild cats with some as old as 38 million years old.
Twenty-eight species of wild cats are also on display with interesting and realistic-looking displays of these various tiger species in their various habitats. The history of cats then progresses into cuter and safer, house cats.
Various toys, sculptures, carvings, paintings, stuffed animals, and dioramas of cat worlds are on display and are super cute. As you walk around and enjoy the intricate detail and colorful feline creations, you can then finally make your way to the real thing.
A room with 20 of the different 40 cat species is all in one place and available to interact with. You can see them play, sleep, and even pet them. An interactive experience that allows any cat lover to appreciate these furry creatures.
Location: 1759–242 Yawatano, Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture 413–0235
Price: 1300 Yen ($12)
Poop Museum
Yes, you read that right. The poop museum is a real museum in Japan that allows you to learn about, appreciate, and interact with poop. There are two locations in Japan, the first one opened in Odaiba, Tokyo and the newest one is in Fukuoka.
A colorful, kawaii, interactive playground set up, this museum is mostly geared to children but the wackiness is enough to please adults as well. Entering the museum requires you to sit on a toilet and see what color of turd you produce (I had pink) which you then get to put on a stick and keep as a souvenir.
The museum is divided into different types of poop activities. The first is the Instagrammable area with many color sets and backdrops that have poop-inspired designs. There is a room of glowing poop lamps, interactive video games that require you to do things like scream poop (unchi in Japanese) as loud as you can to make the biggest turd possible.
Besides fun and games, there is also an area with facts and poop memorabilia as well as a wall of poop with different drawings of poop drawn by various celebrities. And finally, a gift shop that sells poop-shaped goods.
The ultimate event is when a giant turd-shaped volcano erupts spitting out hundreds of little sponge baby turds the kids try to catch and collect! It really is a “crappy” place but very unique. The museum is open every day from 11 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 8 pm on weekends.
Location: Tokyo & Fukuoka
Price: 1600 Yen ($15)
Website: https://unkomuseum.com/en/tokyo/
Cup Ramen Museum & Ramen Museum
Yokohama has not only a ramen museum but a cup ramen museum as well. Both are worth a visit even if you are just a regular fan of ramen. But if you are a ramen connoisseur then this is definitely the place to visit.
Starting with the ramen museum, it’s more of a ramen food court than a museum. The building is decorated in old-fashioned 1950s era Japan and just walking around and looking at the details of the shops and decor is a treat.
Each stall has a specialty style of ramen that is popular from a different region of Japan allowing you to get a taste of all of the different varieties of ramen soup and noodles made in Japan.
There is a shop that sells many ramen goods as well as ramen noodles, soup bases, condiments, and other paraphernalia. The history and introduction of ramen into Japan are also displayed for those who want a deeper dive into Japan and ramen.
The other ramen museum is dedicated to the famous instant cup ramen, that was invented and popularized in Yokohama by the creator Momofuku Ando. This cup ramen museum is larger, has more exhibits, and is much more kid-friendly than the ramen museum.
Learning the history of the instant ramen noodle inception and spread of popularity in Japan and around the world, visitors can watch a movie of the history, check out many displays including a wall of every single type of cup ramen design since its creation.
There are play areas for kids, a food court of noodles from around the world, and the best part is a cup ramen factory where you can design your own cup, customize your own noodles and ingredients, and watch it get packaged. You can take it home and eat it or keep it on display as a souvenir.
If you are in the Yokohama area of Japan, both museums are highly recommended. The cup ramen museum is open every day except Tuesdays from 10 to 6 and the ramen museum is open every day from 11 am to 9 pm.
Ramen Museum
Location: 2–14–21 Shinyokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-City, 222–0033, Japan
Price: 310 Yen ($2.50)
Website: https://www.raumen.co.jp/english/
Cup Ramen Museum
Location: 2–3–4 Shinko, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231–0001 Japan
Price: 500 Yen ($4)
The Sand Museum
More than just sand, this museum is a sand sculpture museum located in Tottori Prefecture which is famous for the Tottori Sand Dunes. The only area in Japan that has these dunes, the museum is a tribute to its unique landscape.
Using the sand from these dunes, this museum gets local and world-renowned sculptures to create beautiful and intricate sand sculptures that change yearly based on a theme and concept, “Travel around the world in sand.”
With each year focusing on specific areas of the world, the first year featured sculptures based on the Italian Renaissance. There have been themes on Asian World Heritage Sites, Aristocratic Austria, Africa, Russia, and British Empire. Currently, the theme is the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The sand sculptures are made using only sand and water with no frame or structure for stability. This means there is a chance that the sculpture may collapse. The detail, time, and energy put into ensuring these sculptures remain standing during the exhibit and maintain their exact shape and form are quite impressive.
The sculptures range in size and space but all are about double the height of an average human male and expand throughout the museum. They are located on the first floor of the museum where they can be observed up close by walking around the displays. You can then move to the second floor to see the entire museum from above and get a full view of the sculptures.
For anyone who was a child dreaming of building a giant castle on the beach, this is your dream come true.
Location: 2083–17 Yuyama, Fukube-cho, Tottori City, Tottori, 689–0105, JAPAN
Price: 600 Yen ($5)
Website: http://www.sand-museum.jp/en/
Atami Sex Museum
Speaking of dreams, this museum is for adults who want to enjoy a sensual and erotic experience they may only have fantasized about in their dreams. In Japanese called the hihoukan, this sex museum is located in the honeymoon capital of Japan, Atami.
Taking a ropeway up a mountain, you can find the museum near the Atami Castle (which is also an interesting place to check out) and if you are 18 years or older, you can gain access to this funny, fleshy museum of lust.
There are exhibits, wax sculptures, fornicating statues, and interactive games. According to jpninfo.com, “You’ll find 3D projections, peeping holes, dodgy lighting, a pictographic collection of fetishes, a naked Marilyn Monroe figurine, and a morphing Mona Lisa.”
Open from 9:30 to 5:30 every day, there are 3 floors of bizarre and titillating exhibits to make anyone blush. Definitely and fun hour or two for a couple or group of friends.
Location: 8–15 Wadahamaminamicho, Atami 413–0023 Shizuoka Prefecture
Price 1700 Yen ($16)
Website: https://www.atami-hihoukan.jp/
Team Borderless Digital Art Museum
A little more pricey than some of the other museums on this list but it’s definitely worth the price. The team borderless digital art museum in Odaiba, Tokyo is one of the first digital mapping museums in the world.
According to their website,
“teamLab aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world and new perceptions through art. In order to understand the world around them, people separate it into independent entities with perceived boundaries between them. teamLab seeks to transcend these boundaries in our perception of the world, of the relationship between the self and the world, and of the continuity of time.”
Using artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians, and architects, the museum creates an interactive, exploration of lights, designs, digital mapping, and movement to create a visually stimulating experience. Imagine a light show while high on mushrooms.
There is no single path to enjoy the museum so it’s up to the visitors to carve out their own way and go where their senses take them. Digital mapping is also constantly moving and changing so it will look different to each person depending on where they are and when.
There are two floors and various exhibits where you can not only interact with lights and holograms but actual objects such as floating neon balls, a maze of ropes, and a room of mirrored lamps.
Location: Odaiba Palette Town 2F, 1–3–8 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Price: 3200 Yen ($31)
Website: https://borderless.teamlab.art/
Love Doll Museum
Not a museum for lovers of dolls like Barbie, this is a museum of life-size dolls created in Japan and sold for sexual pleasure. A man named Yoshitaka Hyodo, a “lover” of love dolls decided to dedicate his entire house to his collection.
Two floors are filled with sex dolls and other strange and erotic paraphernalia, with the first floor focused on a military theme and the upper floor hospital-themed. The museum is only open a few times a year and reservations need to be made via [email protected].
Not a typical museum and definitely off the beaten path, those who are interested in the strange subculture of human-size love dolls will enjoy this opportunity to see and touch these dolls “in the flesh.”
Location: Saitama, Japan
Price: 1000 Yen ($9)
There you have it, seven of the strangest museums you will come across while traveling in Japan. If you have some extra time, are in the neighborhood, or are looking for something indoors to do, I highly recommend visiting one of these museums. They are definitely interesting alternatives to the typical art or history museum.
Some other museums that are honorable mentions are the Mayonnaise Museum, the Ice Aquarium, and the Meguro Parasitological Museum. No matter where you go in Japan, you are bound to find an interesting and unique museum dedicated to some of the most bizarre themes. Take advantage of seeing not only a new place but getting a glimpse of the subculture the country has to offer.
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