Discover your inner paleontologist at Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum. This renowned facility is one of the world’s leading dinosaur museums and is the largest dinosaur museum in the country. It is located in Katsuyama City, which is home to Japan’s largest excavation site. The fossils of five dinosaurs were discovered here.
The museum is closed monthly on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday. If Wednesday is a national holiday, the museum is closed on the following day instead.
The huge facility features permanent exhibitions and special ones that change throughout the year. Its largest exhibition is Dinosaur World with 44 full-body dinosaur skeletons, 10 of which contain a significant amount of original fossils. The entrance of the exhibit is guarded by a life-size animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex, the king of dinosaurs. More robotic dinosaurs are located throughout the area, providing you with visuals of how these magnificent beasts once looked.
The museum’s Earth Sciences exhibition tells the story of Earth and life through hands-on content, videos, rocks, minerals, and fossils, and its History of Life exhibit dives deeper into the origin of life and humankind with informative displays and fossils. At the Dino Lab, you can touch real fossils and investigate the historic bones with magnifiers.
For an authentic archeological experience, join the field station tour at Katsuyama’s excavation site! The tour runs from spring to autumn and lasts about two hours. During the excursion you will have opportunities to observe the excavation site, view fossils uncovered from the site, and look for dinosaurs yourself in a nearby spot. The tour is about a 30-minute bus ride from the museum.
The museum also has a movie theater, dinosaur-themed restaurant, and museum shop.
If you crave more dinosaur fun, check out the surrounding dino-themed establishments, such as the Katsuyama Dinosaur Park and Tyrannosaur Park.
From Katsuyama Station take a community bus that runs from the station to the museum (15 mins) or a taxi (10 mins).
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Well laid out and with gorgeous exhibits, the Fukui Prefecture Dinosaur Museum is a must see for anyone visiting Japan.
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Fukui Dinosaur Museum is everybody's favorite in Fukui because it's simply exciting! At the souvenir shop I bought a 'Dinosaur..
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