The last time I remember going to any sort of fossil museum was going to the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles when I was about 10. That was during the 90’s, when dinosaurs were at the forefront of pop culture. The premiere of “Jurassic Park”, “Land Before Time” sequels coming out one after another, and who could forget the beloved “Super Mario Bros.” movie…(it did feature an impressive Yoshi animatronic).

Since that period of my life, I’ve stepped foot in a few museums, but none featuring dinosaur displays. Therefore, when visiting the Fukushi Prefectural Dinosaur Museum in Japan, it was a fresh experience for me.

The Dinosaur Museum in Fukui, Japan is basically the prefecture’s claim to fame. It’s not only the largest dinosaur museum in the country, but the collection has some world renown as well. At least five species of dinosaur were discovered in the prefecture, notably the Fukuisaurus and Fukui Raptor.

The museum’s fame in the prefecture is apparent even on the road leading up to the building. From signs featuring dinos to full on dino statuettes places on roadsides, the area is basically a dino city.

Outside the museum proper, there are plenty more spots to take photos. Truthfully, by the time we arrived to the museum we had been driving for over 3 hours, and the place was only open an hour longer. We decided to take a few photos, and return the next day.

The following day we arrived at the museum nice and early to be able to spend our time there at our own pace. I should mention that the grounds has a few other attractions: There is Dino Park, a theme park with life-sized dinos and small attractions, as well as a fossil dig site aimed at children. In addition, driving 15 minutes from the museum site will get you to the Geopark containing the actual fossil dig site. The museum even has guided tours detailing how the experts excavate, clean, and examine the fossils. If we were staying for longer we may have gone to one of the other places, but we were content with our decision of sticking to just the museum.

After purchasing our tickets, we entered the museum and went towards the escalators. The museum consists of three levels, and the entrance is actually on the top level. Therefore, we went down two levels to the bottom to start our exploration.

After reaching the bottom we walked down a hallway that lead to a large fossil display of a Camarasaurus. This particular display was interesting since as oppose to being set up in the traditional way, the museum recreated what it might have looked like when it was first unearthed at a dig site.

Ascending a small set of stairs showcased the first big exhibit of the museum. In the middle of several captivating fossils stood a large animatronic T-Rex, full of plenty of personality.

Apart from this first room there were several others to explore on this and the floors above, and each room has it’s own draw. Here are some that stood out to me:

Walk into this room and be met with a large carnivore standing in the center. You can walk under it, or ascend the staircase to get a better look at its skull. There was also a nice display of one of the leg bones that you could rotate freely.

In the same room as the giant skeleton were several displays detailing information about how some dinosaurs matured from hatchling stage to adulthood.

Though the majority of the fossils on display are from dinosaurs, one of the rooms was dedicated to fossils from other species, particularly mammals and amphibians.

Being a turtle lover, I enjoyed seeing the displays depicting their prehistoric ancestors. One displays the skeleton of a giant sea turtle, the other shows the fossilized shell scutes of a much smaller (but no less interesting) turtle.

Besides fossils, we could also see an area where professionals were working with real samples behind a glass window. Even though I don’t understand much about the process, it was interesting to see them at work. Another area let people walk into a large room with projectors displaying a forest landscape with dinosaurs interacting with one another. The forest display eventually shifted to modern day Japan, complete with city streets and fossilized dinos.

As I mentioned above, there are some tours that will go over how the experts unearth, clean, and study the fossils. Though we didn’t go on the tour, we went by the area where you could pay for the tour. The walls contained excavation instruments and diagrams. It was appropriate given the area we were in and added a nice bit of atmosphere.

In addition to the animatronic T-Rex, there was an animatronic Fukui Raptor (kinda the mascot dino of the whole museum, I think). Fun to see, but I wonder if this was made before or after they discovered most dinosaurs probably had feathers? (or they just don’t care). Either way, it was neat to see.

After having our fill of exploration, we decided to go to the restaurant. Actually, we waited in line for 10 minutes to get a number so we could be called in about an hour to say our table was ready. While waiting for our table we decided to peruse the gift shop (probably what the museum wants guests to do, as the restaurant and gift shop are next to each other..). We got some souvenirs for family and friends, and tried out a “dinosaur ball” vending machine for fun. I remember having some of these rubber balls as a kid, so seeing the machine made me a bit nostalgic.

Eventually, we were called to the restaurant and we took our seats. On the menu were a variety of entrées, many designed to look like or at least inspired by dinos. The more elaborate ones were indeed cute, but didn’t seem substantial enough as a meal (too small). I decided to go with a katsu burger (“katsu” is a fried cutlet, usually pork. There’s a particular variety with special sauce that’s well known in Fukui prefecture). I went with a “Fukui Raptor Strawberry Coffee Soda” to drink. The burger was decent, though nothing to write home about (good, not great). The buns had black sesame added to them, which was an interesting choice. The soda had a strong coffee flavor (especially the after taste). I felt that the strawberry didn’t really mix well with the coffee flavor, though. Good enough to finish, not to order again.

My wife ordered a rice burger (rice buns with a tofu patty) and a “Fukuisaurus Melon Soda”. She let me try some, and I’d say when it came to the soda and the burger, she won on both accounts. The way the tofu was season actually gave it plenty of flavor, and the melon soda was refreshing. Both meals were fair, but if I came here again I’d choose differently.

Finishing our meal, we decided it was time to leave the museum and head to our next destination. It was a great experience and I’m glad we had a chance to go. Though Fukui is a bit out of the way for most tourists coming to Japan (about a 3 hour car ride from Kyoto, maybe 8 from Tokyo), those wishing to visit will be sure to enjoy. Perhaps not as a main destination, but if you’re coming to Japan for a few weeks and want to take a break from the main attractions, consider adding Fukui to the trip.