^{Forestry museums are not usually my thing – and truthfully I was attracted to the Aomori City Forestry Museum in Japan only because of the building it is housed in. Very grand in the early 1900’s style, but dilapidated and falling into disrepair today. The gardens around the museum are still tended, but the building itself – inside and out – is in urgent need of a good paint job and other repairs before it’s too far gone to save it.}

^{When I saw a photo of the Museum in a brochure, I imagined the building originally must have been a grand stately family mansion, and always keen on architecture, I wanted to see it. In fact, the building was never owned privately and was never a home. It was planned and constructed in 1908 for the Aomori Bureau of Forestry Building – an indication of how important this industry was for the area at the time.}

^{In its second life today as a forestry museum, it seems to be off the radar of most visitors to Aomori. We were the only tourists there when we visited – and we were there for quite a while because it turned out to be an excellent natural history museum, offering much more than just forestry.}

^{All things wood and the harvesting of wood – past and present – exquisite furniture, shoes, clothing, household decorations, vintage forestry tools, cooking pots and fine wood craft. It’s all highlighted. This museum takes you on a journey to appreciate the world’s trees and all that they do for us.}

^{I felt the spirit of these old hallowed halls as I wandered through the museum, discovering a wellspring of Japanese history, customs and lifestyle in the Aomori region. Every room revealed unexpected exhibitions, artefacts and fascinating old photographs and paintings of early days harvesting timber in the region. Winter must have been particularly tough.}

^{Some rooms are still magnificent, despite in urgent need of love and attention . I particularly liked the old Forestry department conference room. I appreciate the cost of repainting and replastering in a building this size, but surely someone could fix those old curtains before they fall down!}

^{Animals, reptiles flowers and birds/butterflies of the local forests are not forgotten. Some stuffed animals were a little too real for comfort!}

^{An example of the unexpected was a section on firefighting in the old forests in the past. I loved the shoulder harness equipment labelled MOBILE PHONE!}

^{There’s even a little bit of old Hollywood glamour – Japanese style – at the museum with an exhibition on a movie that brought one of the worst mountain disasters in the world to the big screen. Famous movie stars came to Aomori to make the 1977 epic film ‘Mount Hakkoda’ about a real life 1902 disaster, when a group of 210 Japanese soldiers became lost in a winter blizzard in Aomori’s Hakkoda mountains. Shockingly, 193 froze to death, six more died after rescue and eight of the eleven survivors had to have limbs amputated because of frost bite. It was the most lethal disaster in the world’s modern history of mountain climbing. Most of the men came from areas with little snow and lacked experience in climbing snowy mountains. They also did not use local guides.}

^{The exhibition at the Museum shows that the the movie was an outstandingly visual epic showcasing the region’s forests and mountains. It looked a challenging film to make, deserving of success. The movie won numerous awards including Best Actor at the Japanese Academy. It was Japan’s submission to the 50th American Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as nominee. I don’t know why.}

^{At one point during my museum amble, I needed a loo stop, and came across a toilet that seemed as old as the building itself. Though more probably 1950’s/’60’s. An squat toilet in pink and a very interesting matching pink hand washing basin styled a little like a men’s urinal. Too high for that, and not a bidet. What was the designer thinking! Later I found modern upright Japanese toilets further along the hallway!}

^{This museum rates as one of the most interesting I have seen in seven visits to Japan. But unless some money is put into its upkeep, there will be more windows boarded up, wood will deteriorate and it will become unsafe. This beautiful building survived WW2 bombings of Aomori, but can it survive modern local government apathy towards its care.}

^{The Forestry museum is walking distance from the Aomori railway station – about 20 minutes. The route takes you through what seems to be one of the older working class areas of the city. There are some interesting old offices and homes along the way.}

^{As we made our way back to the centre of Aomori, we spotted a corner cafe. Not a cafe, it seemed, that is used to having foreign customers walk through the door! Everything was in Japanese and the owner seemed both surprised and worried to see us. But when he saw us happily using google translate on the menu, he relaxed and smiled. The menu was tasty simple fare – curries, chicken dishes – all under ten dollars an item. On one wall was a 2025 Sumo calendar featuring two players who now lead other players as Yokozunas. You can’t get more Japanese!}

^{Walking off the beaten tourist track in Aomori – discovering a remarkable museum in an exquisite old building, a wander through a small Japanese working class neighbourhood and lunch at a local cafe. An enjoyable day well spent!}

^{NOTE: I was somewhat at a loss in the Hakkoda Mountain area myself a few days before visiting the Forestry museum – but with a much happier ending than the fated soldiers in 1901. Read about my visit there in my story below:}

https://travellingtherese.com/2025/06/16/japan-magical-aomori-alpine-bus-ride/

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