Zukan Museum Ginza is on the sixth floor of Tokyu Plaza Ginza, a commercial building facing Sukiyabashi crossing. This is a place where you can encounter various creatures found on Earth that appear in zukan picture books, and you can feel their breath. The museum has been well received by people of all ages, from children to adults, as it allows visitors to experience nature through all five senses as they tour a space and time where a variety of creatures co-exist.

When you purchase a ticket, you will be given a navigation device called a Stone of Recording to enter the world of zukan picture books (Each group that purchases one ticket will be able to borrow a device free of charge). After an opening video plays in a room surrounded by a circular screen, the adventure begins. The museum is divided into five zones: forest, clear stream, river/lake, ant’s eye view, and grassland. Visitors are free to explore. Visitors can record the mammals and insects living in each zone using the Stone of Recording and enjoy their encounters while learning about the creatures’ ecology

The museum was launched by a joint partnership of seven companies: Sasaki Holdings Co., Ltd., Shogakukan Inc., AID-DCC Inc., Drill Inc., DENTSU INC., SUNNY SIDE UP Inc., and The Asahi Shimbun Company. Masahiro Kunori of AID-DCC Inc., who was involved in the launch, said, “We work in cooperation with Shogakukan Inc., a long-established publisher of picture books, to realize an interactive museum with the theme of ‘Life on Earth,’ combining the strengths of a digital entertainment team and a picture book publisher.” The editorial department of the Shogakukan No Zukan NEO, which has sold more than 11 million copies since its first edition in 2002, provided full support for all academic aspects of the organisms and their environment.

Zukan Museum Ginza, which was created in this way, attracts visitors of all ages, including parents with children and groups of adults. Many are repeat visitors.

In creating this museum, the focus was on authenticity. While there are other hands-on museums and events in Japan that use digital technology, Zukan Museum Ginza is unique in that it conveys life on Earth in an academic manner. In addition to the shapes and movements of creatures, the museum pays close attention to the representation of their environment, such as plants and trees of forests and the waterside where they live. While based on such academic findings, the balance of pictorial expression has been devised so that the images are not overly realistic and therefore frightening to viewers.

The changing landscape over time is also a highlight. In the world of Zukan Museum Ginza, a full day is condensed to 1/60th of a minute, so a day changes in 24 minutes. Creatures that can be encountered change, depending on day or night as well as the season.

The ending changes depending on the creatures you encounter. This is one of the factors that keeps people coming back. Sensors set up in the venue allow the Stone of Recording to guide you about the creatures as your location is determined, and your own unique trajectory will be brought back to life as a story in the final room. When the Stone of Recording is set on the display showing a large Earth, the scene depicts the collected creatures returning to Earth.

After completing the ending, a Certificate of Record will be printed, listing which creatures are recorded, and one of the creatures will be given as a souvenir as an Original Creature Card. In addition, the museum shop (memoria official store) offers the Official Creatures Picture Book a one-volume collection of creatures encountered in the museum. The Original Creature Card comes with a sticker that can be collected in the Official Creatures Picture Book, which may be one of the factors that attracts repeat visitors. The ecology and characteristics are described in more detail there. So going home and reviewing the information will help you learn more.

The experience lasted about an hour, but it seemed much longer, perhaps because time was condensed to 1/60th of an hour in this world. It was also a time when I realized once again that Earth is inhabited by a diverse range of creatures. Zukan Museum Ginza is where adults can return to their childhood memories and become engrossed in encounters with living creatures.

Japanese original text: Emi Sato
Photo: Aya Hatanaka
Translation: Kae Shigeno