Feather Museum, Seki フェザーミュジアム
Japan has some bizarre and quirky museums: a sex museum, a ninja museum, and even a sand museum. The Feather Museum in Seki, Gifu Prefecture in central Japan is another off-the-wall museum in Japan.
Exhibits
The Feather Museum in Seki, north of Inuyama in Gifu Prefecture, has nothing to do with feathers or birds. The museum is sponsored by the Feather Company which makes razors, shaving, and hairdressing equipment as well as surgical scalpels.
The whole area of Seki is known as one of Japan’s top locations for the manufacture of high-quality steel knives, swords, and blades. Sword-making in the area began in the Kamakura Period (1192-1333) and has been going strong ever since.
The modern, two-story Feather Museum – a “razor memorial facility” – is dedicated to the history of shaving, beards, and hairdressing both in Japan and the rest of the world. There are interesting dioramas and computer-generated exhibits on men’s and women’s shaving through the ages, a collection of razors and razor blades from around the world, recreations of historical barber shops, a section on mirrors, a children’s play area, and even a free shaving corner where the visitor can try out Feather’s products.
Address
1-17, Hinode-cho, Seki-shi, Gifu
501-3873
Tel: 0575 22 1923
9.30 am-4 pm (last entry)
Closed Tuesday
Free admission
feather.co.jp
Access – Getting To The Feather Museum
The interesting museum is a 5-minute walk from Hamanokaikanmae Station on the Nagaragawa Line from Mino-Ota. Mino-Ota is readily accessible from Nagoya Station.
Take the JR Chuo Honsen Line to Tajimi (41 minutes), then the JR Ota Line to Mino-Ota (29 minutes), then the Nagaragawa Line to Hamanokaikanmae Station (20 minutes). The Nagaragawa Line continues on to Gujo Hachiman.
Alternatively, take a JR train from Nagoya to Gifu and change there for Mino-Ota.
The nearest Meitetsu Line station is Seki on the Minomachi Line which connects with the Nagaragawa Line. Seki is one stop north of Hamanokaikanmae.
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