The Fossa Magna Museum is a museum that tells the story of Japan’s minerals, rocks and fossils, including Itoigawa jade, as well as showing visitors how the Japanese archipelago was formed. 

The exhibits focus on jade, which is the beautiful mineral for which Itoigawa is famed, as well as the Fossa Magna, the great rift in the earth from which the Japanese islands first emerged. Visitors can also learn about the natural environment and resources that the earth has nurtured and created, as well as about natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes.

At the museum you can also get a free appraisal of any rocks or fossils that you bring in, and experts are on hand to tell you the name or type of rocks that you picked up on the beach. These appraisal times are determined in advance, so please check if you want to use this service.

Anyone up to and including junior high school students can enter the museum for free! During the summer holidays the museum offers an ideal venue for free study and research. Why not come along to learn about the history of the earth, and see and touch things for yourself?