YamanashiLeisure

Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Archaeology (山梨県立考古博物館)

Flow of the course

About 60 min here

About 5 min to the next stop

Next stop: Right beside the museum: climb a large nationally designated burial mound and survey the basin

About this spot

This is Yamanashi Prefecture's archaeology museum, standing on Kai Fudoki-no-Oka in the Sone Hills of southern Kofu. Jomon pottery and stone tools unearthed from sites around the prefecture, along with grave goods from the Kofun period, are arranged in chronological order, so even children can feel that people long ago really used tools like these. Photographs cannot convey the actual size of the objects or the fineness of their patterns, which makes seeing them in person worthwhile. The building is air-conditioned, making it just right as the first stop on a hot summer morning. Outdoors there are also reconstructed ancient dwellings, so you can combine the exhibits with a stroll.

Tips

The permanent exhibition has an admission fee, but elementary and junior high school students are admitted free (please check the official information for current prices). Parking is free and there are plenty of spaces. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended, since you will walk around the burial mounds right afterwards.