The Main Museum: Local History and Everyday Life
A Museum Opened in 1965
The main museum is a two-story wooden building with a total floor area of approximately 303 square meters. It opened on July 20, 1965, as a facility where both local residents and visitors could explore the history and culture of Omi Village.
The museum was established under the village’s regulations concerning tourism facilities in the Hijiri Highlands. From the beginning, it was intended to serve as a place where visitors could deepen their understanding of the region while enjoying the surrounding highland environment.
Approximately 1,300 Historical and Natural Specimens
The collection includes approximately 1,300 items. Among them are folk-cultural materials documenting traditional life, historical records related to the development of Omi Village, Buddhist statues, stone Buddhist images, calligraphy, paintings, taxidermy specimens, plants, and rocks.
These diverse materials provide an overview of both the natural environment and human history of the area. Visitors can gain a sense of how people lived, worked, traveled, and practiced their faith in this mountain community over the centuries.
Aviation Museum in a Former Meiji-Era School
A Historic School Building Preserved on the Museum Grounds
One of the most distinctive features of Hijiri Museum is its Aviation Museum, housed in a historic wooden school building.
The building was originally constructed in 1877 as the schoolhouse of Omi Elementary School. In 1971, it was relocated and restored on the grounds of Hijiri Museum.
The present building is a two-story wooden structure with a total floor area of approximately 99.3 square meters. During the relocation, part of the building was reduced in size, but considerable effort was made to preserve its original appearance.
Aviation and Railway Technology
Inside, visitors can see a variety of materials, components, and engines related to aviation. One of the highlights is the engine of the F-104J Starfighter, a supersonic jet fighter once operated by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force.
The museum also contains railway-related materials, allowing visitors to explore the development of transportation technology from another perspective.
The combination of a historic Meiji-period schoolhouse and exhibits devoted to modern aviation creates an unusual contrast, illustrating how dramatically transportation and technology changed over the course of Japan’s modern history.
Outdoor Exhibits: Battleship Guns, Locomotives, and Aircraft
Large-Scale Objects with an Impressive Presence
The outdoor exhibition area is one of the museum’s most memorable attractions. Rather than viewing small artifacts behind glass, visitors can stand directly beside full-scale examples of large machines and military equipment.
Among the most striking exhibits is the 41-centimeter main gun barrel from the battleship Mutsu. The enormous gun barrel conveys the tremendous scale of early 20th-century naval technology and provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of Japan’s navy and the importance of peace.
D51 Steam Locomotive
Railway enthusiasts will be particularly interested in the D51 steam locomotive, popularly known in Japan as Degoichi.
The locomotive on display is D51 769, manufactured by Kawasaki Rolling Stock Company in 1943. With its large black body, powerful driving wheels, and distinctive steam-era design, the locomotive recalls the period when steam trains operated across Japan’s railway network.
Standing beside the locomotive gives visitors a sense of the scale of these machines and the engineering required to operate them.
Aircraft Once Used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
The museum’s outdoor collection also includes several aircraft once used by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
These include the F-104J Starfighter (46-8608), the F-86D (94-8146), the F-86F (82-7865), and the T-34A (51-0337), a propeller-driven trainer aircraft.
The opportunity to see several different types of aircraft together is particularly unusual. For aviation enthusiasts, the collection offers a fascinating look at the development of Japan’s military aviation technology during the postwar period.
A Visit by the Crown Prince and the Museum’s Renewal
Emperor Emeritus Akihito’s Visit in 1965
Hijiri Museum also has a connection with the Japanese imperial family. On August 14, 1965, shortly after the museum opened, it was visited by the then Crown Prince Akihito, who later became Emperor Emeritus.
The visit helped draw attention to the museum in its early years, and the institution continued to develop as a place for local learning and cultural exchange.
A Major Renewal in 2012
In 2012, the museum underwent a major renewal. New displays, including carved wooden Rakan figures representing Buddhist disciples, were introduced, while existing collections were reorganized and explanatory information was expanded.
The improvements made the exhibits easier to understand and created a more engaging experience for visitors of different ages and backgrounds.
A Cultural Gateway to the History of Omi
Hijiri Museum is more than a collection of historical objects. It serves as a cultural center where the people of Omi Village preserve their memories, traditions, and sense of local identity.
The collections cover an unusually broad range of subjects. Traditional folk materials reveal the everyday lives of earlier generations, while Buddhist art reflects the region’s religious heritage. Railway exhibits show how transportation transformed rural communities, and aviation and naval artifacts illustrate the rapid development of modern engineering.
The museum therefore provides an opportunity to explore several different aspects of Japanese history within a single visit.
History and Technology in the Natural Beauty of the Hijiri Highlands
The location beside Lake Hijiri adds another dimension to the museum experience. After exploring the exhibits, visitors can enjoy the peaceful scenery of the surrounding highland landscape.
The contrast between the tranquil forests and lake of the Hijiri Highlands and the enormous machines displayed on the museum grounds is particularly memorable. The setting encourages visitors to consider how technology has changed human life while the natural environment continues to endure.
Discover Omi Through Its Remarkably Diverse Collections
Hijiri Museum is a distinctive destination for anyone interested in local Japanese history, transportation, engineering, or military technology. Its collections extend from the traditional life of Omi Village to the aircraft, railway equipment, and naval technology of modern Japan.
The historic schoolhouse used for the Aviation Museum adds another layer of interest, preserving a tangible piece of Japan’s educational history within the same grounds as the modern technology exhibits.
For travelers exploring the quieter areas of Nagano, the museum offers an experience that goes beyond conventional sightseeing. Here, local history, traditional culture, transportation, engineering, and the natural landscape of the Hijiri Highlands come together in one remarkable place.
A visit to Hijiri Museum is an opportunity to look at Japan’s past from several different angles—and to discover how the history of a small mountain community connects with the much larger story of technological change in modern Japan.