Mushi Mushi Land in Fukushima
Cat cafes, dog cafes, and even owl cafes are commonly found in cities such as Tokyo, allowing animal lovers to hang out with their favourite animals. Insect cafes, however, are little to none. But bug lovers won’t have to despair, because Mushi Mushi Land in Fukushima has over 1,000 rhinoceros beetles that you can touch and play with.
See and touch rhinoceros beetles at Mushi Mushi Land
Image credit: @krask22
Mushi Mushi Land is a theme park in Fukushima Prefecture dedicated to insects – primarily beetles. The park is named Mushi Mushi Land because “mushi” means “bug” in Japanese. When it opened in 1989, it was the only insect petting zoo in Japan. There used to be an insect-themed amusement park within Mushi Mushi Land, but unfortunately, it is now closed.
Image credit: @___s.nae___
Image adapted from: @tomotakawatanabe
The main attraction of Mushi Mushi Land is the beetle dome. More than 1,000 rhinoceros beetles are housed within this dome, living their best lives among trees, rocks, leaves, and logs. Although the dome isn’t huge, you can spend time touching and playing with the beetles freely. The rhinoceros beetles look scary but they can’t sting or bite, making it safe even for children.
Image credit: @greenz_jp
Mushi Mushi Land is a popular destination in summer, especially for children. In Japan, it’s common for children to collect beetles and other insects as pets. They’ll sometimes organise fights between their beetles to see which is the strongest. You can observe a beetle fighting ring in the dome as well.
Observing the beetle fighting ring
Image credit: @masahiro_kanno_1112
The beetle and insect museum
Image credit: Mushi Mushi Land
Image credit: @rieyukaz141
Besides a beetle dome, Mushi Mushi Land also has a beetle and insect museum. There are over 2,000 insect specimens from all over the world on display here. This includes more than 150 species such as stag beetles, butterflies, and rare insects.
Image credit: @saori_ohwada
With the help of the staff, you might even be able to hold some of these rare insects!
Getting to Mushi Mushi Land
Image credit: @yuusuke_6200
Although Mushi Mushi Land has become less popular since the Fukushima earthquake in 2011, the World Health Organisation has confirmed that the area is safe for travel.
They are only open in summer. You can choose to visit both the beetle dome and the museum or only one of the two. For entrance to both the dome and the museum, tickets cost ¥400 (~USD3.85) for adults and ¥300 (~USD2.88) for children.
Getting there: Ride the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Koriyama Station. Then, take the JR Ban-etsu East Line to Funehiki Station. From Funehiki Station, take a bus to Ban-etsu Expressway before taking a taxi, or take a taxi straight from Funehiki Station.
Address: 68 Yamane Ashizaka, Tokiwamachi, Tamura City, 963-4601 Fukushima
Opening hours: Thu – Tue 9.30AM-4.30PM (18th July-23rd August) (Closed on Wednesdays)
Telephone: 024-777-4097
Website
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Cover image adapted from: @___s.nae___ and @masahiro_kanno_1112