Even though kaleidoscopes are made with delicate glass, visitors are encouraged to handle them, adjust their remarkable colours and patterns, and relax. The experience is enchanting.
As you move through, you notice antique kaleidoscopes made of welded metals and others made from soldered stained glass.
As you turn each kaleidoscope’s lens, you experience a wash and tinkle of shapes and colours. Some are bright and iridescent, and some have colours that are muted and subdued. Some move quickly, some are steady, and some are suspended in heavy oil so the patterns appear to defy gravity.
There are hundreds if not thousands of kaleidoscopes here, and all staggeringly beautiful. The Furano Yamabe Kaleidoscope Museum is the kind of place you enter and never want to leave.
This museum is in an old school with high ceilings, hardwood floorboards, and large and beautiful windows. The school theme is honoured and in the former music room, there are vintage instruments, the gymnasium has unicycles and sporting equipment, and other rooms have themes just as engaging. Every room has the feel that the teachers have stepped out for just a moment.
A handwritten message on a chalkboard explains that kaleidoscopes were invented quite by accident in Scotland about 200 years ago. This lucky discovery occurred during experiments to improve lighthouse lamps. They were brought to Japan nearly 100 years ago by Dutch traders and remain a popular source of pleasure today.
The Furano Yamabe Kaleidoscope Museum also has timeless toys, the best ones that collectors appreciate. Again, visitors are invited to play with these and whatever your age, they are great fun. There are water shooters, pinball boxes and old-style games like Operation.
But the kaleidoscopes are the treasures that will open colourful new worlds for you. Some are electrically operated, some make music, and some are so big you can nearly climb inside.
Your favourite, however, might be the souvenir kaleidoscope you are invited to make in the art room before you leave.
Plan to visit for at least one hour and many more hours could pass in a blink.
Information
Access
Take a JR Train to Yamabe station then walk for about 30 minutes, take a taxi from Furano station for about 2500 yen, or pedal a rental bike for about 45 minutes from Furano station. Museum entry is 800 yen for adults, 500 for seniors and most students.
Address
Yamabe Nishi 14 sen 2 banchi, Furano-shi
Website
http://www.furanotourism.com/en/spot/spot_D.php?id=108
Map
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