Play and Experience in Harmony

A Hometown Experience at the Former Kurokawa Elementary School.

Step into a 90-year-old wooden school building that exudes tradition and the beauty of wood. Here, you can experience the rich cultural heritage of Kiso through activities such as making soba noodles, miso, hoba-maki (leaf-wrapped sweets) and sunki-zuke (fermented vegetables). You can also try traditional crafts like weaving.
By combining these "hometown experiences" with the charm of wooden toys, we aim to create an interactive museum where families can share smiles and make lasting memories.

Sharing Smiles Across Generations!

Bringing Everyone Together with Play.

The Toy Museum is an interactive museum where visitors can touch and play with the toys. It’s a place that people of all ages can enjoy. Inside the museum, friendly volunteer staff known as "Toy Curators," easily recognizable by their red aprons, are available to teach visitors how to play with the toys. This museum is a space where both visitors and staff can enjoy connecting and interacting with one another.

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"Mokuiku" - Nurturing Wood Education and Appreciation Through Local Timber.

Kiso's Five Sacred Trees

The "Kiso Goboku" refers to five types of trees that have long been cherished in the region. These are the Kiso Hinoki (Japanese cypress), Asunaro (Hiba arborvitae), Nezuko (Thujopsis dolabrata), Sawara (Japanese false cypress), and Koyamaki (Japanese umbrella pine). These majestic trees form rich forests, purifying water and air while sustaining the lush beauty of the Kiso Valley.
Kiso's timber has been highly valued since ancient times.At the Toy Museum, we make extensive use of Kiso wood not only in construction but also in interiors and furniture.
The Toy Museum is a place where visitors can learn about and experience the beauty and value of wood. It is also a place where visitors can learn about "Mokuiku" and how to look after the natural world and be more sustainable.

Making Memories Through Hands-On Crafting!

Woodworking experience

As well as offering woodworking experiences inside the toy museum, a new woodworking workshop is being set up together with the museum. The workshop is being developed as a new centre for the promotion of woodworking, not only for the production of toys for use in the toy museum, but also for the transmission of the reliable woodworking skills that have been cultivated over many years both within and outside the prefecture.