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I visited the Yamazaki Mazak Machine Tool Museum (Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture)

宮元一賢⌬Miyamol

I heard there was a museum exhibiting machine tools, so I went to check it out. It's right near the Minokamo Interchange. If you're wondering what a machine tool is, you'll understand once you see it. There's a huge factory nearby, and if you follow the signs at the entrance...

Wait... is this the museum?

As you can tell from the size of the door, isn't it tiny????

You might think that, but actually, this is just the entrance; the museum is underground.

The admission fee is about 500 yen for adults (please check the website for details).

It seems you can also experience manufacturing if you make a reservation or time your visit right. I didn't do it this time, but I'd like to try it again.

Now, let's take a look.

The second basement floor is the exhibition room. Photography is also allowed.

The world's oldest lathe (over 2,000 years old)
A bow lathe using a string and a rod

It starts with historical exhibits of machine tools. Yes, machine tools are 'machines that make machines.' It's surprising that lathes have existed for over 2,000 years.


The impressive D51

While I was saying things like that, modernization progressed, and I reached the zone where the D51 is exhibited. I don't think there are many places that preserve a D51 in such good condition indoors... It seems they were able to secure this much space because the museum was built by renovating an underground factory.

You can climb aboard!

Not only can you climb inside, but you can also sound the steam whistle!


What a great font...

The order of the photos is a bit mixed up, but I'll keep looking through them.

Line shaft factory: In an era when power sources were limited, this was used to transmit the rotation of a single shaft to multiple machine tools via belts.


A Ford Model T! It's amazing to see it this close up.
There's also something like a history of machine evolution...


A phonograph invented by Edison (I think?)
There are also many machine tools from about 100 years ago.
There's even an experience zone where you can check the difference in height!
The museum, which used to be a factory, is larger than I imagined and houses some amazing things.
The way the machines operate is introduced on screens and the like.
Pendulum clock
Treadle lathe
Gear cutting machine
The era when programming became possible with punched tape


It has become much more modernized
Pencil sharpener
It's incredibly huge. The replacement bits are also huge.
Machining center. I could watch it forever.


Machine that cuts with a laser
Our dear mobile phone...
It is a masterpiece.
The ruggedness of the cast iron from about 100 years ago is also irresistible.


It is a museum located underground like this.
I heard they are also developing robots...


Furthermore, there is a no-photography zone on the first basement floor. It might be restricted because you can see the factory floor. You should definitely go there.


In the no-photography zone, there is an attraction where a giant robot arm endlessly plays rock-paper-scissors with visitors. Honestly, the museum was empty that day, so I was the only one on that floor, but the robot was just playing rock-paper-scissors endlessly, without stopping... Never being photographed or filmed, never being exposed to the world or becoming a topic of conversation, just playing rock-paper-scissors even when there are no customers... It almost made me cry, so I played rock-paper-scissors with it (I lost).


For those of you asking if there are any souvenirs, here you go.

This plastic model costs a little over 4,000 yen, but you can only buy it here. Also, it comes with a catalog that is worth it on its own.

Besides that, there are some other souvenirs like postcards and such.

Eating and drinking are prohibited inside the museum, but there are vending machines and such in the rest area. I went during the so-called summer vacation, but I was able to relax quite a bit, so I think it's a hidden gem. Everyone, please go visit.

[Opening Hours]
10:00 - 16:30
[Closed]
Mondays and year-end/New Year holidays
[Admission Fee]
Adults: 500 yen/person
High school/University students: 300 yen/person
Elementary/Junior high school students: 200 yen/person