Nawa Insect Museum, Entomological museum in Gifu Park, Japan
The Nawa Insect Museum houses around 300,000 specimens representing roughly 12,000 species from multiple continents. The collection includes beetles, butterflies, moths, hornets, dragonflies, and various arachnids organized throughout its rooms.
Yasushi Nawa founded this museum in 1919 after establishing the Nawa Insect Research Center in 1896. It became the first insect museum in Japan, marking an important moment in the country's study of insects.
The building shows early 20th-century Western design that visitors notice as they walk through the rooms. The classical layout and style create an atmosphere that reflects the period when it was built.
The museum is located in Gifu Park and is easiest to reach by bus from the train station. Plan to spend at least one to two hours here to comfortably walk through the different display areas.
The collection includes owl butterflies with wing patterns that look like owl faces and blue morpho butterflies with a metallic sheen. These distinctive insects stand out immediately when you stop to look at their display cases.
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