Mizu no Kuni, Water science museum in Gōtsu, Japan.
Mizu no Kuni is a water science museum in Gotsu that combines contemporary art installations with interactive scientific demonstrations. The exhibitions use light, sound, and sculptures to explore different aspects and properties of water.
The facility opened in 1997, when the area was still Sakurae Town, as a park with a water-themed museum, built alongside the forest park Kaze no Kuni. It closed in 2018 and was permanently shut at the end of March 2025 after no private buyer was found.
The mini-theatre screened films on the four seasons and culture of the former Sakurae town and on the kappa (saru-gami) legend, the town's symbol. A separate memorial hall honoured film director Muneo Matsubayashi, a Sakurae native. The museum closed at the end of March 2025.
The museum closed at the end of March 2025 and has been shut since 2018, so it cannot be visited. The site stands by the Gonokawa in the former Sakuragi town area; by rail it was reached from Kawado Station on the JR Sanki line, about ten minutes by taxi, and by car about 40 minutes from the Oasa interchange via Route 261.
The design by Takano Design Produce treats the exhibition hall as Noah's Ark resting on Mount Ararat, with the 2,150-square-metre artificial pond standing in for the flood waters. This concept earned the site the Grand Prize at the 5th Shimane Landscape Awards.
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