Kawaguchi-ko Music Forest, Musical instrument museum at Lake Kawaguchi, Japan
Kawaguchi-ko Music Forest is an art museum and musical instrument museum on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, displaying a collection of European music boxes and self-playing mechanical instruments. The exhibits are spread across several buildings on a landscaped grounds with a view of Mount Fuji.
The museum opened in 1999 and focuses on antique mechanical instruments that were made and used in Europe before the age of sound recording. Most pieces in the collection date from the 19th and early 20th centuries, when these devices were the only way to reproduce music at home.
The museum houses the largest dance organ in Japan, which performs daily in a hall designed with European architectural details. Hearing it play gives visitors a sense of what music sounded like before recordings existed.
Daily concerts with the mechanical instruments run at set times, so it is worth checking the schedule before arriving to make sure you catch at least one. The grounds are walkable and most areas are accessible without difficulty.
On weekends, visitors can join workshops where they build their own music box using traditional mechanisms. This hands-on activity shows from the inside how these devices actually work, which is something the display cases alone cannot convey.
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