Oya History Museum
The Otani Museum is a place where you can learn about the history of the extraction of Otani stone. The exhibition hall showcases tools and mining methods from the hand-mining era, which lasted from the mid-Edo period to around Showa 34, as well as the evolution of transportation methods. The museum's main attraction is the underground mining site. Spanning an expansive area of 20,000 square meters, it reaches a depth of 30 meters, and in the deepest parts, it extends to 60 meters underground, with an average annual temperature of around 8°C. Approximately 10 million stones were extracted from this site. Today, this gigantic underground space is also used for concerts, theater performances, shows, and Noh plays.
Basic Information
- Spot Name
- Oya History Museum
- Location
- 〒321-0345 909 Ooya-cho, Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
- Access
- From JR Utsunomiya Station West Exit, take the Kanto Bus bound for Tachiwa for about 30 minutes and get off at "Shiryokan Iriguchi," then walk for about 5 minutes. It takes about 15 minutes from the Utsunomiya IC on the Tohoku Expressway.
- Parking
- 200 cars
- Business Hours
- April to November / 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Last admission at 4:30 PM)
December to March / 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM (Last admission at 4:00 PM) - Regular Holiday
- Closed from December to March on every Tuesday (if Tuesday is a holiday, it will be closed the following day). Closed for the New Year's holiday from December 26 to January 1.
- Fees
- Adults: 800 yen, Children (elementary and junior high school students): 400 yen.
- Contact Information
- Phone Number：028-652-1232
- Official Website
