Nice sculpture museum. It’s very small but affordable. Students are free and adults are Y300 (~$2.15). We spent about 30-40 min. Building is beautiful and exhibits are impressive. Asahikawa doesn’t have much in the way of tourist attractions outside of the zoo, but this one of the few. It’s worth going just for the building itself.
Nice place to visit if you are in Asahikawa!
It's a combination of science and fun, mostly for kids! Warning, lots of kids!!!!
I really didn't expect the place to be this crowded and full of kids! I thought it's a museum only but it turns out that it's a fun type museum Japanese style I guess!
If you like to explore Japanese ideas then this is a great place to visit.
Not sure if there are any actual classes as the second floor looks like a school with classes for wood works and other interesting stuff!
First visit, October 11, 2025. Teijiro Nakahara (1888, October 4, 1921 - January 7, 1921) was one of Japan's leading sculptors of the Taisho period. Born in Kushiro, Nakahara disliked his overly strict father and voluntarily moved to Asahikawa with his mother in 1897 to be adopted by his maternal uncle and aunt. He later enrolled in Hokkaido Prefectural Sapporo Junior High School (now Sapporo Minami High School) with the goal of becoming a doctor, but after failing and dropping out in his third year, he moved to Tokyo to study painting. However, due to the high cost of paints, he gave up painting and turned to sculpture. He created 25 works throughout his life until he died at the age of 32 from acute uremia caused by overwork. Excluding some that he was never satisfied with and destroyed himself, all 12 of his remaining works are on display at the Nakahara Teijiro Memorial Asahikawa Sculpture Museum.
In 1962 (Showa 37), more than 40 years after Nakahara Teijiro's death, Teijiro's works found their way to Asahikawa thanks to the efforts of his friend and sculptor, Hirakushi Denchu, who was the model for his posthumous sculpture, the Hirakushi Denchu Statue (they had been creating portraits of each other), as well as Kato Akikiyo, who had experience as a substitute teacher in Asahikawa and was influenced by Teijiro to become a sculptor himself. On May 24, 1927, Ryunosuke Akutagawa gave a lecture titled "One Aspect of Poe" at the former Niigata High School (now Niigata University). He viewed the "Young Caucasian" exhibit at the school and later wrote in his travelogue "Tohoku, Hokkaido, Niigata": "Niigata High School, who knows? Is there anyone who falls in love with this bronze 'Young Man' by Nakahara Teijiro? This young man is still alive!" (Niigata is a place with ties to Teijiro's wife, Makoto, and Niigata University is said to have three of this statue: the original and two replicas.)
Photography is permitted inside and outside the museum building, as well as the outdoor sculptures, but photography of the artworks inside is prohibited. Please take the time to burn the image into your eyes and mind.
By the way, this building, the "Old Asahikawa Kaikosha," was designated as an Important Cultural Property (Structure) by the nation on May 19, 1989, and underwent a major renovation from 2012 (H24) to 2017 (H29), where it was partially demolished and then restored with earthquake reinforcement and other necessary repairs. The building itself is also very popular, with the occasional tourist arriving by taxi.
