This small museum is included with the ticket to the Hida Great Limestone Cave. It features a decent collection of antiques and historical items spread across two floors. The exhibits are quite simple but interesting enough for a quick visit. It’s a nice little stop to browse through before heading into the cave, giving a bit of cultural context to the area.
Impressive collection of expensive artwork. But I wonder how many elephants were killed to make all those gigantic ivory art pieces on display. You get the impression the owner must have been a real douchebag who loved to brag about his wealth.
Beautiful collection of antique stuff and fossils. A few jade decorative vases look exquisite. But there is not a single English or other language placard/information on display. There is no audio guide. Unless you know Japanese language, this trip is useless. Phones are also prohibited (no photos allowed), so could not use Google translator.
I visited the Ohashi Collection Museum, located next to the Hida Great Limestone Cave.
While it displays art and crafts collected from around the world, the most impressive exhibit was the "returned gold bars."
A gold bar robbery actually occurred at this location on March 18, 2007.
Approximately 100 kg of gold bars, worth about 200 million yen, were stolen in broad daylight by three men—a truly audacious crime.
The museum displays a collection of newspaper articles from the time, covering everything from the immediate aftermath of the incident to the arrest of the perpetrators and the resolution of the case. This allows visitors to not only see the gold bars but also learn about the entire sequence of events.
The newspaper articles detail how the perpetrators targeted a time when there were few people around, used a stolen car to escape, released footage of the perpetrators about a month later, and subsequently arrested the ringleaders and accomplices, ultimately leading to the case's resolution exactly one year later, on March 18, 2008.
However, the stolen gold bars were not returned in their original form.
They were melted down and divided by the perpetrators, and some had already been sold. Of the approximately 100 kg of gold bars, only 71.7 kg were recovered.
Currently, a portion of this recovered gold is on display.
The story of how a massive 100 kg gold bar was stolen, melted down, divided, and ultimately returned as 71.7 kg sounds like something out of a movie, but it's fascinating to think that this was a real incident that happened at this location.
While it's also enjoyable as a facility to view art and collections, personally, the exhibit on this gold bar heist left the biggest impression on me.
If you're visiting the Hida Great Limestone Cave, I highly recommend taking the time to explore the Ohashi Collection Museum as well.
Before entering the large limestone cave, you'll be greeted by the collection of Mr. Ohashi, who discovered it. Initially, seeing numerous Chinese antiques, I rudely asked a staff member, "Is this all just a display of Chinese items?" However, I was astonished by the countless precious treasures gathered from all over the world.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of priceless treasures on display. The most regrettable thing is that photography of the collection is prohibited. If I could show some of them here, I think many people would be interested in visiting.
More about Ohashi Collection Kan Museum from our blog
