The other day I went to the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo. It's strange to me for this type of museum (a natural history museum) to feel so small, but it does. The moment you enter it, there's this sense of isolation and smallness. Not that it has a small collection, or a small building, really, but it just feels sort of small anyway. Maybe it's the way you walk around the museum in a spiral starting from the third floor, passing large, grainy columns. Or maybe it's just that there weren't that many people there that day.
In any case, here are some of my favourite things from the museum.
Firstly, the bugs. The museum has some really cool insect displays, but these rows of iridescent beetles are the greatest. Look at them shine! Bugs are jewels.
Secondly, the crab displays. This section of the museum is arranged so that the beetles sit next to a colourful box of labelled shells, and the shells in turn sit next to a box of labelled, varied, and distinguished crabs. I love the very spindly one, and the one on the bottom right of that first image with a lovely paintbrush blob of rich sky blue.
What could possibly be third but the ammonites? The ammonite room was stunning, filled head to toe with big beefy ammonites, but I particularly liked this cluster. A simple, perfect pile of ancient guys.
I also thought this sundial was beautiful and cool. It was made in Korea, and you know, it's a simple fact that any sundial should also be a funny little guy. We all know this.
Next, these interesting Japanese inro pocketwatches. These were made to attach to kimonos with little toggles or netsuke (tiny, ornate sculptures that are often likened to cufflinks). I just really like the sort of boxy things that people liked to attach to a kimono.
Finally, chickens. These sweet birds are roosting on top of a clock. As they should.
