Deeper into the Japan trip, my friends and I took a bullet train to the small town of Fukui. Tokyo was not the easiest place to get around, but was cosmopolitan enough that a non-native speaker like myself could figure things out. Fukui on the other hand was a real challenge! We stayed at a tiny traditional hotel with sliding rice paper doors and were barely able to arrange a cab ride to the Fukui Dinosaur Museum. The driver spoke almost no English, but agreed to meet us back at the museum’s entrance at exactly 3 PM. Had we not successfully reconnected with him, I might still be wandering the fields of Japan to this day. All the risk was worth it though. The Fukui Museum is, without a doubt, one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s shaped like a giant silver dinosaur egg which you can from miles away as you drive towards it. Upon entering, you take an escalator down to the bottom level into a colorful world of dinosaur skeletons and animatronics. Then you slowly wind your way back up to the top of the sphere, seeing more amazing exhibits along the way. The Stegosaur here is a Hesperosaurus, which you may remember from previous entries is a close cousin of Stegosaurus with slightly rounder back plates. I only know of six skeleton mounts of this species in the world. Thankfully, this is as far as I will have to travel to see any of them!
Fukui, JAPAN – Fukui Dinosaur Museum
