Learn about Japan's geological history, see rock specimens and view an impressive jade collection

At the Fossa Magna Museum you can learn how Japan’s chain of nearly 7,000 islands came to be. This museum is part of Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark. Two massive fault lines—the Fossa Magna and the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line—run through the park, in the middle of Japan’s main island of Honshu, dividing Japan into its eastern and western halves. These fault lines are fissures created when the Japanese archipelago separated from the Asian mainland around 26 million years ago.

Look through the museum’s many exhibits featuring local geology, fossils, and rock specimens, including a stunning collection of jade found along Itoigawa's rivers and coasts. In 2016, jade was selected as the national stone of Japan. Enjoy projection maps of Itoigawa Global Geopark's topography on the floor and wall.