Collectibles

As a reward for all the hard work Theo has put in learning to ride his bike, I decided to take the boys on a trip to the Fukuyama Auto and Clock Museum (FACM) on Shūbun no Hi, or Autumnal Equinox Day. The last time we went there was over 2 years ago (I can't believe how fast the time has gone!) and wrote a post about it here. I absolutely love this museum and could spend hours looking on every shelf, corner, nook, and cranny at the random assortment of antiques they contain.

The boys of course love being at a museum where they are actually allowed to touch most things and take the vehicles for a "drive".

And I discovered my dream car: a 1949 Jeepster. It was so comfortable inside and everything was just the right size. I also loved that you had to crawl over the side of the car into the back seat. 

My mother insists that collecting things is a sign of intelligence and that you can add one point to your IQ for every collection you own. If there is any scientific credibility to that at all, the person who owns the FACM must be a genius. I tried to take a photo of every collection he had on display until my camera ran out of batteries. I then switched to taking photos with my phone for the rest of the collections. Now looking at them I realize that there are just far too many to post here so instead here is a list:

Clocks

Clock works

Old cars

Old motorcycles

Wax figures

Player pianos

Gravestone rubbings

Airplanes

Old optometry equipment

Children's party favours and prizes from the 1950's and 60's

Antique gas stoves 

Antique space heaters

Televisions

Radios

Victrolas and Phonographs

Cylinder records

Light bulbs

Typewriters

Cash registers

Telephones

Printing presses and mimeographs

Slide projectors and video recording equipment

Sewing machines

Pre war era metal lunch boxes, kitchen tins, and other kitchen goods

Tea pots

Irons

Carved and decorative light fixtures and lanterns

Oil lamps and gas lanterns

Rocking horses

Guns

Bullets and black powder pouches

Model railroad trains

Metal toy buses and other antique toys

World War II memorabilia and propaganda posters

Cameras

State flags

Sombreros

License plates

Water wheels

Antique vacuum cleaners

Antique coal and electric kotatsu 

And a few photos so you can get a feel for how these things are crammed in willy-nilly into display cases, on walls, shelves, or just stuck into the back of some of the old pick up trucks. 

The man who owns this museum owns a lot of property and business in and around Fukuyama City. As far as I know, the museum is just a display of his hobby and obsession with collecting and preserving the past. Tucked into one corner of the museum is a model of an old Japanese house that you can explore.

A view of the toilet cubicles. There was a sliding door separating the urinal and sink room and the squat toilet.

A close up of the under toilet catch basin. The chute on the left hand side leads from the urinal in the next room. 

 The kitchen area

Next to the toilet room is a rocket stove built into the floor and wall.

set into the space behind the stove was a large metal basin. I am not sure if this was for clothes washing, bathing, or just storing warm water.

Next to that was a washing area with a sink, clothes wringer, and refrigerator.

And lastly, the extremely tiny, 4 tatami size family room.

I found this display especially fascinating. I loved walking through imagining what it would be like to live every day with my family in this tiny space, cooking on the wood stove and cleaning out the little pit under the toilet every day. I can't say I really relish the thought.

After three hours of exploring we left the museum only to spend another 30 minutes wandering around the parking lot where there was a bit of overflow of larger items, like a metal steam engine, a giant waterwheel and koi pond. 

I can't recommend this museum enough to anyone with even a slight love of history or any of the many, many collections that this museum houses. If you live in Fukuyama or ever come to Fukuyama make sure you check it out!

Auto and Clock Museum

Here is something I should have written about long ago, but it's better late than never. In the end of February, we went to the Fukuyama Auto and Clock museum which is extremely close to our apartment. We bike past it at least once a week and finally decided to stop and take a peek inside.

One of three large rooms stuffed with awesome junk

It turned out to be a fantastic collection of odds and ends which provided a fun afternoon for the whole family. I got the feeling that the museum was started by a highly organized hoarder who decided to justify his obsessions by charging people admission to poke through his assorted junk. There was a collection of player pianos, street organs, rice cookers from the turn of the century to present, dozens and dozens of rocking horses, sombreros, old fashioned toys, WWII memorabilia, wax work figures, old painted squat toilets, old airplanes, and of course a large assortment of automobiles and clocks. 

The best part about it all was that they allowed and encouraged the kids to touch, climb, play, and get into everything. Who am I kidding? I had just as much fun running around exploring. Being surrounded by all that history really made me get a sense of what it would have been like to live in Japan 50 or more years ago. It was a really neat time warp-like sensation.

Trying out the old motorcycle fire engine

 It was surprising to me that a car which looked so tiny from the outside provided more than enough head and leg room.

 Super creepy wax figures of very random famous people.

Giving Theo a ride on a rickshaw

Me and my buddy James Dean

Getting a ride in the '50s  three wheeled motorcycle taxi. 

Speedy Gonzales

I am so glad that the days of the two of them driving around together and getting up to no good are far, far in the distance.

For now, they are happier going for these kinds of rides:

We all had an amazing time at the museum and highly recommend it to anyone traveling in Fukuyama, especially with kids.