🗺️ Azumino Chihiro Art Museum

Tomohiro Iwasaki is a picture book artist who continuously prays for the happiness and peace of children. In her spiritual home, Azumino, one can see the works of Tomohiro and picture book artists from around the world. The Iwasaki Museum not only preserves the works of Japanese picture book artists like Tomohiro Iwasaki but also collects works from a total of 35 countries and regions, including Europe, Asia, Eastern Europe, South America, and Africa, featuring approximately 27,400 pieces by 221 artists. This is the world's first museum dedicated to collecting original manuscripts of picture books as fine art, making it widely renowned. The Azumino Tomohiro Museum opened in 1997 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Tokyo Tomohiro Museum. Shinshu is the birthplace of Tomohiro's parents and a place she has visited multiple times to leave her manuscripts. The museum hosts various exhibitions and events throughout the year, making it an ideal place to visit with children, allowing them to fully experience the joy of visiting a museum for the first time. Surrounding the museum, one can see the Northern Alps and the expansive Azumino Tomohiro Park. The "train classroom" featured in the famous picture book "Madeline" (written by the museum's director, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi), is also recreated here in the "Madeline Square."

The world's first museum dedicated to collecting original manuscripts of picture books as art pieces has gained widespread fame. It features a café and a museum shop. There is also a nursing room and services for borrowing baby strollers, making it very convenient to visit with young children.