🗺️ Iwaki City Coal Fossil Museum HORURU

The Iwaki City Coal Fossil Museum, known as HORURU, opened in 1984 and is a museum that introduces fossils and the history and culture of coal mining closely related to Iwaki. It reopened in 2010, and through a public solicitation activity, "HORURU" was selected as the museum's nickname. The museum is broadly divided into a fossil exhibition room and a coal exhibition room. Upon entering the museum, the first thing that catches the eye is the restored skeletal specimen of the plesiosaur "Futaba Suzumurasaurus." This dinosaur was discovered in 1968 by a high school student in Iwaki and became a catalyst for the dinosaur craze. The exhibition uses sound and lighting effects to make the fossils of dinosaurs and large mammals appear lifelike. Iwaki is part of the "Joban Coalfield," and the coal mining industry continued until about 50 years ago. In the coal exhibition room, in addition to specimen data and images, miner dolls and simulated tunnels are used to realistically recreate the coal mining environment of the time, allowing visitors to experience the working conditions as if they were there. The museum's garden preserves the tunnel entrance from when Emperor Showa inspected the Yumoto No. 6 mine in 1947, as well as artifacts such as the D51 steam locomotive and coal mining equipment from that era.

Exhibit of the restored skeletal specimen of the plesiosaur "Futaba Suzukisaurus" discovered in Iwaki City. The Futaba Suzukisaurus is the prototype for the dinosaur "Pipizuke" that appears in the movie Doraemon. On Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and during school long vacations, the museum will also hold experiential activities to create specimens using real chrysanthemum fossils.