Sunday, February 7, 2021

The Mint Museum in Osaka - You Can Touch the Huge Bars of Real Gold and Silver with Your Hand!

Japan Mint in Osaka (大阪 造幣局)

        As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I visited Osaka in December, 2019. This time, we decided to go to Mint Museum (造幣博物館) in Osaka. Even though we used to live in Osaka for years, this was our first time to visit there. Japan Mint, Osaka Zouheikyoku (大阪 造幣局), is the place where Japanese coins has been officially made at since 1871. I was surprised that you can visit the Mint Museum and the Mint Tour, the coin factory tour (工場見学), for free. Yes, it's FREE! This time, we didn't visit for Mint Tour, but someday I would like to join the tour! (There is no parking space for visitors, so be sure to use taxi, or public transportation. We went to this place on foot from our hotel.) 

The reservations are not required. However, if you want to visit there with a group of 10 or more people, you must make a reservation for it.
Admission Fee : Free
Hour : 9 a.m through 4:45 p.m. (last entry at 4 p.m.)

 
The reservations are required.
Admission Fee : Free
Open : Monday through Friday
Tour Hour (90 minutes) : 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 1:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m.
Minimum and Maximum People : 1 to 100 people for each tour.

 

      Due to coronavirus, the operations may have been changed. If you want to visit the Japan Mint, I recommend you to visit after the cornavirus subsides. You should always check their official site for the latest information before visiting there. 

The Mint Museum in Osaka (大阪 造幣博物館)
      The Mint Museum is very poplar place to see cherry blossoms. It's called Sakura no Torinuke (桜の通り抜け). If you visit there in cherry blossom season, you will be amazed at how beautiful this place is. 

The Mint Museum
1 Chome-1-79 Tenma,
Kita Ward, Osaka, 530-0043, 
Japan

The Mint Museum in Osaka (大阪 造幣博物館)

 

 

 


 

  

    When we visited the Mint Museum, there were only few people who looked like young men. I guessed that they were probably avid coin lovers. 😁






 

You Can Touch the Huge Bars of Real Gold and Silver with Your Hand! 

We were able to touch real gold and silver with our hands!

     At this museum, you can touch real huge gold and silver with your hand! At that time, the value of the gold we touched with our hands was 83,240,000 yen, which was equivalent to $792,000, and the silver was 2,070,000 yen, which was equivalent to $19,710! The gold price has been increasing since we visited there, so now its value is $940,634. 😵

 


 

     

 

 You Can See the Real Oban (大判) and Koban (小判)!

Koban (小判)
       At the museum, I was very interested in the real oban (大判) and koban (小判), which are old gold coin plates. The first oban was made in 1588, and the first koban was made in 1601. I've seen oban and koban in old Japanese folk stories such as Hanasaka Jiisan (はなさかじいさん) and old sumrai drama series such as Toyama no Kin San (遠山の金さん), but it was my first time to see the real ones! "The oban and koban really existed!" 😲   
Oban (大判)
        People in those old eras had already known that gold was so valuable. I watched Japanese TV show which said that the present value of one plate of the rarest oban is estimated over 100,000,000 yen, which is equivalent to a million dollars.

How People in Old Era Made Oban and Koban
     I was also interested in how people in old era made oban and koban.

How People in Old Era Made Oban and Koban

How People in Old Era Made Oban and Koban

I drew this mouse carrying a koban.
       A few week before visiting the Mint Museum, I drew this mouse carrying a koban for negajo for my readers. I couldn't believe that I could see the real koban in Japan!
 

The Mint Museum Booklet

      We were also able to see more of old Japanese coins and very rare coins at this museum. Actually, some of them were same vintage coins his late grandmother had given to him when he had been a young boy. In my previous entry, I wrote that we would sell them in the U.S. Indeed, we sold most of his Japanese vintage coins and bills on eBay. We are not coin collectors but really enjoyed this Mint Museum because of his grandmother!    


Mint Shop, the Souvenir Store at the Japan Mint

Souvenir Medal (造幣局本局 見学記念メダル)
      There was Mint Shop, the souvenir store at the Japan Mint. It's located next to the main gate of Japan Mint. There were very knowledgeable staffs who telling me the value of each coin and how they made those. This souvenir store was selling gold coins, silver coins, very limited coins and so on. 
Souvenir Medal (造幣局本局 見学記念メダル)
Hour : 9:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
Souvenir Medal (造幣局本局 見学記念メダル)

       At the Mint Shop, I purchased this souvenir medal for 500 yen.

Souvenir Medal (造幣局本局 見学記念メダル)
 

     Actually, before going to the Mint Museum, I hadn't expected that this place was so enjoyable. I really enjoyed and was satisfied with this museum. I still couldn't believe that it was free. The Japan Mint is a well known place for seeing beautiful cherry blossoms in spring. However, I thought that Mint Museum is one of must go to places in Osaka in all seasons. If you are interested in Japanese coins, I recommend you to visit Mint Museum.

 

     Next time, I will write about Abeno Harukas (あべのハルカス), which is one of the tallest skyscraper in Japan.

 
 

       These are my entries you might like. 
What I Ate at Snack Park - Hanshin Umeda Department Store in Osaka, Japan

Hotel Room Tour and Review - Conrad Osaka - Osaka, Japan

16 Best Japanese Beauty Products I Purchased in Japan - Drugstore, Discount Store, Daiso and Amazon Japan

Japanese Snack and Candy Haul - What I Purchased in Japan

Japanese Grocery Haul - What I Purchased at Supermarket, Department Stores and Kitano Ace in Japan

10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

Japanese Bread Haul - Shokupan, Melonpan, Anpan and More

7 Products I Purchased at Muji Store in Japan - Muji Haul
 
Starbucks Japan Geography Series City Tumbler - Osaka   

Top 3 My Favorite Delicious Souvenirs from Osaka

Top 5 Breakfast Restaurants around Tenjinbashi in Osaka, Japan


The Best Places to Eat in Tenjinbashi in Osaka   

Must Go to Places in Namba - Our Traveling in Osaka, Japan

10 Best Japanese Beauty Products on Amazon Japan, You Can Also Purchase Them at Drugstores in Japan



     My entries related to Osaka can be seen here.

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 

     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

 




No comments:

Post a Comment