Great museum and friendly staff. The tsunami room is extremely interesting.

It was closed despite being open according to google

They recovered a goddess statue that had been abandoned during the town's redevelopment. Some people were disrespectful, but others preserved it like this, which was a relief. It is a valuable presence for the community, bringing together a science center, art museum, museum, planetarium, and more. Artworks by artists from the area or with connections to it are regularly rotated on display. This might be the place to visit on a rainy day. Considering future financial circumstances, it may be a facility worth seeing while you still can. There is a bus service roughly once every 1 hour from Kitami Bus Terminal and the city center (as of 2026/7). On a nice day, coming for a walk in the adjoining park is also an option.

A museum, science center, planetarium… there are loads of exhibits. ￥1600 for the combined package of both cannot be called cheap. The exhibits are quite old too. The cutaway car model is interesting, but it is a carburetor car from the Showa era. It is in classic-car territory. Since it was a weekday afternoon, there were few visitors, and it seemed a good way to pass the time if you wanted to look around leisurely. Provided you are interested, of course. I had the planetarium all to myself. It was also long, at 50 minutes, and the content was interesting. The facility is large, and I do not think it breaks even. The budget must be tight too. I worry about its future.

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Although it calls itself a cultural center, it is essentially a combined art museum, museum, and science center. Of these, the art museum (art corner) mainly displays works from its own collection. The exhibition space is not very large. (A separate special exhibition was being held on 2F for an additional fee.) At the science center, you can try various scientific experiments. It somehow has a Showa-era feel, but the visiting families with children seemed to be enjoying themselves reasonably well. Of what I saw, the museum was the most worthwhile. Kitami's geography, nature, history, culture, and more are presented compactly. The history of settlement from the Meiji era onward is particularly thought-provoking in various ways. I thought the permanent exhibition fee of 660 yen (the planetarium costs extra) might be a little high, but considering that it covers the content of 3 museums, it may be reasonable.

+3