Little World of Man

Japanese Required: Moderate

Cost: 1,600 for adults and college students, 1000 for high school students, 600 for junior high, and 300 for children
Recommended for: groups, families, history buffs, people interested in eating food from different cultures

On one of my many attempts to visit Inuyama castle, I ended up at the little world museum of man. First off, let me say that I have no idea why, whenever I suggest visiting Inuyama castle, my friends always have some place in Inuyama that is "better."  According to H, it’s not worth visiting because  it's small, other castles are more interesting, and so on and so forth. Let’s see... I’ve been to Ukai fishing, water rafting, and the little world museum of man and outdoor museum of man throughout time.

The place is massive, so be ready to walk around a lot in order to see everything the place has to offer. Most of the outside exhibits are buildings showing how people lived in the past or small patches of flowers, which are lovely if you go when they are in bloom and do not allergies but not really impressive when compared to gardens you can see more conveniently elsewhere. The main reason I would suggest doing the walkabout outside is to experience food from many different cultures. Bring an appetite - there's at least five restaurants. The traditional exhibit halls were rather unimpressive to me with the exception of the hall of masks.

I really enjoyed variety in masks between cultures even though many of them revolved around the same ideas: demons, spirits, and gods. Looking at the make of the masks helped me feel like I was more truly connecting to the cultural and spiritual aspects of by-gone eras. Even with the same materials used (wood, most commonly), the textures and chosen colors and effects had such diversity that it was hard to believe that the masks and statuettes came from the same stuff. It gave me perspective that even with the same ideas, every person will have a different way to represent it.

All in all it wasn’t a bad of an experience and, if you know what to expect, can be quite enjoyable. I had the misfortune of going after eating a big meal. Don't make the same mistake I did! I think this is a good place for families, groups or exploring on your own if you have a day to kill and don’t want to spend all that much money.