teshikaga town kussharo kotan ainu folklore museum

If you drive past the onsens, out to Rt. 243, you will see a pretty distinct cement building. We were curious and found it was a museum for Ainu culture and were excited to go in because we wanted to learn more about Ainu culture. The museum is small and has some interesting Ainu artifacts. You can also embroidery your own Ainu style bookmark. Admission is 420 yen. A tiny and very friendly lady at the gate told us if we hurry, we could catch the film on Ainu culture. We watched it in Japanese, it was fine, boring in parts, but showed how Ainu people live today, how they made their clothes, other anthropological stuff. We left the viewing room, looked at artifacts, beautifully carved tools, embroidered dresses and chatted with the friendly lady. Then, she found out that I was from the U.S. and asked us if we wanted to see the English version. It was a completely different film. THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE MUSEUM WORTH IT. It was a heartbreaking look into the history of the Ainu and how their lands, livelihood and culture were taken away. I was so upset and angry after watching. It was really moving and truly educational. If you care to learn about the people who were originally in Hokkaido, it is worthwhile coming here.

集落と言うより、店と食堂の集まりです。巨大なトーテムポールや木彫りの壁飾りなどもあり、見ていて楽しいところですが、それ以上何もありません。駐車場代が無料なのが、プラス。

アイヌ民族の伝統衣装があるのですが、それがとても立派です。見事なアイヌ文様の刺繍です。一見の価値あり。新千歳空港で販売用に展示されていますが、すごく高いです。

期待以上の感動は特になかったが、それなりに楽しむことはできました。上映されたビデオは面白かった。建物と周辺の調和はとても良い雰囲気です。

屈斜路湖畔にある雰囲気のある資料館です。アイヌの衣装を無料で切ることができました。ビデオによる説明もあって、興味深かったです。

見るからに小さい建物なので、大きな期待はしていませんでしたが展示品も少なく、ビデオも「現代に生きるアイヌ」とでも言う内容だけで、歴史や文化への言及は一切無し。途中で出ました。アイヌの歴史や文化、それに生活、習慣、制度等に触れたかった者としてはがっかりです。