Omuta Coal Industry and Science Museum

Omuta was a prosperous mining town around the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine. This museum shares the history surrounding coal from hand digging time through the automated, energy-saving modern era. You can have fun learning the history of the coal industry which has supported Japan’s modern development behind the scenes. There is information on Miike Coal Mine as well as hands-on corners.

Dynamic Tunnel, a recreated coal tunnel, is a must-see. You can experience how things work in the mine 400m underground - the giant cutter that digs up coal and the electric locomotive to carry the coal are quite powerful.

In 2015, “Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining (UNESCO),” including Miike Coal Mine and related properties, were registered as a world cultural heritage. The science museum has a role as a guide facility in this area and a corner is set up that explains the Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution.

Also, there are videos on the history and events of the mining town Omuta described by witnesses, and a movie about the industrial heritage in the area and the history of the mine.