Over the course of 50 years, ShÅji Hayama collected rocks that looked like they had faces. Originally, he began gathering them to sell them in nearby Tokyo, but some were just too epic to part with. So he opened a museum to display them in his rural town instead!
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Now, Chinsekikan has more than 1,700 unique rocks with wonderful expressions, and the collection is growing all the time thanks to his daughter Yoshiko!
ShÅji owned and operated the museum until 2010, when he passed away at 89 years old. At that point, Yoshiko took over the masterpiece to honor her dad’s memory.
In addition to keeping the museum running, she goes out on a regular basis to hunt down more rocks for the family collection.
She’s not the only one contributing new pieces to the ever-growing supply either! These days, she gets deliveries from fans all around the world! When they stumble across these interesting works of art, they can’t resist making the museum even better.
Just like humans, every rock has its own look, although some of them tend to mimic famous people. For example, Chinsekikan has a rock that looks like Elvis Presley!
There are also some that look like the famous pirate Jack Sparrow, Donald Trump (complete with his signature yellow hair), and even E.T.
We can’t say we’re surprised that Chinsekikan is the only museum in the world that specializes in rocks with faces. But despite its small size and niche, many tourists make the trip from Tokyo to see the unforgettable collection in person.
Yoshiko hopes to keep the museum up and running for as long as possible. Not only does it keep her dad’s memory alive, but she also really enjoys hunting for new rocks and meeting the strangers who are willing to travel so far to see the collection!
Learn more about Yoshiko and Chinsekikan in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story to make someone smile.
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