Izu Hell Museum

Izu Hell Museum

MUSEUM

The Izu Hell Museum is a unique museum dedicated to educating visitors about Japanese views on Heaven, Hell and the Afterlife. You no longer need to wait until your near-death experience to know what the Japanese believe is coming up next!

There is also an “adult museum” connected to the building, for 18s and over. It features many items and artwork dedicated to adult themes.

The museum also has a large car park.

Review

The staff at the museum are very friendly and always willing to have a conversation, although their English is very basic. Most likely if they see you are foreign they will ask what country you come from. It’s rare that they get foreign visitors so they’re always happy to see new faces. Ensure to get the English pamphlet available as it will explain in detail about all you will see in the museum. Buying your tickets is also very easy as they have something you can point to at the desk. Just make sure to let them know if you want the combined ticket or not.

Even if you don’t speak Japanese, they will bring you to the first room to give you the basic rundown of what happens (completely in Japanese). Even for people who speak Japanese, this may be a little difficult to understand due to the terminology. They will point at the board while explaining and basically there are different levels of hell that you would need to go through (each with their own different way of torturing). The explanation is interesting but even if you don’t understand it’s ok. The English pamphlet they give you will explain it all in more detail. I think they just do this anyway as it’s part of their job so don’t feel bad if you don’t understand.

After the speech they leave you to your own devices. Walk up the stairs to view the different exhibits, most of which have signs in English. They will show the different levels of hell and what kind of torture to expect at each stage. Later on there is also an area with Enma (the god of hell who judges whether or not you go to Heaven or Hell). They have provided a guest book here where you’re supposed to confess your sin (a representation of what actually happens in front of Enma). Writing in English is perfectly ok!

When you walk downstairs you come across some bells to your left. You’re supposed to ring these to “get rid of” the sins they represent, almost like you’re cleansing your body. At the end there is a display on the Buddhist Heaven. In this room there are also many artifacts dedicated to the Buddhist beliefs. Feel free to touch and of the books/parchment in the room. I’m not sure if they will try to explain in English but when I went they told me the books are made from an old type of paper which make them feel really weird. They highly encourage you to flick through them and feel the difference. There is also a small store before the exit where you can purchase Enma/Hell-themed goods.

The adult museum is to the side of the building, up some old stairs. Don’t be alarmed by how graphic everything is. Japanese people don’t tend to censor anything for over 18s. There are a lot of paintings/statues of adult themes.

ADDRESS

Izu Hell Museum,
370-1 Shimofunabara,
Izu City,
Shizuoka Prefecture,
410-3214

+81558870253 (Japanese only)
http://izu-gokurakuen.com/ (Japanese only)

RECOMMENDED ROUTE:

The Izu Hell Museum is easiest to get to by car as public transport on the West side of Izu can be quite sporadic. If you’re travelling by public transport then take the train from Mishima to Shuzenji on the Izu Hakone Tetsudo Line. Switch to the bus bound for Matsuzaki (松崎) and get off at Hozoinzen. It takes around 23 minutes, ￥530 each way and there are 1-2 buses per hour.