Robot Museum in Nagoya, Japan: our first and last visit
Well, we couldn't let this monument to the bots we love go undocumented before the humans have to hit the kill switch, so this week we got our asses on the Shinkansen out to Nagoya, Japan in order to fulfill our androidiest electric-sheep dreams and hit up the museum before it's dismantled for parts. And none too soon, it turns out the museum actually closes its doors forever this Sunday. One day we will all pay for this.
Galleries below of the museum and its expansive robot shop -- be warned, over 150 photos of Robot Museum robots and exhibits and shopping await you. Read on for our thoughts about the museum.
Gallery: Robot Museum tour
Gallery: Robot Mirai Department tour
So the Robot Museum is organized into two sections: the museum area, and the Robot Mirai Department robot shop (or, as their sign says, "pay" and "free", although calling an expensive robot shop "free" is a little ironic). We'll get to the RMD in a sec...
So the first thing we did -- even before buying tickets -- is ask the attendant at the ticket sales booth whether the rumors of the museum's closure were actually true. She told us, with great disappointment, that it is indeed the case. The museum closes on the 30th, and everyone will have to find new jobs. (Now would be a good time for a really disrespectful joke about the irony of humans working for robots, or the robot museum's closure due to its lack of cheap robot labor.)
So you can probably imagine how bittersweet it was for these people to be showing all these children how to play with robots, knowing that it's one of the last times they'll get to inspire the wonderment only really great robots can. We asked whether there were any plans to reopen the museum later, but while it's not out of the question there are currently no plans in place for re-opening.
Things we absolutely loved: Scale Maria (from Metropolis), Segway training course, Robot Academy TK, robot animation studio, video of a little girl doing the robot, like, REALLY well
Robots and meatbags among the curiously absent (or otherwise not spotted by our imperfect human optical scanners): QRIO, KITT, Bender, Japanse robo-restaurants, David and Joe (from A.I.), busts or statues of Aasimov and / or Čapek.
On the store: TONS of robot stuff is for sale. Everything from paraphernalia (robot keychains, towels, shirts, etc.) to actual parts for repairing and maintaining your robots, to brand name robots (anyone want to drop over $2k on a Nuvo?). If you're able to get to Nagoya before the whole thing shuts down, head to the store fast! Lots of their stuff is two or three for one, or marked 30-70% off. (Sorry, almost all their expensive robots aren't on discount at all.)
Highlights: Finally getting to pet Paro, the Guinness-certified therapeutic seal.
Score: 9 / 10 articulating humanoid finger-claws - we started to tear up when we had to leave.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
riggs @ Sep 28th 2007 1:13PM
the consequences for these actions will be dire!
*hides in bunker*
Manny @ Sep 28th 2007 1:17PM
I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
ja$on @ Sep 28th 2007 1:19PM
BLEEP BLEEP
Samsam @ Sep 28th 2007 1:23PM
I just want to hug the orange one
Calviin @ Sep 28th 2007 2:44PM
Oh that one? That's the Killabot 2000. The head lifts up like a trashcan lid and it stuffs you inside where thousands upon thousands of tiny razors cut you down into a fine liquid. Very efficient, that one is. Yeah, give it a hug. Try it out.
steve @ Sep 28th 2007 1:34PM
The real reason why they're closing: The robots got tired of amusing you...
Dominic @ Sep 28th 2007 1:38PM
I am fairly certain it wasn't the first of its kind as their is a museum of robotics in Mountain View, California; near the Google campus.
oshean @ Sep 28th 2007 1:45PM
Why oh why are you closing?!!!! *cries*
How much for the whole museum? I'll buy it!
J @ Sep 28th 2007 2:05PM
"The distant future, the distant future..."
Holy crap, I had one of those Armtrons when I was a kid! Awesome-O!
Carl M @ Sep 28th 2007 2:16PM
But why did they call it "BOTM"?
:-)
apeguero @ Sep 28th 2007 2:36PM
YOOOHHH!!! This museum is the shizzle my nizzle! How I'd love to bring little apeguero there and show him a life-sized version of "Jet Marte" (that's Astroboy in Spanish ya'll). However though, I didn't see any pictures of that little robot owl from Clash of the Titans or even that robot from Buck Rogers. Anyway, looks like a really nice place.
apeguero @ Sep 28th 2007 3:00PM
Meh, WTH. I'll reply to my own post. I should have RTFA'd. I didn't know that this was closing. Too bad. Maybe it's now politically incorrect in Japan to have a Robot Museum. I mean with all of the robots over there and all...you know...eh, whatever.
Cassini @ Sep 28th 2007 2:42PM
That's too bad. Cool place. I wonder why they're closing their doors? Not enough business?
dudeman @ Sep 28th 2007 3:19PM
This is supremely sad. I was actually there during the 1st week of their grand opening October of last year. Bought a coffee mug, shirt, and hand-made robot keychains. NHK TV was on site doing a report. The human-size Mazinger Z brought back tons of memories. The self-guided tour of the museum section was over-priced but the iPod nano they provided (containing audio factoids) was a nice touch. Too bad I had to return it though. :) My condolences to the crew working at the soon-to-be-shut-down Robot Museum.
Donald @ Sep 28th 2007 3:55PM
Good night, sweet prince. ;_;
granny down east @ Sep 28th 2007 4:27PM
DO robots dream of electric sheep? Now we will never know.
...until they come for us...
HarrytheHood @ Sep 28th 2007 4:28PM
Having looked at all the photos I'm a little dissapointed, it's more a 'Museum of Robot Aesthetics and Toys' than actually being a serious place. I would have thought thought it would be more 'Science Museum' (the one in London) and less 'Hello Kitty', When you think about the history of industrial robots and the current level of sophistication of things like Asimo etc (yes I know it was there, but in about a 10:1 ratio with all the Otaku stuff) there must be all sorts of cool stuff you could fill that museum with...meh guess I'm in a minority.
DC @ Sep 28th 2007 4:46PM
Re: [We're pretty sure this means, "Because of your cheap, non-attending asses we're closing for good." Someone care to translate?]
The sign on the bottom says that the ticket prices are half priced until Sept 30th and that from Oct 1st on, the museum will be "temporarily" closed. The two signs above are notices of special exhibits.
Sirocco @ Sep 28th 2007 5:37PM
Oh, come on. Robots are so 20th century, you know, physical. The future will be spiritual, incorporeal, existential, supernatural. Transcendent.
Robbie Nakata @ Sep 28th 2007 6:22PM
Hey I've been there before! I dont speak any Japanese so they gave me a little handbook with poorly translated English that also was not in any sort of order. Defintly a waste of money and time, I'm glad its closing...
Anthony Huff @ Sep 28th 2007 6:29PM
I wish that orange robot in front of the museum was in my room.
Rad Hatter @ Sep 28th 2007 10:23PM
I went to that museum several weeks ago, and generally, it was a disappointing experience. The interactive part of the museum was pretty lame and had little if anything to do with robots, and many of the "robots" on display I or my friends had as toys when we were kids. But the main problem was the price: It was around $13 USD per person, and they wouldn't even let us take pictures of Asimo (as I learned the hard way when the Armatron claw forcefully removed my camera and crushed it in front of my very eyes...) The history of robots was very interesting and informative, but $5 would have been a much more reasonable (and less deterring) fee for that display.
t3_slider @ Sep 28th 2007 11:31PM
What, no Great Garloo?
CobraRob @ Sep 29th 2007 3:09AM
Damn, should have posted about a group trip or something.. I am currently in Nagoya, over here for work from the states and would have went down.
Not really much to do in Nagoya but go out and drink.
Paul D @ Sep 29th 2007 7:49AM
The sign does *not* say they're closing for good. The sign says they will be closed "for a short period starting Oct. 1st". I actually live in Nagoya but haven't walked past the Robot Museum lately.
The museum is interesting if you happen to be in Nagoya and bored, but it's probably not worth the $13 for most people unless you're really keen on robot history and pop culture.
Robbie Nakata: I'm sorry you went to a *Japanese* attraction in *Japan* and were disappointed because you didn't know Japanese. I don't think that's the museum's failing, however.
Rocketboy @ Sep 30th 2007 9:16AM
Would the girl doing the Robot be Strong Machine 2 by any chance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9wSMuCJCkQ