Colorful museum’s management promises “photogenic” experience and fun “shit game.”
Just half an hour south from Tokyo, the bayside city of Yokohama makes for a great day-trip from Japan’s capital. Among the attractions Yokohama boasts are a beautiful harbor district, awesome seaside Ferris wheel, and two separate ramen museums (one for restaurant ramen, and one for the instant variety).
Come this spring, Yokohama will be getting another museum, and this one is filled with crap. And no, we’re not trying to be dismissive of art or science, because it really is dedicated to poo.
The Unko Museum makes no attempt to hide its nature, as “unko” is one of the Japanese words for “poo.” Unko, or the shortened un, which also shows up several times in the museum’s promotional materials, such as when it describes what it has to offer as “untertainment.”
▼ Are crappy puns a lower or higher form of comedy than regular puns?
The museum has outlined three themes, with “unteractive” being the basis for an interactive art display in which visitors step on light-projections of turds on the ground, causing them to visually splatter in what the museum management calls “a retro-style kuso game (‘shit game’).”
There’s also the “unstagenic” area, where you’ll find an assortment of colorful and shining turd coils to use as backdrops for taking photos to share on Instgram or other social media platforms. Finally, “untelligence” aims to be a thought-provoking art appreciation space, where you’re invited to gaze upon poo sketches from luminaries and other guests, or leave a sketch of your own.
Of course, this being a Japanese facility, of course there’s an official mascot character. Unberuto is described as a philosopher who likes to ruminate upon the nature of universal truths while on the toilet. He’s also an anthropomorphized poop pile who carries his toilet around with him when he’s not sitting on it.
Now, if you’re wondering why Unberuto, himself a living pile of poo, needs to sit on a toilet, the answer is obvious: so that he can drop living poos of his own, who then help keep the Unko Museum safe and enjoyable for visitors.
▼ Wait…does the green turd have teeth? Just what the heck has Unberuto been eating?
Even by Japanese standards, the Unko Museum is strange new territory, and so it’s currently being planned as a temporary installation, to be housed in the Asobuild complex next to Yokohama Station. It’s scheduled to open on March 15 and run until July 15, with advance tickets already available online here (priced at 1,600 yen [US$14.40] for adults, 900 yen for kids, and children under elementary-school age free). There’s no word on whether or not Soft Kuriinu, the smiling dog turd mascot that keeps the streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood clean, has plans to stop by, but given that Shibuya and Yokohama Stations are both on the Toyoko train line, the collaboration seems like a no-brainer.
Museum information
Unko Museu, / うんこミュージアム
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Yokohama-shi, Nishi-ku, Takashima 2-14-9, Asobuild 2nd floor
神奈川県横浜市西区高島２丁目１４−９ アソビル２F ALE-BOX内
Website
Source: Unko Museum via Narinari
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Unko Museum