The Fairywood Glass Museum is the unique museum in the world, because
it features only uranium glass (vaseline
glass). It opened in 2006 at Okayama prefecture
of Japan, and in 2011 a special exhibition
started showing variety of uranium glasses
which have interesting episodes. About 100
items are exhibited until this September,
and some of them are shown in this article.
I visited this museum in 2011, and relaxed
at the hot spring in this countryside hotel.
Both museum and hotel are operated by the
town Kagamino.
The Fairywood Glass Museum shows varieties of uranium glasses covering
those of early Bohemians until modern products
at the 1st floor. Dr. Ken Tomabechi, who
is a president of Japan Uranium Glass Collectors
Club, is a honorary director, and Mr. Kozo
Hatakeyama, who is a member of our club,
is a head director of this museum. It has
an English web site as follows.
@http://kanko.town.kagamino.lg.jp/fairywood
english ver/
There is a glass manufacturing facility next
to the museum, where craftsmen and
artists
are making different artistic glass
products
of uranium glass and other glasses
one by
one. One unique feature is that these
uranium
glasses use the uranium which was mined
from
the Ningyo-touge uranium mine near
this museum.
Although this mine was closed about
10 years
ago, anyone can ask the museum in advance
to visit the mining tunnel, where the
uranium
mine glows brilliantly under black-lights.
So, visitors can feel as if they are
traveling
the deep space.
There is a museum shop, where they sell the
original uranium glasses made by the
facility
of this museum. Some of them are artistic
products such as flower vases or wine
glasses,
accessories for ladies, and small gift
for
children. |