“We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.”
– Bill Vaughan

I love bugs.

Actually, i hate bugs.

Okay… I love cute, harmless bugs (except that I used to have a pet Asian forest scorpion).

I am fascinated with the insect world. Spiders weaving their webs, moths flying around the lights, beetles slowly walking in the ground or caterpillars eating leaves always catch my attention. So a visit to an entomological museum has been always fun for me (nerd!!! lol!).

I was amazed to see a mini-museum on bugs near the Nukabira lake in Hokkaido, Japan. It was located at the corner inside the Higashitaisetsu Nature Center. We were just about to have a bladder break during our road trip back from a mountain hike in Daisetzusan Nature Park. It is a very small museum but still, I am at awe.

The mini-museum is composed of three sections namely: the insects of Higashitaisetsu, the butterflies and moths of the world and the beetles of the world. There are more than five thousands insects were displayed at this exhibit. The place is truly a haven for entomologists and bug enthusiasts (like me, lol!).

There are also educational tools like diagrams and microscopes showing the structures and functions of insects (however, they are all written in Japanese). Kids and kids at heart will be entertained by computer-aided educational tools, wooden puzzles and visual aids for better understanding of the insect world.

Aside from the small insect museum, the nature center also features geographical and landscape information about the Higashitaisetsu region of the Daisetsu National Park as well as its biodiversity. It is open daily except Wednesdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. And the entrance is free.

Before we went back to the car, I bought two pieces of keychains with preserved bugs inside. Maybe I should have been an entomologist instead. Nah, I am better off as a parasitologist.