When you get off the train at Sakakibara-Onsen Station, you see a huge pyramid made of so many glass panels. If you have been to the Louvre Museum in Paris, it is very easy to recognize that the pyramid is very similar to the entrance of the Louvre Museum. Additionally, there are two big statues in front of the pyramid: one is the Venus de Milo and the other is the Victoire de Samothrace. Yes, these are the most famous sculptures in the Louvre and you would wonder why these sculptures exist here, in Sakakibara Onsen, a tired hot spring area. It is because this sculpture museum is the world’s only sister branch of the original Louvre Museum.
I’ve been there twice. The first time was in May of 1998 and the second time was in January of 2008. All these identical sculptures from the Louvre were made with the casts of the originals, and the supervisors of the Louvre approved the quality of these models. This is the reason why all of the sculptures look so authentic. When you enter the museum after paying one thousand and five hundred yen for the entrance fee, you can enjoy so many famous classical sculptures, which are almost as good as the real thing in the mother museum. There are some historical monuments too, like the Code of Hammurabi and Rosetta Stone. Surprisingly, you can appreciate Tutankhamun’s golden mask; the original mask is stored in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and I don’t know why this replica exists in this museum. Also, I wonder why the huge sculpture of the thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara is in the center of the gallery. Anyway, you can spend the whole day enjoying the exhibition.
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