Lake Kawaguchiko Music and Forest Museum

The museum is located on the shores of Lake Kawaguchiko. You can enjoy spectacular views of Mt. Fuji and the music boxes loved by European aristocrats. And you can feel calm by automatic musical instruments.

Lake Kawaguchiko Music and Forest Museum, 河口湖音乐森林美术馆

It is a small theme park and museum devoted to automatic musical instruments. Its main hall displays antique music boxes, mechanical organs and other automatic musical instruments mostly from European countries. The largest of them is a French fairground organ from 1905 which takes up an entire hall and plays every 30 minutes. The main building also houses a concert hall where classical musicians from around the world perform. The park outside encloses European-style gardens with good views of Mount Fuji across the lake. Walking paths lead among the garden's manicured lawns and winding canal, connecting the museums's cafe, shops, chapel and rose garden. The Music Forest is run by the Ukai Group, which also operates the Glass Forest, a Venetian glass museum in Hakone.

Museum Map

Dance Organ Belgium, Mortier, C.1920.

This instrument is the work of Marc Fournier & Sons, a typical modern manufacturer of fairground organ, restoring the original organ made by Mortier, and adding a newly fabricated facade. Their work have revived its marvelous appearance and rich music performance. This building was specially designed to accommodate this organ. The facade is of the largest class in the world, and 13 meter wide and 5 meter tall. The performance of 43 figures arranged in this organ and also on the both side walls of this building, moving harmonized with the music is so spectacle. 800 pipes to bring out the tones of flutes, trumpets and violins, accompanied with snare and bass drums, cymbals, bells and xylophone play stunning music, comparable to an orchestra organized with dozens of musicians. This kind of organ was called “Dance Organ" as many of them were installed in skate links and dance halls.