Photo: kcomiida · CC BY-SA 3.0
Akashi Municipal Planetarium stands on the 135°E meridian that defines Japan Standard Time. Its Carl Zeiss Jena projector, installed in 1960, is the oldest still operating in Japan; German engineers overhauled it in 2022, and the 2026 renewal kept it while replacing everything around it.
Why it's unique
The projector, a Carl Zeiss Jena installed in 1960, is the oldest planetarium projector still operating in Japan, and the building sits on the meridian that sets the country's clocks.
The 2026 renewal replaced the dome and everything around the machine but kept the machine, so a show here is still projected by the original 1960 instrument.
Before you go
The 2026 renewal kept the original star projector and replaced everything around it, so the dome is new but the machine is the 1960 one. Tickets are sold same-day only, from 9:30 at reception, so arrive early on a weekend.
The 13th to 14th floor observation room has the view over the strait. Hitomarumae Station's platform is crossed by the meridian, with a line on the floor. Two older meridian markers in town stand about 10 m off the line surveyed in 1951.
