Naramachi Hunchūkan (ならまち糞虫館) is a small private museum about dung beetles, opened in 2018 by an enthusiast who calls Nara Park a "sacred place" for them. Around 40 species live in the park, processing the deer's droppings.
Why it's unique
It describes itself, and is described by national press, as the only museum of its kind in Japan. No counterexample has turned up, though that has not been exhaustively checked.
It exists because of the deer: the park's huge free-roaming herd supports an unusually rich dung-beetle population, and that is the reason the lawns stay clean. The museum is the place to understand the other half of the deer story.
Before you go
It is open Saturday and Sunday afternoons only, 13:00 to 18:00, and closed on weekday public holidays. Half the visitors say they could not find it: look for the Mizumoto Seichōdō Buddhist-goods shop and walk 15 m down the unpaved alley on its south side.
The owner runs paid dung-beetle collecting and specimen-making classes in spring and autumn, and a free annual beetle-watching walk in Nara Park (in 2026, on top of Wakakusayama). Check the news page before going: it was closed on 11 October 2026.
