The most chaotic space in Kochi "Nurture your senses at Actland "
2024-08-30
Kochi Prefecture is home to many sightseeing spots closely associated with Ryoma Sakamoto, a great man at the end of the Edo period. Among them, the Creative Plaza "Actland "in Konan City stands out from the rest. In this issue, we will introduce the charm of Actland, a chaotic spot where anything and everything is possible!
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Table of Contents
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Kochi's proud chaos spot "Actland "
Creative Plaza・Actland is a comprehensive theme park created with the aim of "nurturing people's sensibilities, creating rich minds, and leading to a better society ".
Seio Kitamura, the current director of the museum, took over the Ryoma History Museum, which was established in 1988, and reopened it in 2015 with a new zone displaying antique tools and automobiles he collected, as well as products he invented and machinery that has outlived its usefulness.
"They named it "AKTLAND "by combining the initials of Art, Culture, and Technology, with the desire to "familiarize themselves with the arts, enhance culture, and develop science and technology.
You can see what's going on inside the park at ......, such as Actland.
From an exhibition hall filled with realistic wax figures that will make any child cry, to a gallery displaying paintings more than 100 years old, and even a human-powered Ferris wheel and merry-go-round, the museum is packed with content that will truly nurture the senses!
It is a chaotic spot with absolutely no uniformity and anything goes.
The biggest attraction is a museum full of wax figures. "Ryoma History Museum "
Actland consists of a super unique and maniacal exhibition hall, a free "self-play space "and a café/shop.
Of these, the most unmissable is still the "Ryoma History Museum ", where you can learn all about Ryoma Sakamoto, Kochi's born hero.
The Ryoma History Museum is an exhibition hall that uses more than 120 wax figures to recreate 27 scenes from Ryoma Sakamoto's 33-year life.
The facility was in existence before Actland opened and remains a popular main attraction.
The realistic wax figures on display were created by Jian-Sheng Lin, a Taiwanese artist known as "national cultural treasure level artist ".
From the sagging skin to the wrinkles and detailed features of each person, they are all so elaborately reproduced that one could easily mistake them for the real thing!
Here is a selection of some great scenes.
Birth of Ryoma
The first one is the scene of Ryoma's birth.
Ryoma was born on November 15, 1836, the second son of Naotoku Sakamoto, the third generation of the Sakamoto family of Tosa Domain local samurai.
There are many theories about the origin of the name Ryoma, but one theory is that his mother, Sachi, had a dream the day before giving birth to Ryoma that a dragon appeared, and that when Ryoma was born, he had hair on his back that looked like a horse's mane.
The smiling faces of the family members surrounding Ryoma are also happy and wonderful. ...... By the way, Ryoma had four siblings: an elder brother, Gonpei, an eldest daughter, Chizuru, a second daughter, Sakae, and a third daughter, Otome. He was 22 years older than his eldest son.
(one's) childhood
As a child, Ryoma was very feeble-minded, whiny, and weak, and even after the age of 10, he still had a habit of urinating in his bed, and he was always dripping nose. "He was teased and called "yobare-tare (hare = piss in dialect) ".
Also, even when he was attending Terakoya, he had trouble remembering things and was always ridiculed by the children at the school.
Around this time, Ryoma's mother, Sachi, passed away. It is said that the third daughter, Otome, took her mother's place and educated Ryoma.
The maiden forced Ryoma to wake her up in the middle of the night to overcome nocturia, and took him to the nearby Kagamigawa River for swimming training, as he could not swim.
There is also an exhibit in the Ryoma History Museum that recreates a scene in which a maiden is educating Ryoma.
Ryoma is tied to a rope tied to the end of a bamboo pole and forced to train swimming every day. ...... This is an education that would be absolutely out of order if done in today's world. It's horrible.
Sagaing Union
Ryoma's super-spartan older sister instilled in him a strong spirit of learning, martial arts, and a determination not to give in to anything.
Later, after training in swordsmanship in Edo, forming the Tosa Kinno Party, and meeting Kaisyu Katsu, he formed the Satcho alliance in 1866.
In addition to Ryoma, wax figures of Kogoro Katsura (Takayoshi Kido), Takamori Saigo, and Taito Komatsu are on display at the Ryoma History Museum's Satcho alliance scene.
Marriage with Oryu
Later, after the Teradaya Incident, Ryoma married Oryo, who saved him from his own crisis.
In reality, Chikyuin, the abbot of Kinzo-ji Temple in Kyoto, acted as a matchmaker for the wedding ceremony, but the Ryoma History Museum exhibits a scene of the couple receiving evening drinks from Shintaro Nakaoka and Takamori Saigo as a staged event.
After the wedding, there is an exhibit that recreates the honeymoon of Ryoma and Oryo.
This is an act from a boat trip from Kyoto to Kagoshima for treatment and recuperation from wounds sustained in the Teradaya Incident, which is said to have been the first and last pleasant time for the two.
Personally, this reenactment scene is the most heartwarming point of the exhibition at the Ryoma History Museum.
Incidentally, this is said to be the first honeymoon in Japan, since there was no honeymoon culture at that time.
The Eight Strategies of the Ship
The famous scene of the eight measures in the middle of a ship. The sound and light effects are beautiful and are the main attraction of the Ryoma Museum of History.
Funaka-hachisaku is the basic policy of the new national system devised by Ryoma Sakamoto, and was also the basis for the Taiseihokan.
Ryoma departs Nagasaki on the Tosa Clan ship "Yugao Maru "and presents his ideas for a new national system to Shojiro Goto and others on board.
Here, you can also enjoy taking a picture in a small boat with the scene of Hassaku in the middle of the boat in the background. Why not take a commemorative photo when you visit?
Not to be missed! 7 maniacal exhibition halls
There are still many other unique and maniacal exhibition halls in Actland.
If you are going to go out, please stop by together with the Ryoma History Museum. Here is a brief introduction to the seven exhibition halls other than the Ryoma Museum of History.
World Great Man Museum
The World Great Men Museum is an exhibition hall located in the former Ryoma History Museum, and is literally a booth with realistic wax figures of the world's great men and women who have left their mark on history.
Like the Ryoma History Museum, the wax figures on display here are all created by Kensei Hayashi.
It is a space where you can feel close to Marilyn Monroe, Mahatma Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, Cleopatra, and other great people whose names you may have heard at least once.
The walls also display portraits of great people drawn by Kochi-born artist Cecibon Yamamoto.
World Model Car Museum
The World Model Car Museum exhibits models of everything from domestic cars to supercars from around the world, as well as cars used in movies and special effects.
Among the more than 3,700 model cars from approximately 200 brands of actual car manufacturers, there are rare supercars with low production numbers and custom-built model cars that can only be seen here.
This is a spot where visitors can enjoy the world of model cars in various ways, such as looking for their favorite model car or comparing cars of the same brand in chronological order.
The World Classic Car Museum exhibits classic cars that have been in existence for more than 100 years, as well as rare and valuable cars of which there are only a few in the world.
The total number of vehicles on display is 22. Eighteen of them are classic cars such as "Ford Model T "and the remaining four are modern cars such as "Mazda Cosmo Sport ".
Near the cars on display are easy-to-understand explanations using panels and videos, so even beginners to classic cars can enjoy learning about the history of automobiles.
Bonnet Bus Museum
The Bonnet Bus Museum exhibits retro and cute bonnet buses that were active until around the mid-Showa period.
This zone is relatively more child-friendly than the World Model Car Museum and the World Classic Car Museum, and it is a space where visitors can ride in the bonnet buses on display and move the steering wheel in the driver's seat.
Nearby, there is also a pretend-contact area for children where they can wear the uniforms of a conductor and a firefighter! It is also possible to take commemorative photos wearing the uniforms, so why not stop by for a family outing?
Nio African Gallery
The Nieo African Gallery is a zone dedicated to the work of Ghanaian artist Francis Kwati Nieo (Frank Nieo).
The works on display are one-of-a-kind relief paintings expressed in four different metals: bronze, aluminum, copper, and brass, all of which are spectacular.
In this gallery, LED lights are also used to create a variety of effects, allowing visitors to appreciate the various expressions of a single work of art, depending on the color and angle of the light.
KUMA'S Container Gallery
KUMA'S Container Gallery is a zone that exhibits the works of Katsuyuki Shinohara, known for his "Gagez family bears ".
On display are a large spherical work relocated from Tokyo Kinshi Park and fantastic glass works housed in containers.
Shinohara's works are characterized by the variety of materials he uses, including iron, glass, concrete, wood, and plastic. It is truly a spot where one's sensibilities can be refined just by looking at it.
"Jiyu space "is always free!
Although the exhibition hall is the main attraction of Actland, the free area "Jiyu Space "in the park is actually another highlight of the park.
This is a very popular area that is crowded with families and couples on holidays, with a variety of contents that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, including athletic facilities, a hands-on corner, and even original human-powered playground equipment.
Please take a look. This is a spot called "Wanpaku Hiroba ", which is more like an amusement park than a free area.
I can't believe that all of this is available for free ....... I can't help but wonder "if the management will be able to handle it ". I think this is a great spot for people with small children.
This is "Dokidoki Wonderland "which is also the symbol of Wanpaku Plaza.
This jungle gym is made of 20-meter-high cypress trees, and is said to be not only the largest giant jungle gym in Japan, but also the largest jungle gym made of giant trees in Japan.
As one would expect from a curator who has created numerous inventions, his imagination is very different.
Here is one that is secretly gaining popularity. The smallest Ferris wheel in Japan "is the Rainbow Cycle ".
As you can see from the name "Rainbow Cycle," this is a human-powered Ferris wheel that is operated by pedaling a bicycle. Yes, the one you can't play on alone. ......
However, they are willing to take commemorative photos, so it is possible to take pictures of them pedaling their bicycles.
Of course, families and couples can also have their pictures taken by asking a nearby staff member.
In addition to the Wanpaku Plaza, the Jiyu Space area is filled with interesting corners such as "Souzou Hirokan ", which exhibits many engines and industrial machines, and "Akio Collection ", which displays old carpentry tools and cute retro telephones. Of course, all of these exhibition areas can be visited free of charge.
There is also a kids' space and a rest spot, so visitors can enjoy the free area alone all day long.
summary
From the great historical figures to the enthusiast's coveted car collection, as well as a variety of large amusement park-like playground equipment.
There are many chaotic spots in Japan that mix various themes, but it is quite rare to find a place that handles as many different themes in one facility as Actland does.
Once you visit, you will surely develop your own sensibilities. Please visit us when you go to Kochi.
"Facility Information "
Address: 928-1, Oya, Noichi-cho, Konan City, Kochi Prefecture, 781-5233
Phone number: 0887-56-1501
Business hours: 10:00-18:00
Closed: Monday
Materials: Ryoma Museum of History/Adults: 1,500 yen, Elementary school/high school students: 800 yen
Other museums: Adults: 1,000 yen, Elementary to high school students: 500 yen
URL：https://actland.jp/
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