What does the small, sleepy town of Mifune in Kumamoto prefecture have that Tokyo wishes it had? Giant lizards, that’s what.
While Godzilla (ゴジラ) takes the pop culture limelight, real dinosaurs are being unearthed in Kyushu.
Reuters reported this weekend,
An 85 million-year-old dinosaur skull has been found in southwestern Japan, one of the oldest discoveries of its kind in the country, the Kyodo news agency said on Saturday.
The fossilized skull, belonging to a herbivore called hadrosaurid, was unearthed on a mountain in the town of Mifune in Kumamoto prefecture, Kyodo said, quoting an official of the Mifune Dinosaur Museum.
With Mifune being just down the road from where I live, I made the short journey down there to see what dinosaur evidence I could find…
And it’s everywhere. They’ve been digging up dinosaur bones for years in Mifune, most notably in 1979 when Tyrannosaurus Rex remains were found, and the proud symbols decorate the whole town.
Dinosaurs adorn the bridge…
…and even railings.
They even warn children of the dangers of crossing the road (in the cutest way possible, of course).
Heck they’re even on the drain covers!
And then of course there is the Mifune Dinosaur Museum. Not a huge or elaborate affair, but informative nonetheless.
So you can waste your time visiting Tokyo, where you won’t meet Godzilla, or you can come to Kumamoto prefecture where you will come face to face with a T-rex!
