[Tamba City] Geological strata from 110 million years ago are right in front of you! Explanation of the highlight spots on your smartphone

• Table of Contents
• What is “Tamba Area Dinosaur Fossil Field Museum”?
• "Tamba Sasayama City Ancient Creatures Museum" where you can learn about the Sasayama Group
• Let's play with dinosaurs at "Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park"
• Let's explore rocks from the top of the suspension bridge! "Kawashiro Park"
• At “Tamba Ryu no Sato Park”, you will be overwhelmed by the size of Tamba dragons.
• Try fossil excavation experience! “Genkimura Kamikuge”
• Feel the romance of ancient times at the “Tamba Dragon Fossil Discovery Site”
• Watching over dinosaurs Nationally registered tangible cultural property “Tamba City Old Kamikushita Village Kamidaki Power Plant Memorial Hall”
• Deepen your knowledge of dinosaurs at “Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata”
• For those traveling by car. The fun continues!

What is “Tamba Area Dinosaur Fossil Field Museum”?

The Sasayama Group, which is the center of Field Museum's activities, is located in Tanba Sasayama City and part of Tanba City, and is an area approximately 6 km north-south and 18 km east-west.

The Sasayama Group, a geological stratum formed approximately 110 to 100 million years ago, contains globally valuable fossils such as the "Tamba dragon" (scientific name: Tambatitanis amicitiae), which are familiar to daily life. It is characterized by being found in unique locations.

``Field Museum'' is designed to make learning fun for people of all ages from a variety of angles, including the area's facilities, scenery, and experiences.

The key to this is the QR codes displayed everywhere. By holding up your smartphone or tablet, you can easily get information and explanations about the area. Now, let's proceed through the "Field Museum" from east to west.

"Tamba Sasayama City Ancient Creatures Museum" where you can learn about the Sasayama Group

``Tamba Sasayama City Ancient Creature Museum'' is an experience facility where you can learn about the Sasayama Group. There is a ``Citizen Research Institute for Ancient Creatures'' within the facility, and you can see the fossil cleaning process from the free exhibition room.

It also features a "fossil excavation experience space."

On the left slope between the general information board and the facility, you can see the strata of the Sasayama Group right in front of your eyes. Look for the traces of living creatures' burrows.

basic information

Tanba Sasayama City Ancient Creature Museum

Address: 90-1 Nishikosa, Tamba Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture, Tamba Namikido Central Park

Phone number: 079-556-7666

Opening hours: 9:00-16:30

Closed: Mondays (or the following weekday if it is a public holiday), year-end and New Year holidays (December 29th to January 3rd)

Access: ・Approximately 10 minutes walk from JR Fukuchiyama Line “Tamba-Oyama Station” ・Approximately 5 minutes northwest from Maizuru Wakasa Expressway “Tannan Sasayamaguchi IC”

Parking: Available (115 spaces/Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park)

HP: https://tamba-fieldmuseum.com/map/ikimonokan

Let's play with dinosaurs at "Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park"

Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park, where the Tamba Sasayama City Ancient Creatures Museum is located, is a 70.9 hectare (about the size of 18 Koshien stadiums) wide area park developed based on the Tamba Forest Plan. The park has a thatched private house and a space where you can experience activities using thinned wood, so you can enjoy the forest space to the fullest.

Inside the park, there are plenty of facilities where you can play while thinking about the ancient times, such as the ``Honehone Fossil Square'' and ``Exciting Dinosaur Square'', which even small children can enjoy, and the ``Moving Dinosaurs'', two dinosaur models that move with their voices. I am.

basic information

Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park

Address: 90 Nishikosa, Tamba Sasayama City, Hyogo Prefecture

Phone number: 079-594-0990 (Administration office 9:30-16:30)

Access: ・Approximately 10 minutes walk from JR Fukuchiyama Line “Tamba-Oyama Station” ・Approximately 5 minutes northwest from Maizuru Wakasa Expressway “Tannan Sasayamaguchi IC”

Parking: Available (110 regular cars/5 large cars)

HP: https://namikimichi-park.com/

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Let's explore rocks from the top of the suspension bridge! "Kawashiro Park"

Approximately 7km west from Hyogo Prefectural Tamba Namikido Central Park. Kawashiro Park is a gorge on the Sasayama River where you can enjoy nature with cherry blossoms in the spring, camping in the summer, and autumn leaves in the fall. While playing in nature, you can thoroughly enjoy the geological formations and rock formations.

The monument that serves as the gate of the suspension bridge is a roofing method unique to Japan, a traditional craft of Tanba called cypress bark roofing. Let's take a look at the bedrock where dinosaurs may have slept from the top of the suspension bridge that passes through here.

basic information

Kawashiro Park

Address: Kamidaki, Yamanami-cho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture

Phone number: 0795-88-5115 (Tamba City Tourism Division)

*Use of camping sites, barbecue sites, etc.

Permit for use is required at least 5 days in advance (unavailable during the winter period from mid-December to mid-March of the following year)

Access: ・About 30 minutes walk from Shimotaki Station on the JR Fukuchiyama Line

・Approximately 15 minutes from Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway “Tanna-Sasayamaguchi IC”

Parking: Available (34 spaces)

At “Tamba Ryu no Sato Park”, you will be overwhelmed by the size of Tamba dragons.

Tamba Ryu no Sato Park is located about 500m west of Kawashiro Park. This is a park located at the entrance of Genkimura Kamikuge. The life-size monument of the Tanba dragon (about 15m long and 7m high) is very impressive!

The athletic slider also has a dinosaur skeleton motif. There is also a bench where you can sit with the dinosaurs, so you can enjoy taking photos.

Try fossil excavation experience! “Genkimura Kamikuge”

``Genkimura Kamikuge'', where you can experience fossil excavation, is located near the Tamba dragon fossil discovery site. The shop (open only on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) sells snacks such as ``Yakisoba'' (400 yen) and dinosaur-related goods. The famous Dinosaur Yaki (150 yen), which comes in two flavors, is recommended for snack time.

basic information

Fossil excavation experience dates: Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays

Time: ①10:00~10:50 ②11:10~12:00 ③12:50~13:40 ④14:00~14:50 ⑤15:10~16:00

*From December to February, ① to ④. Please gather 3 minutes before the start time. Found fossils cannot be taken home.

Fee: 500 yen once (purchase a ticket for the "excavation experience" for your desired time at the cafeteria)

Capacity: 20 people each time (complete replacement system)

Contact: 0795-78-0001 (Kamikushita Community Development Center/Closed on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays)

basic information

Genkimura Kamikuge

Address: 1913-1 Kamidaki, Yamanami-cho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture

Phone number: 0795-78-0001 (Kamikushita Community Development Center/Closed on Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays)

Business hours: 10:00-16:00 (~15:00 from December to February)

Regular holidays: Monday to Friday (excluding holidays)

Access: ・Approximately 20 minutes walk from Shimotaki Station on the JR Fukuchiyama Line to the fossil discovery site ・Approximately 15 minutes west on the general road from the Sasayama Interchange on the Kinki-Maizuru Expressway

Parking: Available (40 regular cars, 3 large buses)

HP: http://www.kamikuge.com/osirase.html

Feel the romance of ancient times at the “Tamba Dragon Fossil Discovery Site”

It's about a 500m walk along the Sasayama River from Genkimura Kamikuge. There is a pink dinosaur painting on the bedrock along the river. This is the place where Tamba dragon fossils were discovered. The world's smallest dinosaur egg fossil was also discovered nearby.

The discovery site is covered with concrete to protect the bedrock after excavation work, but there is a replica of the Tamba dragon fossil along the promenade behind it, so be sure to take a look. You can feel how big it is.

Watching over dinosaurs Nationally registered tangible cultural property “Tamba City Old Kamikushita Village Kamidaki Power Plant Memorial Hall”

Right next to the Tamba Dragon Fossil Discovery Site is the Tanba City Old Kamikushita Village Kamidaki Power Plant Memorial Museum. It is a registered tangible cultural property of the country.

The brick-built hydroelectric power plant began operation in 1923 (Taisho 12) and remained in operation until 1963 (Showa 38). Currently, it serves as a power plant memorial museum, displaying information on the power generation mechanism and materials from the time of construction, as well as materials related to dinosaur fossils.

basic information

Tanba City Former Kamikushita Village Kamidaki Power Plant Memorial Hall

Address: 1312-2 Yatsugatsubo, Kamidaki, Yamanami-cho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture (next to the site where dinosaur fossils were discovered)

Phone number: 0795-77-1887 (Tamba City Hall Dinosaur Division)

Hall hours: 10:00-16:00

Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays (the following weekday if Monday is a holiday), year-end and New Year holidays (December 29th to January 3rd)

*Subject to change due to other events/events, etc. Admission is free.

Access: ・ Approximately 20 minutes walk from JR Fukuchiyama Line “Shimotaki” ・ Approximately 20 minutes from Maizuru Wakasa Expressway “Tannan Sasayamaguchi IC”

Parking: None (not open to general vehicles as it is a farm road)

Deepen your knowledge of dinosaurs at “Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata”

About 8km further west from the "Tamba Dragon Fossil Discovery Site". There is ``Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata''. Here, there are permanent exhibits of the full-body skeletons (replicas) of the Tamba dragon and other dinosaurs, and you can also try your hand at making fossil replicas.

Click here for more information about "Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata".

Great discovery! Let's deepen the knowledge of dinosaurs with parents and children in Yamanami, where the fossil of "Tamba dragon" was excavated

basic information

Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata

Address: 1110 Tanigawa, Yamanami-cho, Tanba City, Hyogo Prefecture (next to Tanba City Hall Yamanami Branch)

Phone number: 0795-77-1887 (Tamba City Dinosaur Division)

Opening hours: 10:00-16:00 (~17:00 from April 1st to October 31st)

Closed: Mondays (the following weekday if Monday is a holiday), New Year holidays (December 29th to January 3rd)

*The museum may be temporarily closed due to special exhibitions, etc.

*Scheduled to be closed from late September 2020 to early July 2027 due to renovation work at the Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Admission fee: 210 yen for adults (high school students and above), 100 yen for elementary and junior high school students, free for preschoolers

*Free admission for elementary and junior high school students in Hyogo Prefecture by showing their Cocoron Card.

Access: ・10 minutes walk from JR Kakogawa Line "Kugemura Station" ・5 minutes by taxi from JR Fukuchiyama Line "Tanikawa Station" (approximately 20 minutes walk). Or 5 minutes by Wing Shinki Bus / Approximately 30 minutes from Maizuru Wakasa Expressway "Tannan-Sasayamaguchi IC" / Approximately 30 minutes from Kita-Kinki Toyooka Expressway "Hikami IC"

Parking: Available (193 spaces)

HP: https://www.tambaryu.com/

For those traveling by car. The fun continues!

Roadside Station Tamba Grandma no Sato is located about 20km northeast by car from Tamba Dragon Fossil Workshop Chi-tan no Yakata. Here you will find a lineup of delicious Tamba foods!

The outdoor play equipment is reminiscent of dinosaurs, making it the perfect place to take a break while driving through the Field Museum. There is also a bench here where you can sit with the dinosaurs.

``Roadside Station Tamba Grandma no Sato'' also has a ``Tourist Information Center Tamba Etoko Navi,'' so you can stop by and gather information about the ``Field Museum.''

There is also a dinosaur bench where you can sit with a Tyrannosaurus rex on the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway Seiki SA Inbound Line heading towards Osaka from Roadside Station Tamba Grandma no Sato. There are four dinosaur benches in total (Nishiki SA inbound line, Nishiki SA outbound line, Tamba Ryu no Sato Park, and Michi-no-Eki Grandma-no-Sato). If you forgot to take a commemorative photo, please do so.

The ``Tamba Area Dinosaur Fossil Field Museum'' is an open-air museum set in the Sasayama Group and its surrounding area. The contents and areas cannot be covered in just one day. Why not enjoy it in your own way, whether it's by visiting the area over and over again, or by camping or staying overnight at an inn?

(Writer Toshi/West Plan)

*This article is information as of November 2023. Prices include tax. Product contents and prices may change. Please check the official website for the latest information.

basic information

Tanba Area Dinosaur Fossil Field Museum

Phone number: 0795-78-9961

HP: https://tamba-fieldmuseum.com/

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