Coalmine Museum in Utashinai City !

by Kazu

This is the downtown of Utashinai City but like other cities and towns that had been flourished with coalmine industry, it is a little bit to difficult to imagine the past prosperity from the current calm streets of the city.  

 This is the coalmine museum named "Yume-Tsumugi" that means "spinning dream from the materials". The museum is run by the municipality of Utashinai and exhibiting various kinds of items including some precious pertinent to coalmine industry and the life of citizens.

The coalmines in the city produced coals of top quality, which was used for iron manufacturing.

 Of course, there were the railways for carrying coal to the port of Otaru City and Muroran City.

 These are the miniatures of the coalmine workers and the instruments for producing coals in the coal-pits. The coalmine workers worked so hard in the pit where it was so hot and humid.

At the risk of their lives, they dug and dug in the darkness of tunnel only with the light of headlamp for their family.

Even now, coals are produced in the coal-pit of Kushiro City, mainly for the training of Vietnamese coalmine workers, and open-pit coalmines in Sorachi sub-prefectural area including Utashinai City.







 

Until September 23(Mon.), old miniature cars that make us remember the boom of so-called super cars such as lamborghini
Countach, Miura, Iota and ferrari 457 BB are exhibited in the museum. Please enjoy and remember the nostalgic world !

This is the entrance of the former guest house owned by the coalmine company. It is near the former bar-hopping area in Utashinai City but at the entrance of the forest owned by the city.  

 The design of the house is like that in Karuizawa City or Tirolean. Many old and precious items, literature, pot and ceramics.  

The former guest house is used as the memorial house in the citizen forest "Komorebi-no-mori" and you may find the treasure of the world when you visit there with an eye for the beauty of high quality. It is very calm and comfortable around this area. Everything is the evidence of the past prosperity.