Meguro Parasitological Museum
Meguro Parasitological Museum
4
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
The Meguro Parasitological Museum is a private research facility that was established in 1953 with the private funds of a medical doctor, Satoru Kamegai. The museum exhibits about 300 parasite specimens and related material. On the first floor we present the "Diversity of Parasites" displaying various types of parasitic specimens with accompanying educational movies. The second floor exhibits are "Human and Zoonotic Parasites" showing parasite lifecycles and the symptoms they cause during human infection. In addition to research, the museum also performs other activities such as education and provides special publications. The museum has been admission free since it was established. However, running the museum has become more costly, and donations from individuals and corporations provide us with an invaluable financial resource. Therefore, your contribution is essential and will be very much appreciated.
Duration: < 1 hour
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
202 reviews
Excellent
49
Very good
104
Average
40
Poor
9
Terrible
0
Anh N
Taipei, Taiwan12 contributions
Feb 2024 • Friends
Small but fascinating museum. There were samples dating back to the 1950s or earlier! The old notebooks are effective reminders of the scientists' hard work and dedication at a time when commercial computers and the internet were not in existent.
Just don't visit it before sushi.
Just don't visit it before sushi.
Written 5 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Spiffle
Melbourne, Australia59 contributions
Feb 2013 • Couples
This place is tiny. We're talking two levels of rooms that would probably be just outside of a regular bathroom size, full of parasites. Pretty neat and interesting but it will literally take you all of 15 minutes to get through.
Before coming here I had read that they had plush parasites for sale in the gift shop. Be warned: they don't sell any plushies in the gift shop so if that is what you are keen on then definitely give it a miss. The upside to this very short visit was that there was a really good restaurant about 2 blocks away - looking at parasites makes us hungry.
Before coming here I had read that they had plush parasites for sale in the gift shop. Be warned: they don't sell any plushies in the gift shop so if that is what you are keen on then definitely give it a miss. The upside to this very short visit was that there was a really good restaurant about 2 blocks away - looking at parasites makes us hungry.
Written 14 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ellie C
7 contributions
Jan 2016 • Friends
Would recommend to any medicine/science lovers. Smaller museum than I would have thought it to be, but a lot was packed in there. English speakers are more than welcome here with the information also being offered in English. However, would have liked more English information available (not every Japanese script has an equivalent English translation). Make sure to buy the English guide book from upstairs before you take a look around in order to enjoy the museum more !
Written 28 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SRQueenan
Meguro, Japan47 contributions
Mar 2019 • Family
It is an interesting collection of parasites. It's only interesting if you are not appalled by what could be living inside you. It is a relief to see how many gross afflictions have been eradicated but still it is kind of stomach turning. My science-y brother in law loved it. I doubt I will go back but I would point the curious there. It's free so if you are grossed out or bored, you just leave.
Written 2 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amyeof
Oahu, HI42 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
If you are a true science person, you will love it. If you're just tagging along, then it's small and not interactive. My hubby was in heaven and bought a parasite t-shirt in the gift shop, Read previous reviews on how to get to the museum as the directions were clear and easy to follow.
Written 18 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TTEEEP
Oak Flats, Australia70 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
Very small
Out of the way
Not in English
Not worth the time it takes to go out of your way to there.
Its pretty much a bunch of worms in Jars, literally.
It’s free but a waste of time.
Out of the way
Not in English
Not worth the time it takes to go out of your way to there.
Its pretty much a bunch of worms in Jars, literally.
It’s free but a waste of time.
Written 12 April 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Miriam Z
Schagen219 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
Truely, a highlight on our journey.
Found out about this museum just that morning and since we were staying in Meguro-ku decided to walk there. Not disappointed either.
It's a small exhibit and not everything is in English but I found it to be enormously interesting. Alot of items are explained by examples/ cartoony drawings, so even when in Japanese, understandable for foreigners as well.
LOVED the professors drawings and the rows of specimen. Well entertaining for about an hour and a half.
The lady at the t-shirt stand was really sweet!
Buy a t-shirt (or two) or donate a little something to this free-for-all gem, keep 'em going!
Found out about this museum just that morning and since we were staying in Meguro-ku decided to walk there. Not disappointed either.
It's a small exhibit and not everything is in English but I found it to be enormously interesting. Alot of items are explained by examples/ cartoony drawings, so even when in Japanese, understandable for foreigners as well.
LOVED the professors drawings and the rows of specimen. Well entertaining for about an hour and a half.
The lady at the t-shirt stand was really sweet!
Buy a t-shirt (or two) or donate a little something to this free-for-all gem, keep 'em going!
Written 2 December 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Johanna S
Geelong, Australia103 contributions
Dec 2014 • Solo
It was easy enough to find (literally a straight line from Meguro Station). Quite small, but fascinating. The exhibits are creepy and weird and wonderful, and best of all, the 8.8 metre tapeworm - it was amazing! Unfortunately, I only realized at the end of my time at the museum that I could buy an English guide book that explained the exhibits. They also sell cool things like souvenir t-shirts and pens and things. So glad I made the trip to Meguro for this.
Written 8 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grant M
Greater Sydney, Australia87 contributions
Sept 2014 • Family
We humans, like all animals, are not a single organism, but a heavily populated conglomerate of creatures that are both invited (by our diet and life-style) and uninvited. This compact museum is about the many uninvited creepies that can invade us as we go about our life business. Now, some places are more prone to harbouring the sorts of things you will see in this museum than others, but there is no place that lacks entirely parasites.
I am reminded of the recluse Howard Hughes and the eccentric Michael Jackson and their fear of touch and contact with the outside world. But my guess is that both of them, in spite of their extreme precautions, had as companions a bevvy of beasties moving about inside them.
Criticism is fair enough that most of the signs are in Japanese, the language of the country where the museum is located, after all. There are a few translated panels.
But my suggestion is that you just look in wonder at the variety of life that can be within us and about us, stranger than any SciFi film or manga mag.
The shop's souvenirs have their own appeal: the tapeworm T Shirt is a favourite and you can buy your own (dead, preserved) parasite as a keyring, if you want to carry away a memory.
When I visited yesterday, there were couples, arm in arm, families with wide-eyed children and friends chatting and pulling faces. Although I didn't see any, I suspect visiting teens might be checking for symptoms after the visit!
Perhaps most impressive of all is the back story, clear enough from the objects and photographs in a small side room, where the founder of the museum has his story told.
The museum is free, supported by a dedicated family of public-minded people.
If you are a bit squeamish, perhaps best to avoid: the models are realistic, the specimens preserved, but the leeches are real and crawling about in a display jar.
I am reminded of the recluse Howard Hughes and the eccentric Michael Jackson and their fear of touch and contact with the outside world. But my guess is that both of them, in spite of their extreme precautions, had as companions a bevvy of beasties moving about inside them.
Criticism is fair enough that most of the signs are in Japanese, the language of the country where the museum is located, after all. There are a few translated panels.
But my suggestion is that you just look in wonder at the variety of life that can be within us and about us, stranger than any SciFi film or manga mag.
The shop's souvenirs have their own appeal: the tapeworm T Shirt is a favourite and you can buy your own (dead, preserved) parasite as a keyring, if you want to carry away a memory.
When I visited yesterday, there were couples, arm in arm, families with wide-eyed children and friends chatting and pulling faces. Although I didn't see any, I suspect visiting teens might be checking for symptoms after the visit!
Perhaps most impressive of all is the back story, clear enough from the objects and photographs in a small side room, where the founder of the museum has his story told.
The museum is free, supported by a dedicated family of public-minded people.
If you are a bit squeamish, perhaps best to avoid: the models are realistic, the specimens preserved, but the leeches are real and crawling about in a display jar.
Written 27 September 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Annh
California34 contributions
OK - just kidding about the fun part. Actually, none of the parasites on display looked like any possibility of fun. But an interesting place to visit if you're a science/biology buff.
I have visited this museum several times over the years, and as of my last visit, there still weren't English panels on the displays. But that's OK, because a picture says 1000 words. Some displays are useless to English only visitors (unless you really know your parasites), but others, like life cycles displays etc. are self explanatory.
It is a tiny museum consisting of two floors. The first floor displays various parasites, while the second floor goes into more detail about their life cycles, hosts, etc. Some of the parasites on display rely on human hosts, while others depend on other species.
There is a small souvenir/gift case on the 2nd floor. Ring the buzzer if you see something you want to purchase and someone will come to assist you. The shop offers t-shirts with animated type depictions of various parasites (including a black t-shirt with a copy of the massive tapeworm on display in the museum), key chains with an actual parasite embedded in them (just a filament looking thing - not obviously threatening at all), pins with animated depictions of parasites, i.e. in purple or orange, post cards (some are not for the queasy), etc. Some of the parasites make fairly amusing caricatures, like the taenia solium or the capsala. I bought the museum Guidebook (English) and it was a nice little color booklet with brief blurbs on various parasites and some general info about the museum and selected displays. The cover picture however may be daunting for some.
I would not recommend this museum for the faint-hearted, but biology buffs might find an hours worth of interest here. Some of the pictures show the effect on the human host. Yikes!! This is probably a good place to take the people in your life who don't believe in washing their hands, those who think hygiene is for sissies - they might get reformed after visiting this place!
I took the Metro Namboku line to Meguro, and it seems to me I made a left out of the station and kept walking until I came to the museum, also on the left. Be looking for it as it is easy to pass by. It's an easy stroll, maybe 3 blocks or so.
I have visited this museum several times over the years, and as of my last visit, there still weren't English panels on the displays. But that's OK, because a picture says 1000 words. Some displays are useless to English only visitors (unless you really know your parasites), but others, like life cycles displays etc. are self explanatory.
It is a tiny museum consisting of two floors. The first floor displays various parasites, while the second floor goes into more detail about their life cycles, hosts, etc. Some of the parasites on display rely on human hosts, while others depend on other species.
There is a small souvenir/gift case on the 2nd floor. Ring the buzzer if you see something you want to purchase and someone will come to assist you. The shop offers t-shirts with animated type depictions of various parasites (including a black t-shirt with a copy of the massive tapeworm on display in the museum), key chains with an actual parasite embedded in them (just a filament looking thing - not obviously threatening at all), pins with animated depictions of parasites, i.e. in purple or orange, post cards (some are not for the queasy), etc. Some of the parasites make fairly amusing caricatures, like the taenia solium or the capsala. I bought the museum Guidebook (English) and it was a nice little color booklet with brief blurbs on various parasites and some general info about the museum and selected displays. The cover picture however may be daunting for some.
I would not recommend this museum for the faint-hearted, but biology buffs might find an hours worth of interest here. Some of the pictures show the effect on the human host. Yikes!! This is probably a good place to take the people in your life who don't believe in washing their hands, those who think hygiene is for sissies - they might get reformed after visiting this place!
I took the Metro Namboku line to Meguro, and it seems to me I made a left out of the station and kept walking until I came to the museum, also on the left. Be looking for it as it is easy to pass by. It's an easy stroll, maybe 3 blocks or so.
Written 10 December 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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