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Meguro Parasitological Museum
Meet the world's longest tapeworm in a collection that really gets under your skin
Category Fascinating Fauna, Pharmacy Museums, Natural History, Medical Museums, Unique Collections
Billing itself as the only establishment in the world entirely devoted to parasites, this quirky little museum has become a popular offbeat attraction - and even date spot - in the relatively quiet Meguro neighborhood of Japan's sprawling capital.
The ground floor might seem harmless enough - lights flash on oversize maps of Japan to show where different parasites are present - but go up the stairs and things take a more gruesome turn.
Photographs show the severely distended testicles of the unfortunate human host of a tropical bug. Nearby, a giant herpetological parasite pokes out of a bottled turtle's head. The museum has over 45,000 immersed and prepared parasite specimens in its collection.
But the prize attraction is undoubtedly the world's longest tapeworm - all 8.8 metres of it - accompanied by a rope the same length that you can "play with" to get a real "feel" for its dimensions. The small gift shop sells a cheery range of parasite-themed T-shirts, keyrings, and birthday cards.
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- Hours Tues-Sunday 10:00am - 5:00, Mon closed
- Website Official site (in English)
- Address 4-1-1 Shinmeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Cost Free
15 minutes walk from JR Meguro station (a map is available from their website).
Comments
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Notes from a 2004 field journal: The Parasite Museum is a Japanese-language repository of jarred and jellied tapeworms, some as long as football fields, ticks, lice, tiny fish inside other fish, worm eggs, dead worms, worms in huge distended testicles, pictures of withered and mostly swollen organs and limbs and faces, more ticks, and, finally, more worms. A must-see.
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