To discover the secrets of our planet’s birth is to discover our own roots as members of the human race. As a “Museum of Stones” Fossa Magna Museum aims to share these secrets by exhibiting the processes which created our planet and gave birth to the Japanese Islands in a way that is accessible and enjoyable. Each stone around us tells a story about how our land formed and how life developed on our planet. With one of Japan’s greatest varieties of stones, Itoigawa is a perfect place to learn these stories and to learn how the Japanese Islands came to be. The Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line and the Fossa Magna which cleaved Japan in two; the beautiful gemstone jade which formed deep beneath Itoigawa over 500 million years ago; the ancient coral reefs which became massive limestone mountains; and the active volcano Mt. Yakeyama—all of these are woven into a brilliant tapestry, an epic tale of the Japanese Islands told to us by Itoigawa’s stones.
　Take this opportunity to explore the wonder hidden in the land of the Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark. We are waiting at the Fossa Magna Museum to start you on your journey.