Learn about the coins of ancient China and their evolution to Japan’s modern coins when you visit Osaka’s Mint Museum. Make your way to the museum along a tree-lined path past a pair of eight-sided guardhouses that served as the entry to the original Japan Mint. In the spring many of the 300 trees here turn pink with delicate cherry blossoms.Peak cherry blossom viewing happens in mid-April.
Enter the redbrick building to explore three floors filled with coins and other artifacts. Most of the museum’s historic coins are on the third floor. Some come from ancient times, while others are more modern, including coins with a Star Wars theme. Learn about the history of the Japan Mint and the process of minting coins as well.
See a diorama of the original Japan Mint on the first floor. Originally established in 1871, the mint is one of the oldest Western-style buildings in Japan.Mint operations were noted for their modern methods of minting coins and adoption of Western bookkeeping practices.
Displays in the museum have Japanese descriptions, with an English audio guide or a smart phone guide app in multiple languages available. Stop at the Mint Shop to view and purchase commemorative coins, medals and paperweights. If you understand Japanese, book a free tour of the Japan Mint itself. These are offered several times a day and last for about 90 minutes.
Visit the Mint Museum for free. It is open daily except the third Wednesday of the month check the museum website for more information.
Find the museum in the Kita district of Osaka. Walk here in 15 minutes from the Osaka Temmangu, Sakuranomiya or Minami-Morimachi rail stations. Stand along the Okawa River and look west. Notice how the Japan Mint building just beyond the museum has a large green disc at the top of the façade, in the motif of a coin with the green color of a young tree, symbolizing the universality of the coin and the evolving Japan Mint.
