Nima Sand Museum
A museum given over to sand, with the world's largest hourglass standing in it.
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Nima Sand Museum
SaveA museum given over to sand, with the world's largest hourglass standing in it.
Admission includes a sand-art sheet, and children get absorbed peeling off stickers and sprinkling sand.
MoreWhat kind of place
The museum opened in 1991 and holds Sunagoyomi, the world's largest hourglass. It is a glass vessel about 5.2 meters (17 feet) tall, filled with roughly a ton of sand that takes a full year to run through.
The hourglass was installed in the hope of preserving nearby Kotogahama, a beach whose sand squeaks underfoot. Every New Year's Eve, staff give it a half turn to start the new year.
The building itself is hard to miss: six glass pyramids of different sizes, designed by Shin Takamatsu, an architect from Nima.
Sources and evidence (19)
- The official site bills it as a sand museum holding the world's largest hourglass, and as the place in Ota City where you can try glass crafts.source
- It is run by the Silverland Promotion Foundation, a public-interest foundation.source
- The facility page is split into two headings, Nima Sand Museum and Fureai Koryukan, without saying whether they are separate buildings.source
- The Fureai Koryukan's second floor holds the entrance and a souvenir corner selling hourglasses and accessories.source
- The Fureai Koryukan's first floor is where the glass craft sessions run, alongside a display of Czech Bohemian glass.source
- Visitors from abroad who show a passport or residence card to the reception staff are given a small souvenir.source
- Finished clear candles are handed back about 30 minutes later.source
- Finished flashlight-work pieces are handed back about 30 minutes later.source
- A changing table inside the multipurpose restroom is free for anyone to use.source
- There is no dedicated nursing room, but ask a staff member and they will find you an empty room to use.source
- A visitor traveling with a six-month-old in April 2025 asked at reception and was shown to a room with long tables and a whiteboard, where a chair and a screen were set up.source
- Shimane's tourism site lists a nursing room or nursing space, a diaper-changing space, and Western-style toilets.source
- The same site lists an entrance ramp, an elevator, a wheelchair-accessible multipurpose restroom, and an AED.source
- Pamphlets are offered in English, Korean, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese, and the notes also mention a guide service.source
- An accessibility site lists wheelchair parking, an elevator, a wheelchair-accessible restroom, an entrance ramp, a nursing space, and a diaper-changing space, and notes that service dogs are allowed and braille signage is in place.source
- Sunagoyomi, the world's largest one-year hourglass, was installed in the hope of preserving Kotogahama, a nearby beach known for sand that squeaks underfoot.source
- Every New Year's Eve an event called the Festival of Time gives the one-year hourglass a half turn to start the new year.source
- It opened in 1991, designed by Shin Takamatsu, an architect from Nima, and the building's six glass pyramids of varying size catch the eye.source
- A June 2025 visit report describes the hourglass as a glass vessel about 5.2 meters (17 feet) tall and 1 meter (3 feet) across, holding roughly a ton of sand that takes a year to run through, with an identical model right beside it that you can actually turn over.source
With kidsThe part that matters
A museum about sand can sound like a hard sell for young kids, right up until the ticket desk hands you a sand-art sheet.
Kids peel back the stickers, shake sand over the sticky patches, and end up with a picture of their own.
You can wheel your own stroller straight in, or borrow one of the museum's two loaner strollers for free, and the changing table is inside the multipurpose restroom.
Staff will open up an empty room for you to nurse in if you ask at reception, though there is no dedicated nursing room.
Parking is free and an hour covers the museum, so add time only if you want to do the glass workshop.
Sources and evidence (3)
- Your ticket comes with a sheet for sand art. Sand pictures shift as you tilt them, and one room is all Sunadokei manga.source
- Ten minutes by car from Iwami Ginzan, an hour inside. Beside the hourglass stands a same-size model you turn yourself.source
- Four glass workshops. For the clear candle you pick a vessel, colored sand and glass pieces; it sets in half an hour.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1You can go in with the stroller; there is a ramp at the entrance and a lift inside, and the museum says families with babies and small children are welcome. Sunagoyomi, the world's largest one-year hourglass, is a glass vessel about 5.2 meters tall and 1 meter across, something to look up at with the baby in your arms. The building itself is six glass pyramids of different sizes.The diaper changing table is inside the multipurpose restroom and free to use. There is no dedicated nursing room, but staff will open up an empty room if you ask: in April 2025 a visitor with a six-month-old asked at reception and was shown to a room with a long table and a whiteboard, where a chair and a screen were set up. Two strollers are lent free of charge, along with two wheelchairs. Wednesday is the regular closing day, but other days do fall closed as well (in August 2026 the 5th, 17th, 19th and 26th), so check before you go.
- Ages 2-3Right beside Sunagoyomi stands a model hourglass of the same shape, and this one you can turn over yourself. In the Fureai Koryukan, the first floor holds the glass workshop and a display of Czech Bohemian glass, and the second floor has the entrance and a souvenir corner selling hourglasses and accessories.The glass workshop desk takes applications from 9:00 to 15:00, and everything except the burner work needs no reservation as a rule. The clear candle, 1,600 yen including one glass ornament, takes about 30 minutes to make, and the finished piece is handed over about 30 minutes after that, so allow for the wait. The museum is open 9:00-17:00, with the desk closing at 16:30.
- Ages 4-6In the sandblasting workshop children put a pattern on a cup or a plate, 1,000 to 2,000 yen each and from about 60 minutes. A craft knife is used, so preschoolers work with a parent beside them, and stamps can be used to make the pattern instead. There is also fusing, twelve items including keyrings and chopstick rests, 1,500 yen, about 30 minutes. Sunagoyomi takes a year for its ton of sand to run through, and on New Year's Eve it is given a half turn in a ceremony called Toki no Saiten.Fused pieces are fired later, so you cannot take them home the same day: you either return about a week later or have them shipped for a fee. Sandblasting starts at about 60 minutes and varies with the design. Burner work is for elementary school age and up, held on the fourth Sunday of each month (third Sunday in December) at 10:00 and 14:00, five places per session, by reservation. Admission is 800 yen for high school age and above and 400 yen for elementary and junior high students. Overseas visitors who show a passport or residence card to the reception staff receive a commemorative gift.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayYou go inside a building of six large and small glass pyramids to see Sunagoyomi, the world's largest one-year sand clock. Strollers can be wheeled straight in, and free loaner strollers are available too.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed1 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
Family checks✓ easy for your family
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：with conditionsconditions
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Tap a mark for details
* Other not checked (9)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Indoor / outdoor, Child switch (rider swap), Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Your ticket comes with a sheet for sand art. Sand pictures shift as you tilt them, and one room is all Sunadokei manga.
A pilgrimage to the sand hourglass: the Nima Sand Museum in Shimane
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Ten minutes by car from Iwami Ginzan, an hour inside. Beside the hourglass stands a same-size model you turn yourself.
The Nima Sand Museum: a sand museum children enjoy too
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Four glass workshops. For the clear candle you pick a vessel, colored sand and glass pieces; it sets in half an hour.
Nima Sand Museum, part 2
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Where it is
975 Amagouchi, Nima-cho, Oda-shi, Shimane 699-2305source
Before you go
- Apart from flashlight work, the craft sessions generally take walk-ins; parties of 10 or more need to call ahead.source
- Fused pieces are fired afterward, so you cannot take them home the same day; come back in about a week or pay to have them shipped.source
- Flashlight work runs on the fourth Sunday of each month (the third Sunday in December), twice a day at 10:00 and 14:00, by reservation, with five places per session.source
Basics
- Fee：¥800 from high school age, ¥400 for elementary and junior-high students; ¥750 from age 65, and ¥400/¥200 for a visitor with a disability certificate plus one companion. Groups of 20 or more pay ¥700 and ¥350. Show a passport or residence card at the desk and you are given a souvenir of your visit. The glass workshops next door are charged separately: sandblasting ¥1,000-2,000, clear candles ¥1,600, fusing ¥1,500, burner work ¥2,800.source2
- Hours：9:00-17:00, last admission 16:30; 2-5 January it is 10:00-16:00 (last admission 15:30). Closed Wednesdays, but not only Wednesdays - August 2026, for instance, also closes on Monday the 17th - so check the closing-day calendar before you set the date. Also closed 29-31 December and 1 and 6-8 January. The glass workshop desk takes bookings 9:00-15:00, and burner work only at 10:00 and 14:00.source23
- Time to allow：1 hsource
- Booking：No booking to visit. The glass workshops in the Fureai Koryukan next door take walk-ins - except burner work, which runs one day a month on the fourth Sunday (third in December), twice that day, five places per session, by reservation only. Parties of ten or more should call ahead for any workshop. The workshop desk has its own number, 0854-88-3601.source
Basics in detail (23)
Getting there
- The address is 975 Amagouchi, Nima-cho, Ota, Shimane 699-2305, and the museum's phone number is 0854-88-3776.source
- Questions about the glass craft sessions go to the Fureai Koryukan on a separate line, 0854-88-3601, not the museum's own number.source
- The parking lot holds 170 cars and 10 buses.source
- There are parking spaces near the front entrance for visitors with limited mobility and wheelchair users; call ahead if you want one.source
- By car it is about 3 minutes from the Nima-Iwami Ginzan interchange, 40 minutes from Gotsu, 50 minutes from Izumo, 80 minutes from Oasa, and 90 minutes from Miyoshi, on a route with narrow stretches.source
- By train, get off at Nima Station, about 60 minutes from Izumoshi, then walk about 10 minutes; trains are infrequent, so check the timetable before you go.source
- Izumo Airport takes flights from Tokyo, Osaka (Itami), Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Oki, and from there you reach Izumoshi Station by shuttle bus or taxi.source
- Overflow parking is signposted on August 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16, 2026.source
- Parking is free, with 170 car spaces and 10 bus spaces, plus 10 free spaces for bicycles.source
Hours and closures
- Opening hours are 9:00 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:30.source
- From January 2 to 5 the hours shift to 10:00 to 16:00, with last admission at 15:30.source
- The stated closing day is every Wednesday, moving to the next weekday when that Wednesday is a public holiday.source
- In August 2026 the closed days are the 5th, 17th, 19th, and 26th, so closures do land on days other than Wednesday.source
- It closes December 29 through 31, and again on January 1 and January 6 through 8, though those dates can change.source
- Sign-ups for the glass crafts run 9:00 to 15:00, except flashlight work, which runs only twice a day, at 10:00 and 14:00.source
Fees
- Admission is 800 yen for high school students and up, and 400 yen for elementary and middle school students.source
- Groups of 20 or more pay 700 yen for high school students and up, and 350 yen for elementary and middle school students.source
- A visitor holding a Japanese disability certificate, plus one companion, pays 400 yen at high school age and up, or 200 yen for elementary and middle school students.source
- Visitors 65 and over pay 750 yen; show proof of age, or simply tell the desk the year you were born.source
- Sandblasting comes as a cup or a plate, each 1,000 to 2,000 yen, and takes about an hour or more depending on the design.source
- A clear candle is 1,600 yen with one small glass piece, or 2,300 yen for a set of three, and takes about 30 minutes; extra pieces are 400 yen each and the session holds 20 people.source
- Fusing covers 12 items — keychain, strap, necklace, pierced earrings, clip earrings, hair tie, chopstick rest, magnet, obi clasp, swizzle stick, plate, and umbrella marker — at 1,500 yen, taking about 30 minutes, with room for about 20 people.source
- Flashlight work is open to elementary school age and up, with a parent alongside for anyone through middle school; it takes about 45 minutes to an hour, costs 2,800 yen, and you can make up to five teardrop beads.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (9)
- sandmuseum.exblog.jp: Stroller friendly, Stroller rental, Diaper changing table
- kankou-shimane.com: Diaper changing table, Nursing space, Family restroom
- barrier-free.net: Diaper changing table, Family restroom, Elevator
- mamamap.jp: Nursing space
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: main site
The glass workshops sit on the first floor of the Fureai Koryukan next door. A clear candle is handed back after about half an hour. A fused-glass piece is fired again later, so it cannot go home with you that day. Sandblasting puts a pattern on a cup or a plate, and stamps can be used for it. Burner work, open from school age, runs on one Sunday a month. Czech Bohemian glass is displayed on the same floor.
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Strollers can come in as they are, and two loaner strollers are available free of charge. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sandmuseum.exblog.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller rental | Yes (2) | Free of charge. Two wheelchairs can also be borrowed. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sandmuseum.exblog.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | A changing table is inside the accessible restroom, free to use. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sandmuseum.exblog.jpkankou-shimane.combarrier-free.net |
| Nursing space | Yes | There is no dedicated nursing room; ask a staff member and they show you to a spare room with a chair and a folding screen. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sandmuseum.exblog.jpmamamap.jpkankou-shimane.com |
| Family restroom | Yes | A wheelchair-accessible multipurpose restroom, with the diaper changing table inside. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kankou-shimane.comsandmuseum.exblog.jpbarrier-free.net |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Yes | There is also a ramp at the entrance. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kankou-shimane.combarrier-free.net |
| Indoor / outdoor | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | English menu & signs | Pamphlets in English, Korean, Traditional and Simplified Chinese. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kankou-shimane.com |
| Steps & slope caution | Barrier-free | Ramp at the entrance, an elevator and a wheelchair-accessible toilet; two wheelchairs can be borrowed. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | kankou-shimane.combarrier-free.netsandmuseum.exblog.jp |
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Parking for 170 cars and 10 buses, with extra spaces by the entrance for visitors who use a wheelchair - call ahead if you want one. By car it is about 3 minutes from the Nima-Iwami Ginzan interchange, 40 from Gotsu, 50 from Izumo and 80 from Oasa; the Miyoshi route, about 90 minutes, is flagged as narrow. By train, Nima station is about 60 minutes from Izumoshi and then a 10-minute walk, but trains are infrequent, so check the timetable before you go. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | sandmuseum.jpsandmuseum.jp |
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet |
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