Nima Sand Museum
A museum given over to sand, with the world's largest hourglass standing in it.
piggybackjapan.com
Nima Sand Museum
SaveA museum given over to sand, with the world's largest hourglass standing in it.
Glass workshops next door let you make a piece, and some are ready to carry home the same day.
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- ElevatorElevator：not checked
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：not checked
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：not checked
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Diaper binDiaper disposal bin：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：not checked
- Kids' toiletKids' toilet seat & step stool：not checked
- Own foodOutside food allowed：not checked
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
Green = we confirmed it. Grey = not checked yet. Grey with a line through = the place does not have it.
Near here
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A pilgrimage to the sand hourglass: the Nima Sand Museum in Shimane
Your ticket comes with a sheet for sand art. Sand pictures shift as you tilt them, and one room is all Sunadokei manga.
note.com2026
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
The Nima Sand Museum: a sand museum children enjoy too
Ten minutes by car from Iwami Ginzan, an hour inside. Beside the hourglass stands a same-size model you turn yourself.
pharmacist-trip.com2025
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Nima Sand Museum, part 2
Four glass workshops. For the clear candle you pick a vessel, coloured sand and glass pieces; it sets in half an hour.
naniwa-i.com2021
Nima Sand Museum · Links & reads ▾
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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.■■
- 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.■■■
- Time needed：90 min
- 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.■Official booking site ↗
evidence & sources (1)
The glass workshops sit on the ground 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 | Not checked yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Nursing space | Not checked yet | ||||
| Family restroom | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Not checked yet | ||||
| Indoor / outdoor | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | Not checked yet | ||||
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | Not checked yet | ||||
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | Parking for 170 cars and 10 coaches, 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 |
Not checked yet (8)
Indoor / outdoor, Steps & slope caution, Child switch (rider swap), Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support