Sand Museum
The Tottori Sand Museum was opened on November 18, 2006, in Tottori, Japan, close to the Tottori Sand Dunes, displaying sand sculptures in temporary facilities. On April 14, 2012, it reopened as the world's first permanent indoor exhibition space dedicated to sand art, exhibiting works by fifteen international sculptors.
Also recorded as The Sand Museum · The Sand Museum in Tottori Sand Dunes · Tottori Sand Dunes The Sand Museum
Sand Museum
KASEI · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Tottori Sand Museum
- Founded
- 2012
- Headquarters
- Japan
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Documentary summary
The Tottori Sand Museum was opened on November 18, 2006, in Tottori, Japan, close to the Tottori Sand Dunes, displaying sand sculptures in temporary facilities. On April 14, 2012, it reopened as the world's first permanent indoor exhibition space dedicated to sand art, exhibiting works by fifteen international sculptors.
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wikidata · Q7415842
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tottori Sand Museum • Native Name — 砂の美術館 • Cost — ¥ 580 million • Address — 2083-17, Yuyama, Fukube-chō • Location Town — Tottori, Tottori Prefecture • Location Country — Japan • Opened Date — 14 April 2012 • Website — www.sand-museum.jp/en
History
History
The local tourism officer of the Tottori Sand Dunes, Shinji Tsutsui, was passionate about the Italian Renaissance, and invited the sand sculptor Katsuhiko Chaen to create a sand exhibit on that theme in 2006. The first exhibit took place in November 2006. The first exhibits took place in a tent. In 2012, a permanent 21,000-square building, located around 20 minutes from the sand dunes, became the home of the exhibit. The museum won the 2021 TripAdvisor's choice award for places to visit.
Yearly exhibits
Yearly exhibits
• Year — Theme — Description • 2006 — Italian Renaissance • 2007 — World Heritage and Asia| • 2008 — Austria • 2009 — Africa • 2010 — No exhibition — Construction of indoor exhibition space • 2011 — No exhibition — Construction of indoor exhibition space • 2012 — United Kingdom — Olympics- and London-themed sand sculpture to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics. • 2013 — South-East Asia • 2014 — Russia • 2015 — Germany • 2016 — South America • 2017 — U.S.A. • 2018 — Northern Europe • 2019 — South Asia • 2020 — Czech Republic and Slovakia — 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Czechoslovakia. 3,000 tons of sand were used by 17 sculptors. • 2021 — No exhibition — COVID-19 • 2022 — Egypt • 2023 — Egypt — Continuation of previous year's exhibit • 2024 — France • 2025 — Japan
Institutional history
Dated record
Institutional history
The full dated record · 2 entries
2012
Sand Museum established.
2012
Sand Museum is recorded from 2012.
Places
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Places
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- Japan
Description
Each yearly exhibit starts in April and lasts until January of the following year. The sand sculptures are then deliberately destroyed and a new exhibit is prepared from January to April. The sand sculptor Katsuhiko Chaen is the chief sculptor. Despite the museum's close proximity to the sand dunes, that sand cannot be used because the sand dunes are part of a protected national park. The sand comes from a road building project, and the same sand is reused each year. Only sand and water is used to create the sculptures. The museum's motto is "Travel around the World in Sand", and the exhibit is themed around a different country or geographical area each year.
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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