Tomakomai City Museum

Tomakomai City Museum, known in Japanese as Tomakomai-shi Bijutsu-Hakubutsukan (苫小牧市美術博物館), is a municipal museum in Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan. Opened in 1985 and reopened after renewal work in 2013, the institution documents the natural and cultural history of Tomakomai and its surrounding region. Its holdings and exhibitions center on local ecology, Ainu heritage, and the history of Hokkaidō's development, making it a key repository for understanding the area's layered past.

The museum opened on 3 November 1985 to commemorate the centenary of the relocation of a Hokkaidō Development Commission branch to Tomakomai. For nearly three decades it operated as a general museum focused on natural and local history. In July 2013, it reopened following renovation and the incorporation of a fine arts section, a change that prompted its informal nickname "Amyu" and its renewed identity as Tomakomai City Art Museum. This expansion reflected a broader mission to convey the nature of Mount Tarumae and the Yufutsu wilderness, alongside local history and culture, to future generations.

The museum collects and exhibits materials across five main areas: natural history, archaeology, Ainu culture, folklore and history, and fine arts. Its fundamental principles emphasize conveying the nature of Mount Tarumae and the vast Yufutsu wilderness, together with local history and culture. The institution serves as a comprehensive cultural facility that bridges scientific, ethnographic, and artistic perspectives on the region.

The collection includes specimens gathered by Orii Hyōjirō, a local resident whose collecting activities contributed significantly to the museum's natural history holdings. Materials relating to the Ainu and to the era of the Hokkaidō Development Commission also form important parts of the collection, reflecting the area's indigenous heritage and its transformation during the modern colonization and development of Hokkaidō.

The museum is located at 3-9-7 Suehiro-chō, Tomakomai, Hokkaidō. The building is a comprehensive cultural facility with barrier-free access, wheelchair rental, nursing rooms, coin lockers, and cloakrooms. Parking is available for up to 80 vehicles in an adjacent park lot.

The museum is owned and operated by Tomakomai City. It is open from 9:30 to 17:00, with last admission at 16:30. It is closed every Monday (or the following weekday if Monday is a national holiday), and during the year-end and New Year period from December 29 to January 3. Admission is ¥300 for adults (¥240 for groups of 10 or more), and ¥200 for college and high school students (¥140 for groups). Annual passes are available at ¥900 for adults and ¥600 for college and high school students. Admission is free for elementary school students, teachers accompanying student groups, children in child welfare institutions, seniors in elderly welfare facilities, holders of physical or mental disability certificates, and necessary caregivers. Special exhibition fees are set separately. Visitors arriving by car should head toward the port at the intersection of National Route 276 and National Route 36, turn right at the next traffic light, and park in the lot immediately on the right. The museum's official website is https://www.city.tomakomai.hokkaido.jp/hakubutsukan/.