Tokyo museum offers visitors ‘flashback’ to defunct technology

TOKYO: Tucked away in a corner of central Tokyo, the Extinct Media Museum lives up to its name. From Betacam videotapes to floppy disks and vintage Sony devices, the museum is a showcase for old cameras and telecom equipment, including a 1916 Japanese-made “Lily” still camera, its oldest exhibit.

Amidst the three-roomed museum’s cluttered shelves, visitors like 59-year-old Mika Matsuda can rewind to the past and the gadgets that were once in everyday use. “It is fascinating not only for generations unfamiliar with these items, but also for those who lived through those times,” Matsuda said on Saturday.

“Seeing these pieces feels like I’m having a flashback of our own lives. It reminded me of how things were back then – I used to have so much fun,” she said. Opened in January 2023, the museum was founded on the belief that all media equipment, except for paper and stone, will eventually “die out”, explained deputy museum curator Barbara Asuka.

The mostly donated items are displayed so that visitors can pick them up, encouraging a full sensory experience, she added.

“There’s a lot of information you can gain by holding it, like the smell,” Asuka said.

“We want visitors to experience these items with all five senses, rather than just looking at the display through glass,” said Asuka.

The museum regularly accepts donations from museum-goers like Hisashi Ito, who brought in a small hand-held watch and cassette tapes from his personal collection on Saturday.

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“Even if I keep these gadgets at home, they will probably just be thrown away when I die. It’s better to share them and let people enjoy them,” the 56-year-old car designer said.

The Extinct Media Museum’s hours vary, according to its website, with general admission priced at around 2,000 yen ($12.70).

Tickets for donors and students are 1,000 yen.