Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Japan Uozu-shi Buried Forest Museum

Buried Forest Museum

Roots and stumps that lay inundated for two millennia are on display in Japan's city of three mysteries.

Uozu-shi, Japan

Added By
Tiff
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Graceful remnants of ancient cedar trunk   carpkazu
Stumps, roots, felled trunk   carpkazu
Uozu Buried Forest Museum (triangular building on right)   蜃氣楼
Museum approach   carpkazu
The underwater-level exhibit.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
A surreal sight awaits.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The “dry exhibit” hall.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The dome hall.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Detail.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Exterior.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
The submerged forest of Uozu.   Fred Cherrygarden / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1930, work began to renovate and expand the fishery harbor in the port town of Uozu. As the project progressed, a strange discovery was made: the remains of an entire forest, buried under the seabed and swallowed by the waves. 

The forest, which consisted mostly of Japanese cedars, was about 500 years old when it was buried roughly 2,000 years ago. The most likely cause for the disappearance was a river flood that engulfed the forest in soil runoff. The local sea level subsequently rose, leaving stumps, root systems, and toppled trunks preserved in the submerged mud.

Today, the gnarled, twisting treasures of this unique find can be seen at the Uozu Buried Forest Museum, which was built around the original excavation site.

The buried forest is one of the three mysteries for which Uozu is known. The second is the spring appearance of firefly squid, bioluminescent creatures that fill the waters with their bluish white glow as they rise to spawn. The third is the regular occurrence of mirages over Toyama Bay, which also happens in the spring. These so-called "superior" mirages—a phenomenon often referred to as a Fata Morgana in Europe—shift the image above the point of origin, resulting in what is often described as visions of cities or ships in the sky. The atmospheric conditions needed to create this effect are rare, and thus superior mirages are far less common than familiar inferior mirages (e.g., illusory puddles on hot pavement). The Uozu Buried Forest Museum has a designated mirage lookout point, where visitors can hope to catch a glimpse of this rare phenomenon.

Related Tags

Forests Hidden Ancient Trees Underwater Ecosystems Plants

Know Before You Go

A 20-minute walk from JR Uozu Station on the JR Hokuriku Line or Toyama Chiho Railway Shin-Uozu Station. 10 minutes by car from Hokuriku Expressway Uozu I.C.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Hidden Japan: Sado Island, Nara & Kyoto

Explore a different side of Japan.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

jupimako

Edited By

RHyzer, Fred Cherrygarden

  • RHyzer
  • Fred Cherrygarden

Published

November 7, 2016

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://foreign.info-toyama.com/en/spot/?spot_id=105&ret_list_p=9
  • http://www.travel-around-japan.com/k46-04-buried-forest-museum.html
  • http://museums.toyamaken.jp/en_museum/e_uozu_buried_forest_museum/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uozu,_Toyama
Buried Forest Museum
814 Shakadō
Uozu-shi
Japan
36.822534, 137.395049
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Firefly Squid of Toyama Bay

Namerikawa, Japan

miles away

Snow Canyon

Tateyama-machi, Japan

miles away

Fureai Sekibutsu no Sato (Village of Statues)

Toyama, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 110

Nearby Places

The Firefly Squid of Toyama Bay

Namerikawa, Japan

miles away

Snow Canyon

Tateyama-machi, Japan

miles away

Fureai Sekibutsu no Sato (Village of Statues)

Toyama, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

Asia

Places 786
Stories 110

Related Stories and Lists

15 Places to Find Buried Treasure

List

By Roxanne Hoorn

39 Places That Will Warp Your Perspective of Time

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • The ghost forest in the fog.

    Neskowin, Oregon

    Neskowin Ghost Forest

    The eerie remnants of an ancient forest were hidden under the sand for centuries.

  • Tree molds.

    La Pine, Oregon

    Lava Cast Forest

    A rugged lava field dotted with molds of the ancient pines that were growing when the volcano erupted.

  • One of the many sinkholes in the park.

    Nassau, Bahamas

    Primeval Forest National Park

    Impressive sink holes fill this untouched old-growth forest in the Bahamas.

  • A small waterfall in the Gourgue d’Asque

    Asque, France

    Gourgue d'Asque

    A French valley with forests so lush it was nicknamed "the Small Amazonia of the Pyrenees."

  • The Enchanted Forest

    Whitethorn, California

    Enchanted Forest

    A grove of "candelabra redwoods" deep in California's Lost Coast.

  • Brea, California

    Brea Redwood Grove

    A non-native grove of 241 redwoods in Southern California.

  • The redwoods.

    Cabezón de la Sal, Spain

    Bosque De Secuoyas (Redwood Forest)

    An out-of-place grove of sequoias thrives in northern Spain.

  • Museum building and tool shop.

    Grayling, Michigan

    Hartwick Pines Logging Museum

    This museum in the woods evokes the work and lives of Michigan's 19-century lumberjacks.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.