Chōjagahara Archaeological Museum

What it is

• A museum operated by the Itoigawa City Board of Education.
• Dedicated to Japan's first excavated jade production site.
• The site was discovered around 1897.
• Designated a National Historic Site in 1971.

What to see

• Exhibits on the production of jade magatama.
• Jade beads, raw jade, and jade processing tools.
• Evidence of a large settlement 5,000 to 3,500 years ago.
• Artifacts from a jade and serpentinite stone axe trade center.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.