[simonw]

Wow, didn't expect my https://www.niche-museums.com/ website to show up on Hacker News!

It's actually running on a templated instance of Datasette - try the "Use my location" button on the homepage to see tiny museums near you that I've been to.

[Pamar]

Is there a way to add entries to this collection, or do you only list museums you have been personally been at?

I ask because I tried look for listings of places I know well (e.g. Turin, Italy or Budapest, Hungary) and found that the closest entry was hundreds of miles away.

Turin has, for example, this: http://www.museodellafrutta.it/en/ which is pretty niche, imho. Budapest has a chocolate museum: https://www.csokolade-muzeum.hu/bemutatkozunk/ and so on...

[krisoft]

I have the same question. Happy to prepare a PR if that is welcome.

The one I would be recommending (to the niche museums site, and also to everyone who is around) is the Yokohama Coast Guard museum.

It has a really unassuming name, I only went in because I got caught out in the rain without an umbrella in Minatomirai. Dare I say it is the best museum I have ever visited. It is organised around a single curious event: In 2001 a Japanese Coast Guard vessel encountered a suspiciously behaving fishing travel. They wanted to board them when the fishing vessel took off at high speed and started shooting at them. During the pursuit they even seen the crew wield shoulder mounter missile launchers.

Turns out it was a North Korean spy ship on a mission to raise funds by smuggling drugs to Japan. The incident ended by the Korean crew scuttling their vessel. The coast guard has raised the sunk ship and built this museum around it.

Website of the museum: https://jcgmuseum.jp/en/

More info on the event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amami-%C5%8Cshima

[simonw]

I accept tips of where I should go next, but the site is exclusively museums I've been to myself - it's a really rewarding hobby.

[blincoln]

I see you've been to several aviation museums, but if you're ever anywhere near Ohio, may I suggest the Air Force museum? There are so many aircraft there that one can't see anywhere else, like the only remaining XB-70.

Some other personal favourites:

* Molson, Washington - it's a preserved ghost town, somewhat like Bodie, California, but one can go inside nearly all of the structures, and there is an actual museum set up in the three-story former town school.

* Not sure this counts, because The Met isn't a niche museum overall, but their Egyptian wing is the only place I've been to where one can walk through two more or less complete ancient Egyptian structures without going to Egypt.

[sigriv]

Brussels/Belgium is full of them.

My favorites are the Clockarium, Museum of the Art Deco Ceramic Clock. (https://www.clockarium.org/ Check out the video, its is magnificent.)

And The Sewer Museum: Experience an authentic sewer, stroll along the Senne and discover the little-known but ever so important profession of a sewage worker. Descend deep into the bowels of the city for this unique experience! https://sewermuseum.brussels/

[creativenolo]

I second the wish to add.

Who didn’t want to know what happened to East London Victorian Sewage.

Or the mysterious cave of shells which no science know it came to be [I suspect due to lack of interest, lols]

[Lacerda69]

Simon, you are a beast, is there anything you don't do?

many thanks for all the content and inspiration, your blog is genuinely my favourite read right now!

[ImHereToVote]

Link?

[Arrrlex]

https://simonwillison.net/

[debesyla]

I have one suggestion too! :-D The Devil Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania (https://ciurlionis.lt/activity/permanent-exhibitions/velniu-...). It has few hundred wooden devil statues, most of them made in traditional methods.

[DonHopkins]

How does one traditionally make devils?

[debesyla]

I meant in lithuanian folk art traditions - mostly woodcarvings with various paints, but sometimes using other materials too. I guess forms and colors can also be included in definition of "traditional" :thinking_emoji:

Anyway, I am not an art expert or anything, I just find Devil museum interesting, haha. I managed to find a virtual tour of it too: https://3dtour.1001pikselis.lt/tour/velniu-muziejus

[bigger_inside]

cool site! used it immediately to check if there are interesting places to add to my next trip. "normal" museums bore me.

May I suggest two additions? Kassel, Germany has two weird ones: A museum for death culture (Sepulkralkulturmuseum, https://www.sepulkralmuseum.de/), and a museum of wallpaper (https://www.tapeten.museum-kassel.de/) :)

[dekleinewolf]

Awww, unfortunately nothing in my country! I love going to weirdo museums. My favorites so far are the sardine can and the dredging museums.

[simonw]

Well those sound amazing! Where are they?

[croisillon]

you might want to add the Crime Museum [https://wien.kriminalmuseum.at/en/news/] and the Museum of Contraception and Abortion [https://www.muvs.org/en/] of Vienna, Austria

[imaginarycoder]

Wow for sure if my genius was recognized like that would be surprised too

[throwaway173738]

There’s also a prison museum in Deer Lodge Montana that my partner and I went to to kill a little time before the Vonnie Louise had our room available.