Hello, and welcome to Japanology Plus.
I'm Peter Barakan.

I'm in the town of Mukawa
on the Pacific coast of Hokkaido,

the northernmost
of Japan's four main islands.

The beautiful winter scenery here
may be misleading,

because we're actually here
to talk about dinosaurs.

The reason for that is

that an almost complete dinosaur skeleton
was excavated close to here.

It's been on display since 2019.

It was a newly discovered species

which was given the name
Kamuysaurus japonicus,

and its discovery led
to some new knowledge about dinosaurs.

Japan actually has
a large number of dinosaur fans,

and there are some 40 museums

dotted around the country
displaying dinosaur fossils.

We'll see some fossils today,

and also find out a little bit
about how Japan was

back in the day
when dinosaurs roamed the land.

Dinosaurs emerged
around 230 million years ago.

The term “dinosaur” covers
a diverse group of extraordinary creatures

that existed for an
incredible 170 million years.

So far, around a thousand species
have been identified.

The first dinosaur fossil discovery
in Japan was made in 1978.

Known as “Moshiryu,”
it was found in Iwate Prefecture.

Analysis revealed that the
creature was 22 meters in length.

Its neck alone was ten meters long.

It was once believed that dinosaurs,
as mostly land-based reptiles,

would not be found in Japan,

much of which was underwater
in the age of the dinosaurs.

So that first discovery inspired
researchers and amateur enthusiasts.

They began searching
for more dinosaur fossils in Japan.

In 1984,

the fossil of a carnivorous dinosaur
was found—in Kumamoto Prefecture.

More discoveries followed,

and so far dinosaur fossils
have been found in 19 prefectures.

The one from Mukawa, in particular,
is a major focus of attention.

That's because
it's an almost complete skeleton.

Many other discoveries
have consisted of only small fragments.

More new discoveries have since been made,

making Japan an exciting place
to look for dinosaur fossils.

Our guest this time
is dinosaur expert Kobayashi Yoshitsugu.

He travels regularly in search of fossils,
both in Japan, and elsewhere,

including Mongolia and the US.

He's well known
in the world of fossil hunters.

Our first stop is a museum in Mukawa.

It's this way.

OK.

This is a big one.

So this is the famous
Kamuysaurus japonicus, is it?

It is.

This town is called Mukawa,

so the dinosaur's Japanese nickname
is “Mukawa-ryu.”

OK.

Officially, it's Kamuysaurus japonicus.

How big is this?

The tail is missing from this model,

but it was about eight meters long,
and weighed roughly four or five tons.

This is a replica?

Yes.

Resin is used to make a replica like this,
based on the fossil that was found.

Is it a carnivorous one?

No, it ate plants.

Take a look at its jaw.

Carnivores have big, sharp teeth,
but this one didn't.

Instead, it had a beak.

Were you personally involved in...
in the excavation process?

Many people, including myself, took part.

But the initial discovery was made
by Horita Yoshiyuki, a local amateur.

Really?

Amateurs play a really important role
in fossil hunting in Japan.

This discovery was made in the mountains
of Mukawa, in marine sediment.

I know that might sound a bit confusing.

I don't understand that.

Previously, those
mountains were under the sea.

Sediment built up,
preserving the dinosaur's remains.

Through a process called geologic uplift,
the land rose up out of the water.

It sounds rather unusual that

dinosaur fossils would be discovered
in marine sediment.

Globally, 90 percent of dinosaur fossils
are found in land strata.

It's likely that those found
in marine sediment

belonged to dinosaurs
that lived on the coast.

They died,
and were pulled out to sea on the tide.

Or maybe they drowned.

That's how land dinosaurs can end up
in marine sediment.

Previously,

we didn't know much about what types
of dinosaurs lived on the coast.

But thanks
to the discovery of the Kamuysaurus,

global understanding
has significantly improved.

It was a very important find.

And how long ago are we talking about?

It lived around 72 million years ago.

You know the T-rex?

(Japanese) Yes.

And the triceratops?

OK.

It was the same period as those two.

After you discover these bones or fossils,

what kind of research do you then do?

Well, take a look at this.

It's a cross section of shin bone.

Whoa. And that's the real thing?

Yes, it's a real bone.

A thin slice of bone.

Can you see the rings, here?

Yes, it's like with trees, isn't it?

It is.

And they do indeed show
how old this dinosaur was.

One, two, three...

maybe a bit more. It's hard to see.

Some of them are bigger than the others.
It's strange.

There are 12 rings,
so it was around 12 years old.

Oh so it's one ring per year?

Oh, that's interesting.

Just the same as tree rings.

Also, you can see
the gaps getting smaller.

That shows fast growth in the early years,

and slower growth later on.

In 12 to 13 years it reached this size.

So this was a new species,
and presumably it's unique to Japan?

Yes,

Kamuysaurus is a new kind of dinosaur
that has been found only in Japan.

But very similar types have actually
been discovered in North America.

So we know
that the cousins of this dinosaur

probably migrated from North America.

Study on another Japanese dinosaur,
Nipponosaurus,

shows that this group came from Europe.

And another dinosaur,

one that existed
at the same time as Kamuysaurus,

was discovered
in Hyogo Prefecture: Yamatosaurus.

That one truly is unique to Japan.

A land bridge, Beringia, connected the
North American and Eurasian landmasses.

Various dinosaurs originating
in North America and Europe

ended up near here.

Japan was a popular travel destination.

These days,
Japan is very popular with tourists.

And it was true back then, too.

Dinosaurs came here from all over.

OK, so you get a lot of biodiversity
because of that.

Interesting.

Nowadays,

it's relatively common for museum exhibits
to present a complete dinosaur skeleton.

But that wasn't always the case.

The person behind the first such
exhibition in Japan was Ogawa Yukichi,

an amateur fossil collector.

In 1910 he went to the USA,
where he taught Japanese,

and later ran a hotel business.

On a trip back to Japan,

he was shocked to discover that

Japan didn't have a single complete
dinosaur skeleton on display.

Ogawa had been impressed
by the dinosaurs exhibited outside Japan,

and wanted Japanese children
to enjoy the same experience.

So he sold off his hotel business,

and contributed funds
to the fossil excavation work

of a US university research team.

In 1964,

a complete skeleton from that project

was donated to Tokyo's
National Museum of Nature and Science,

and Japan was able to exhibit
an entire dinosaur for the first time.

Exhibits have evolved since then.

These days, dinosaurs are posed
in ever more realistic ways.

Most of the complete skeleton
exhibits in Japan

are assembled by a master of the craft:

Takahashi Isao.

So far, he has completed over a hundred.

60 years ago,
dinosaurs were simply shown standing.

But Takahashi is able to make a skeleton

look as if it's about to leap into action.

I consider its center of gravity
and the direction of its gaze.

I think of it
as an actual living creature.

What's it doing? Where's it going?

I take that into account.

Let's watch Takahashi at work.

The positioning of the foot matters.

It should face out,
as if providing support for movement.

This dynamic pose shows
a dinosaur searching for food.

The work of experts like Takahashi

makes it easier to picture
how dinosaurs once moved, and lived.

Modern exhibits are often replicas.

So now let's look at the real thing.

I can give you a special look at
the lower jaw of the actual Kamuysaurus.

Wow.

You can lightly touch the surface.

Really? I don't need white gloves, or...?

No, no!

Oh, it's really smooth.

That's quite exciting.

72 million years.

To get fossils looking like this
we need a preparation process.

Right.

The workshop is just next door;

would you like to see?

Oh, let's have a look. Yes, absolutely.

Most fossils are encased in rock,

which must be carefully removed.

In case you're wondering
about the change in wardrobe,

this is where I get a crash course
in fossil cleaning.

And all I can hope is that
they have a very good insurance policy.

OK, just over here.

This is what fossil preparation
looks like.

It's like a dentist, isn't it?

It is.

Compressed air makes the tip of
this instrument oscillate rapidly.

Ah, I see. Oh,
so it's air coming out of it?

It's not a drill. I see, I see.

That oscillating tip lets us
remove the rock without using force.

Everything surrounding the fossil
was originally mud.

We remove it.

OK.

Would you like to try it?

I'm feeling nervous about this already.

You should put on gloves and goggles.

OK.

This section will be easy.

OK. Just very gently?

So, here?

Yes.

I hope I'm not taking
too much of this off.

Oh!

Oh my god.

No, you're doing well. No problem.

That was all right?

It's fine.

Ah!

I almost had a heart attack there.

So this whole bit has to come off, right?

Yes. There's an ammonite here.

Yeah, you have to be careful. Right.

Good work!

Ah, so... I see.

OK. This...obviously it's very,
very painstaking process,

and it takes a long time.

I'm sure you're a professional,

you can do it much better
and much more quickly, but...

You can imagine how long it takes to
clean a large skeleton like a Kamuysaurus.

That whole thing has to
go through this process. Wow.

It's a big job.

It must take years.

Yes, it does.

OK. Respect.

There are apparently
something like 40 museums

around Japan with dinosaur displays.

That sounds like an awful lot to me.

Dinosaur-related content
is extremely popular.

I think that makes Japan
a bit unusual compared to other countries.

Japanese children especially
are very interested in dinosaurs.

And so dinosaur exhibitions
draw a lot of visitors.

In that regard, I think Japan
is something of a special case.

Dinosaurs, I would say,
are pretty popular worldwide.

Do you think they're particularly popular
in Japan?

It does seem so.

When exhibitions tour the world,

they may attract a lot of visitors
in Japan,

but not so many elsewhere.

Why is that?

Well, my view is that it has to do
with Japanese culture.

Especially Godzilla.

And when I was a boy, Ultraman.

You see a lot of giant monsters
in Japanese entertainment.

And I think that cultivates a lifetime
interest in big, mysterious creatures.

That's become a national characteristic.

I mean, the old Godzilla films
are sort of very obviously fake,

but I suppose
if you've grown up seeing those,

and then you know you can go somewhere
and see the real thing,

then perhaps it becomes
that much more exciting.

That's right.

Godzilla and Ultraman are,
of course, fictional.

Dinosaurs have the same visual impact
as Godzilla,

but they actually existed.

They were living creatures—
they lived on the same planet as us.

That's a big difference.

They don't just captivate children,
but grown-ups, too.

And I suppose if there are
that many museums,

they all have to compete
to draw people in as well.

So does that make the displays
more interesting as well?

Japanese exhibitions are often designed
to draw the attention of young visitors.

And they can't take the naive approach
of simply displaying dinosaurs,

and waiting for people to turn up.

Japanese kids
are quite discerning and knowledgeable.

Lots of educational media is available.

It's often updated
with detailed information.

Children absorb all that
before they go to an exhibition.

So their expectations are really high.

Really?

Yes.

Museum curators need to
bear in mind

that children can be
pretty hard to please.

It's important to listen to their opinions

in order to make exhibitions really good.

Hello there.

My name is Kyle Card,
and welcome to Plus One.

Now up until this point in the program
you've been introduced to some dinosaurs

that walked amongst us
millions of years ago,

but I'm here today to introduce you
to some modern dinosaurs,

starting with this hotel.

Now I don't know
what hotels and dinosaurs have in common,

but let's take a look.

Whoa.

There's dinosaurs behind the front desk!

Wow.

It's like I've walked into Jurassic Park.

Hello.

Welcome to Henna Hotel.

Please select “Check in”
on the touch panel.

It's talking to me.

(Chinese) Welcome!

(Chinese) Welcome to Henna Hotel.

Wow.

He's a polyglot.

Thank you very much.

Please enjoy your stay.

Thank you very much Mr. Dinosaur.

Welcome.

Whoa, it's a human!

Hi.

Why do you have dinosaurs
behind your front desk as staff?

We wanted to make the experience
more entertaining.

Dinosaurs are loved by people
of all ages—children and adults alike—

so that's why we chose them.

They also have a bit of like...
a Japanese taste to them, don't they?

I notice the traditional hats.

Yes, we wanted
to include a sense of history.

That's why we added the hats.

Have you seen like an increase
in your sales at all?

Like, has it improved business?

It saves on labor costs,

and I think their appearance may help
to deter criminals!

Next up,

we have some more modern dinosaurs

who are being utilized
in the entertainment industry.

In what capacity?

I'm not sure.

Let's find out.

Ohh.

Wow, look at those!

These are massive.

Look at the detail,

like of the scales, the coloring,
the eyes...

the eyes look real.

Wow.

This is just breathtakingly amazing. Wow.

I guess these would look good on
a movie set or something like that, right?

Whoa!

What?

It's alive! Somebody help me!

Somebody help me!

Are you OK?

Sorry,
my heart's still pounding a little bit.

When I was young,
I really loved dinosaurs, right?

So seeing dinosaurs alive like this
in front of me...part of me was horrified,

but at the same time, I was just like...

I want to see more,
and I just couldn't stop.

I wanted to be like, ah I want
to touch it, I want to see it moving,

because it's like a dream come true.

So are these robots?

They're not robots. They're mechanical.

And they have human operators.

These are the world's first
mechanical dinosaur suits.

And this man
was their developer: Kanemaru Kazuya.

I can't imagine one person is able
to pilot this alone.

And even if it was,

wouldn't they be a well-muscled wrestler,
or something like that?

They use modern materials,

such as carbon fiber,
which are sturdy but lightweight.

This weighs just 40 kilos.

Really?

Yes, in total.

I'm also wondering why you decided on

like having a person
inside the dinosaur piloting,

as opposed to making it
into like a fully functioning robot?

We use mechanization
to the extent that we can,

but for subtle, lifelike movement,
you must have a human operator.

With a robot, it's just too difficult.

The reality is quite remarkable.

I mean like, the eyes blink,
the mouth moves,

it makes sounds, it roars,

it moves around, the tail's going,
the legs are going,

like, it's truly quite remarkable.

If they aren't realistic,

they won't inspire people to think
about what dinosaurs were really like.

Fear, surprise, curiosity...

these dinosaurs stimulate
all sorts of feelings.

He's going to eat you!

The thrill is the best part.

Why go so far
to make something this authentic

and like this...so larger than life?

It's because people want to see dinosaurs.

And I want to see them too.

I'm also wondering...would it be possible,
like...

I see in front of me
a dinosaur moving around,

but I'm wondering like how you do it.

Would it be possible for me to
take a peek inside and see how it's done?

Well, inside,

there are all sorts of levers and things
that need to be operated.

Yes, it would be great
if I could actually show you,

but I'm afraid I can't.

OK. OK, I understand.

Well it turns out that

Japan is not only a hotspot
for the discovery of new dinosaur species,

but also the seat of cutting-edge
technologies that could take us back

and give us a glimpse into what
it was like at the time of the dinosaurs.

That's all we have for Plus One today.

See you next time.

In 2022, an unusual event took place
in Fukui Prefecture.

Far fewer girls than boys
are dinosaur fans,

and one aim was to enable young female
enthusiasts to get to know each other.

They were aged around 9 to 17,

and 21 of them gathered
from all over the country.

The two-day course was led
by a group of experts.

They taught the students basic facts
about dinosaurs—

including various different kinds,
and the process of evolution.

In 2025,

Fukui Prefectural University is scheduled
to open the country's first faculty

for dinosaur studies.

Japan is becoming a great place
to find out about them.

I wonder if there's something
about dinosaurs that

inspires people to want to learn,
perhaps about ancient history,

and all kinds of other things as well,
perhaps?

Dinosaurs are for everyone.

Regardless of age, gender or nationality,

they're a gateway
to an interest in science.

As soon as you think,
“Dinosaurs are fun,”

you're on your way.

It's the first step.

And before you know it,
science will seem fun too.

Take Hokkaido University.

I am a dinosaur researcher there,

and I'm seeing more and more students
who want to study dinosaurs.

A huge number.

But when they get to university,

they see
all the other experts and researchers.

Rather than dinosaurs, they become
interested in this, or in that.

They move on.

And that's great.

Dinosaurs put people on the path
to an interest in science.

And as they advance,
they see how much more there is to learn.

Dinosaur research is helping to
raise the next generation of scientists.

It's an excellent subject.

They were there millions
and millions of years ago,

and now we're here.

I mean,

it's like, they ruled the world
for several hundred million years.

And then
they disappeared almost completely.

And then much, much later on,
human beings appear.

And we've been here for only a very
short time compared with the dinosaurs.

But it's like, now with global warming

and all the other
environmental destruction that's going on,

our time here could be pretty limited
as well.

And you kind of have to think,

when our time has gone,

and we're part of the past like they are,

who or what comes next?

It's highly likely that humans, too,
will go extinct.

But it's possible that research
on dinosaurs

will tell us what we can do
to postpone that fate.

We don't want to end up
with some other organism thinking,

“Wow, humans were really stupid!”

To avoid that,

we should think about the environment,
and learn from dinosaurs.

Then perhaps we can give ourselves
just a bit more time.

Are you still going fossil hunting?

Will you be going again this year?

Well...I'm hooked! I have to go.

I'll be in Mongolia, Alaska and Uzbekistan
for at least three months.

OK.

I look forward
to you finding something new.

Yes, and then we can speak again.

That would be great.

Thank you very much.