The World's Only Museum Dedicated to Parasites
Founded by Dr. Satoru Kamegai in 1953 using his personal funds, the Meguro Parasitological Museum is a world-renowned non-profit research facility. Despite its compact two-story building in central Tokyo, it houses over 45,000 preserved specimens and thousands of rare scientific manuscripts.
The Star Exhibit: The 8.8-Meter Tapeworm
The most famous artifact in the museum is a preserved 8.8-meter (29-foot) tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense) extracted from a Tokyo resident after consuming infected salmon. Displayed alongside the tapeworm is a ribbon of exact length to demonstrate how it coiled inside the human digestive tract.
Visitor Information
Address: 4-1-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0068 Japan
Admission: Free (Donations strongly encouraged to support research)