Personal Museum of Natural History

Welcome to our online museum of natural history. In lieu of traditional displays of bones or stuffed animals, we present our photographic collections, captured in various locations across the globe, including Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan, Suriname, Namibia, Gabon, Polynesian Islands, France, Greece, and Australia, among others. Each image displayed represents a living creature observed at a specific location on the globe and at a particular point in time - so we named this site "personal museum," as its collections encompass not only the documented specimens but also the personal preferences, experiences, and memories of the collectors.

We are not birders or collectors who seek out the rarest species worldwide with the intention of expanding their "life list." Rather, we are usual walkers or travellers just looking for unexpected encounters. We take a photo simply when we feel happy to see something, and basically don't care how rare it is. That is why you find here many pictures of tree sparrows or house cats, and milk cows are displayed next to chamois. (For details of our policies, please click/tap on the blue "+" icon at the top right of a gallery page).

The museum is currently comprised of six sectors, each containing between 20 and 100+ galleries. Please select a sector from the list provided below to proceed further. For reasons of practicality, fungi and myxomycetes are currently located within the "plants" sector, in a manner analogous to the classification systems employed by traditional museums.

In addition to the aforementioned six sectors, there are also branches. One such branch is a photoblog, entitled the "Wildlife Portrait Archive," which features larger format images. Another branch is a Facebook page that is essentially a reproduction of the aforementioned photoblog. Furthermore, I was regularly posting "representational abstract" photos, which have no connection to living organisms, to Ello as well, before it ceased operations.

For approximately two years, the entire website has been undergoing a comprehensive redesign. Currently, only the "birds," "mammals," and "plants" sections have been updated to reflect the new design and format, as this process is quite time-consuming. Consequently, you may encounter numerous outdated pages, but we assure you that they are not abandoned.

It is important to note that despite the extensive renovations to the exhibition rooms, the process of identifying and posting the photos remains behind schedule. This is reflected in the frequent appearance of "Coming Shortly" signs at the site. The following table provides a detailed overview of the current status.

In consequence of the renovation, the listing of organisms other than plants and animals (including fungi) is, for the time being, being temporarily suspended. Following the renovation, each room is to be reorganized in a manner more in line with the latest findings in taxonomy.