Voldemort, Donald Trump, and Johnny Depp are just some of the famous faces you’ll find at this one-of-a-kind museum.

With over 127 million people living in Japan, unique characters and stories can be found all around the country, and YouTube channel Great Big Story has been doing a great job of unearthing these beautiful nuggets recently, for people everywhere to see.

Personally, we here at SoraNews24 fell in love with their story about a 25-year bond between a man and fish in Chiba, and now they’re back again with another heartwarming tale from just outside of Tokyo.

Their latest video tells the story of Yoshiko Hayama, a resident of Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo’s neighbour to the north, and her remarkable collection…of rocks with faces. According to the video, the museum run by Hayama is the only one of its kind in the world, showcasing a bizarre display of rocks that have been chosen for their distinctive facial features, with some even resembling famous characters and international celebrities.

Take a look at the video below:

On the surface, the museum might seem like a bizarre concept, but underneath it all is a beautiful family history, with Hayama continuing the hobby of rock-collecting first started by her father when he was in his forties. Her father continued to collect rocks with facial features into his 90s, and ever since he passed away Hayama has taken up the hobby herself, adding to the collection with specimens sourced from the nearby river.

According to Hayama, the criteria necessary for a rock to be classified as a “jinmenseki”, or “human face rock”, it must have eyes and a mouth. If it also has a nose, then that’s even better, but these are rare to find, apparently.

▼ Voldemort has no nose…

▼ But Elvis Presley does.

Hayama says that people from all over the world have been sending her rocks with faces on them, and her museum now receives a number of international visitors. While many people might have an interest in jinmenseki, though, nobody does it on the same scale she does.

Hayama hopes to continue running the museum for as long as she can, in memory of her late father. With such a unique collection of peculiar stones collected over a span of decades, we hope she and her character-filled rocks continue to bring smiles to the faces of many more visitors in the years to come.

Museum Information

Chinsekikan/珍石館
Address:Saitama-ken, Chichibu-shi,
埼玉県秩父市上影森 764-6
Hours: 10 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (Closed Tuesdays and sometimes irregularly)
Website (Japanese)

Source, images: YouTube/Great Big Story