At this time of year, when there's only one month left until the end of the year, there's a dinosaur exhibition at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno for some reason. Dinosaurs are usually associated with summer, so I jokingly thought it might be another effect of global warming, but when I went, it was a huge hit!
The special exhibition, titled "Great Dinosaur Exhibition - Wonders of the Gobi Desert," was overflowing with valuable fossil specimens meticulously cleaned by preparators from the Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences (for example, the first-ever hadrosauroid I'd seen—not a hadrosaurian human, just to be clear). And perhaps because it was a weekday, there weren't many visitors, so I could get up close and personal and see everything. Closing time came in a flash, and I was determined to visit at least two more times. Beyond the Hayashibara-related items, there was also an unexpected encounter with the real specimen of a Protoceratops juvenile replica from the "Great Dinosaur Exhibition of the Gobi Desert (Sendai, 1985)" souvenir that I own (introduced in Secret Treasure House Vol. 47 - ①). This made me grin, feeling like I had gotten my revenge twice over on the "Deep Sea Exhibition," where I had to wait in line for an hour and a half in the summer just to see formalin-preserved shells and crabs.
Actually, this exhibition is almost identical in content to the "Excavation! Mongolian Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition" that was held at the Osaka Museum of Natural History for over half a year, from November of last year to June of this year. I had been eagerly awaiting it, as I didn't have the opportunity to go to Osaka. However, the catalogs for both (I somehow have the Osaka catalog) are completely different, so it's likely that the exhibition styles differ. It's running until February of next year, so for those in the Tokyo area, I highly recommend experiencing its splendor firsthand. As for the Secret Treasure House, what concerns me are the goods.

Fossil figures of Tarbosaurus and Saurolophus, sculpted by dinosaur modeler Hirokazu Tokugawa and manufactured by Favorite, are being sold as venue-limited figures, following their appearance at the "Mongolian Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition."
Both are, as expected, wonderfully made, but personally, I really wanted the featherless Tarbo...
Be warned that Favorite's venue-limited figures, such as the *Freyngelisaurus skeleton from "The World's Oldest Dinosaur Exhibition" (2010) and the feathered Tyrannosaurus from "Dinosaur Kingdom 2012", are truly "venue-limited."

Original figures from the Kanna Dinosaur Center in Gunma Prefecture, which also has strong ties to Mongolia, were also on sale. These included a Tarbosaurus (② - a feathered version was also available, but I bought this one without hesitation), a Saichania, a Velociraptor, and a Therizinosaurus (③). Since they are currently undergoing limited test sales and are seeking feedback for official sales, I'd like to take this opportunity to offer a quick comment: please also put effort into the base (pedestal). It would significantly change the impression. The "Made in Kanna" inscribed on the back of the base and packaging gives a good sense of enthusiasm.

They also sold some rare original goods from Hayashibara. There was a Saurolophus skeletal cardboard craft with an enticing package, but the contents were quite simple (④). The proportions are good, so those with a knack for drawing might want to try sketching in the skeleton. There was also an original skeletal diagram poster of Protoceratops, which is a definite buy!

That's about all the goods I bought at the venue, but since I'm here, I decided to arrange some Mongolia-related figures.

Out of the 9 types in the "Collect Club: Dinosaurs and Ancient Creatures Vol. I" food toys released by UHA Mikakuto in 2005, a remarkable 7 types, excluding Jungaripterus and Platybelodon, are featured in this dinosaur exhibition. These include Opisthocoelicaudia, Tarbosaurus, Saurolophus, a Tarchia skull (which could be mistaken for Saichania), Protoceratops, Velociraptor (⑤), and the secret fighting fossil (⑥). They are truly official figures released well in advance. (By the way, Dinosaurs and Ancient Creatures Vol. II was never released.)

There are several Protoceratops vs. Velociraptor fateful battle dioramas, including those by Favorite, but for fighting fossil motifs, besides the food toys mentioned above, I can only think of the large, heavy, and expensive Sideshow model (⑦).

Finally, I'd like to introduce the only treasure I found this time: a mysterious wooden Tarbosaurus skeleton (⑧). I won it on Yahoo Auctions earlier this year for about 3,000 yen; it seems to be a souvenir from Mongolia (⑨). It's in a 40cm glass case and can't be removed. The skull (⑩), apart from its strangely pointed nose, is quite Tarbo-like, and even the small pores around the mouth are depicted. The teeth, however, are not great. The forelegs inexplicably have three fingers, but the metatarsals are impressively arctometatarsal (⑪). The base has "tarbosaurus" and its silhouette embossed, giving it a strong souvenir feel (⑫). This photo, for a moment, reminds me of the Tarbosaurus that used to be at the National Museum of Nature and Science (⑬). Well, I quite like it, but I don't even know when it was made. Who on earth brought it all the way from Mongolia, for whom? There seems to be a story behind it.

The out-of-season dinosaur exhibition is also being held at the Katsuyama Dinosaur Museum. It's an event titled "Our Dinosaur and Monster Era - Welcome to the World of Dinosaur Fantasy!", and alongside people like Mr. Araki, Mr. Taburin with his wooden skeleton models, and Mr. Kitahara with his tin toys, I've also contributed dinosaur books from the Meiji and Taisho eras and antique toys that I've previously introduced in the Secret Treasure House.
If you're in the vicinity, please come and visit.

By the way, changing the subject, the December issue of "Mu" magazine contained an astonishing article. According to an article titled "Secret KGB footage proves existence of feathered dinosaurs" in the recurring UMA special feature, KGB footage supposedly filmed in Africa during the Cold War, showing an ostrich dinosaur sprinting, was released on YouTube, astounding UMA fans and cryptozoologists (do they even exist?) worldwide. Hiroshi Minamiyama, the author, proudly asserted that the footage showed feathers, which aligns with the latest understanding of dinosaurs. Unfortunately, however, this is simply a mirror-inverted and monochrome version of the Gallimimus sprinting scene from Jurassic Park (⑭), which everyone knows. Of course, the Gallimimus in JP doesn't have feathers. The ignorance and gullibility of these cryptozoology experts are truly astonishing.