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Fuji-Hakone-Izu NP, Tokyo
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The center grows yakkotake (Mycena chlorophos) for its dark-room display year-round. Its cap—not its stalk—glows green, and a mushroom may shine for about 2 days in warm, humid conditions.
In 2011, the center’s newsletter reported a Luzon sea star shedding 3 of its 7 arms in its aquarium. Each detached arm began regenerating a body, with a mouth and tiny arms.
Published monthly since 2001, the center’s nature bulletin is called Kokkome, Hachijo dialect for the Izu thrush, or Akakokko. The bird lives on the island year-round and is a national natural monument.
A scientific review reports more than 7 luminous mushroom species on Hachijo. Islanders once called the forest glow hato-no-hi—“pigeon fire”—and the center displays one species, yakkotake.
The chemistry behind glowing mushrooms is understood, but the purpose of their light remains unsettled. Attracting insects to carry spores is a leading idea—not a proven explanation.
Tokyo’s official visitor guide says you can touch volcanic rocks and a sea-turtle mount at the center, then listen to calls from Hachijo’s wild birds—a little island nature lesson for several senses.
In 2026, the center introduced themed monthly nature-observation sessions, inviting children of school age and older to investigate questions together—such as which plant a seed came from.
