Tokyo, Japan - Hakone - Le Petite Prince Museum

“All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.” 

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Before we head back to Tokyo, we dropped by the Little Prince Museum which is a short distance from where we were staying. This is the only museum in the world dedicated to The Little Prince. Even Lyon, the birthplace of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, does not have such a museum. 

(a statue of Antoine de Saint Exupery on Place Bellecour, Lyon)  

The high admission fee (19 SGD per pax) was discouraging, but since we had nothing else scheduled for the day, we just paid. 

Although the museum was supposedly fashioned after the streets of Lyon or France, it is still a tourist attraction. This meaning that the museum is actually much cleaner and more appealing that the actual Lyon. Trust me, I have been to Lyon. While it is a great city, there is no denying the amount of vandalism that happens in there. 

(Lyon Streets)

(Museum Streets)

There is an exhibition on Antoine de Saint Exupery, a cafe, a giftshop as well as a restaurant. Interestingly, there is also a very small chapel in the museum which host actual wedding ceremonies. As it was early Spring, the garden was rather bare. Still there were some nice flowers being planted. 

""Where are the people?" resumed the little prince at last. "It's a little lonely in the desert..."
"It is lonely when you're among people, too," said the snake."

The museum was much smaller than we anticipated and did not offer much activities. Yet we had a lot of fun taking pictures, and for a fleeting moment felt that we have been displaced from Japan and transported to some European country. 

"Voici mon secret. Il est très simple: on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

The Little Prince Museum, Hakone

Ticket prices: 1,500 Yen for adults, 700 Yen for children aged 6 to 15

Opening hour: 09:00 to 18:00, last entrance at 17:00

Access: Bus T, stop at Kawamukai Museum of the Little Prince bus stop