When you think of Ueno at the end of the year, the Dinosaur Night Parade comes to mind. I really wanted to go, but I couldn’t get a ticket. Those were sold-out very quickly.
So instead—if I can call it that—I went to the Great Extinction Exhibition.
It was a weekend, so it was very crowded. When we hear “mass extinction,” we tend to immediately think of dinosaurs, but in reality, surviving in this harsh world means that only a very limited number of species are able to make it through.
From trilobites to megalodons, the exhibition showcased many unique creatures with a wide variety of survival strategies, tracing how they were born, thrived, and eventually went extinct. It was truly fascinating.
It made me think that the fact we are alive today is largely due to luck, and simply because we happen to be adapted to the Earth’s current environment. If drastic changes were to occur again—through climate change or a meteorite impact, for example—only the creatures capable of surviving would end up being displayed in future exhibitions like this.
My own existence, too, is the result of several miracles overlapping. In the vast flow of time and space, our existence may be tiny, but realizing that we have life at all is an incredible thing. It really made me reflect on that.
I also highly recommend the permanent dinosaur and mammal exhibitions at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo.
You can even see a huge sperm whale specimen!
