The Yumiko Igarashi New Art museum, otherwise known as "I Love Candy" museum is only for die-hard fans of the manga series highly popular across Asia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many of us grew up following the adventures of Candy Candy. This cartoon television series was withdrawn before its completion due to copyright infringements and lawsuits between the author and illustrator. Nevertheless, it has inspired a few young girls to become nurses when they grew up.
The musuem is a modern 2.5-story building standing apart from the nearby charming old homes. It houses mainly framed stills illustrations from her various works besides Candy Candy and not much else. Still, it was an unexpected nostalgic experience back to our childhood days. We had fun taking turns having our pictures taken with our favorite male-leading character "Antony" who suffered an early dimise in the series (er . . . or was it William?).
Admission is 600 yen per adult. It remains open 7 days a week, 9am-6pm. Go here for further information.
There are limited edition postcards and posters with Yumiko Igarashi's signature for sale at the gift shop.