Quirky Guide

Poor old parasites. They can’t help but get a bad press. Blood-sucking tics, insidious intestinal worms, lice, mites and fleas - they’re hardly the stuff of warm, fuzzy editorials. But one museum in Japan is battling to clean up their image.

The Meguro Parasitological Museum (proud to be the world’s only parasitological museum) sets out to demonstrate how parasites play a vital role throughout nature, and even in the lives of the most squeamish of humans.

More than 300 formalin-embalmed critters are on display, and the gift shop is a delight all to itself, with key chains containing pickled parasites and tape worm t-shirts.