NIIGATA (Kyodo) A museum displaying items associated with popular pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa opened in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture, on Thursday, commemorating the golfer's 18th birthday.
The Risu no Ie (Squirrel House) museum, named after Ishikawa's mascot, is a renovated resort inn with a 33-sq.-meter exhibition area and 10 bedrooms available for overnight stays.
The items on display include photographs of Ishikawa in action and a pair of shoes autographed and presented by Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball pitcher who has played golf with Ishikawa.
In the future, the museum hopes to add trophies won by Ishikawa and sets of his golf clubs to its collection.
Ishikawa is ranked first on the 2009 Japan Golf Tour Organization's money list.