Hida Folk Village, Open-air folk museum in Takayama, Japan
Hida Folk Village is an open-air museum in Takayama displaying around 30 traditional farmhouses from the Edo Period, arranged around a central pond. The buildings feature steep thatched roofs and are positioned to recreate how a mountain village looked in the Japanese Alps region.
The farmhouses date from between 1603 and 1868 and were relocated to this site starting in 1959 to preserve them from decay. The village was created as a rescue project to save traditional building methods and the way of life of mountain communities.
The farmhouses display the crafts and everyday objects that farming families used in the Japanese Alps. Walking through each home, you see the tools, cooking utensils, and furniture that reveal how people lived and worked together.
The site is easy to walk through and paths are straightforward to follow. It is helpful to wear sturdy shoes since some areas are unpaved and you may need to remove footwear when entering the farmhouses.
Daily fires are lit inside selected farmhouses, with smoke drifting through the thatched roofs to demonstrate traditional preservation methods. This practice reveals how smoke protected the roof timbers while also keeping interiors warm during cold seasons.
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