Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum

Kawasaki Municipal Japanese Folk House Museum (Nihon Minka-en) is an open-air museum showcasing representative traditional houses of Japan. It preserves 25 structures—such as folk houses, watermill huts, boatmen’s huts, raised storehouses, and a kabuki stage—handed down from Kawasaki and across eastern Japan. All of these are extremely valuable buildings designated as cultural properties at the national, prefectural, or city level; among them, seven are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties, and one is an Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property. The expansive grounds (about 1.8 million ㎡) are divided into five areas such as “Kanagawa Village” and “Tohoku Village,” letting you experience distinct regional characteristics. Suggested time frames include a 30-minute trial course covering the “Shukuba” and “Shinetsu Village” areas, or an 80-minute recommended course that tours eight nationally designated cultural properties. You can also casually experience traditional indigo dyeing, and there is a place to eat as well: the first floor of the large gassho-zukuri “Yamashita House” is a dining area, where you can enjoy the rare experience of eating inside a prefectural Important Cultural Property. Access: about a 13-minute walk from Mukogaoka-Yuen Station on the Odakyu Line.