Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato)

Wonderful museum with a lot to explore. The village contains a beautiful lake, trees with autumn leaves, small rice farms, and several torii gates and shrines (including one with beautiful ceiling paintings), which add to the scenic atmosphere. Similar to Shirakawago, there are a number of thatched houses in the gassho-zukuri style. I personally preferred this museum as there are much fewer tourists than Shirakawago (especially those in big tour groups) and it feels quainter and more serene. Apart from the beautiful scenery, the museum is also highly educational. There are exhibits about numerous aspects of village life in the past, ranging from architecture, to traditional industries (e.g. straw & silk weaving, wooden sleds used for transportation, farming tools), food (types of crops eaten, miso fermentation), children's toys, and even ceremonies such as wedding rituals. The information panels generally have high-quality English translations and offer very detailed insights into village life. It was clear that a lot of effort and heart went into collating the exhibits and documenting their history, ensuring that such knowledge is not lost amidst modern technological advancement. You can either walk to the museum from Takayama, or take the Sarubobo bus from Takayama Nohi bus centre (bus ride is less than 20 mins). As IC cards are not allowed on the Sarubobo bus, you can buy a ticket from the bus centre for 210 yen (one-way).

I originally wanted to visit the folk village an hour away by bus, but since I didn’t have enough time, this reconstructed village turned out to be a perfect alternative. Several types of traditional houses from different eras are faithfully recreated here, and you can freely step inside each of them. Don’t forget to complete the stamp rally! (The stamp book is sold separately right after the entrance.) I had a great time in this park. It’s beautiful, especially in autumn at sunset: the light shines through the foliage, a few leaves fall with the wind, and the moment becomes truly magical. There weren’t many people during my visit. Just be careful with the bus schedule: there aren’t many buses, and the last one leaves at 5:09pm

This Hida no Sato Folk Village is a museum of all the old japanese houses in the village of the past and is wonderfuly presented. We met a craftsman who makes wood sculptures and he was very kind to show some part of his craft. All the houses on display are well kept and this place is a good place to see how village life would be for the Japanese in the past. To get here you can board a bus from Takayama bus station from platform 1 and cost 210 yen for the ticket. The ticket cost to enter this museum is between 750 yen to 800 yen think.You also get wonderful views of the alps from here.

This is a nice historical museum that stands in for thevreal thing outside of Kanazawa. What makes this a five is I visited in 2nd week November making for stunning colors within the museum. Ad to that the view of the mountains and this is a place not to miss in autumn. Walk back to area of station is not that hard and provides continuous views of the mountains (even on the main road back). Very inexpensive for what you get.

Good place to learn about the history and the culture of the Gassho houses. The route of visit is easy and every Gassho house has got English description. To enter every Gassho house, you have to take off your shoes, but it is definitely worth it. Transport there is easy. Take the sarubobo bus from Bus Stop 1 at the takayama bus station. The to and fro ticket plus entrance ticket is ¥1000. But do take not of the bus as there many be only 1-2 per hour.