Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato)

An open-air museum in Takayama of old Hida farmhouses, including thatched gassho-zukuri homes. Step inside and feel life in a snowy mountain village.

An open-air museum of mountain farmhouses

Hida Folk Village is an open-air museum at the foot of Mount Matsukura, southwest of central Takayama. Around 30 old houses from all over the Hida region were moved here and rebuilt to recreate the landscape of an old village. It opened in 1971.

One reason it came about was that gassho-zukuri houses, due to be submerged by the building of the Miboro Dam, were being moved out of Hida. A movement to keep these precious houses in the area led to the museum.

Of the buildings on the site, 4 are designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan and 7 are Important Cultural Properties of Gifu Prefecture.

Step inside and see how people lived

Gassho-zukuri are houses from snowy regions with steep thatched roofs that look like hands pressed together in prayer. At Hida Folk Village you can see the living rooms with their irori (a sunken hearth cut into the floor) and even the attics once used for raising silkworms, and get a sense of how people adapted to a harsh natural environment.

One of the best-known buildings is the former Wakayama family house, a four-storey gassho-zukuri built in 1797. Others include the former Taguchi family house, home of the village headman, and the former Takayama Weather Station, built in 1903 and the only Western-style building on the site.

Seasonal scenery and hands-on activities

The village changes with the seasons: cherry blossoms from mid to late April, rice planting in May, the harvest in September, autumn leaves from late October to early November, and snow scenes in winter. During the snowy season and at other times there are illuminations, and the museum stays open into the evening during those periods.

You can also try wheel-thrown pottery, make a coaster in Hida sashiko (a traditional local style of hand-stitched patterns), or play old-fashioned games such as kendama and bamboo stilts. Each activity runs on set days, so check beforehand.

Getting there

From central Takayama, take a local bus to the Hida no Sato bus stop; the entrance is right by the stop. By car, it is about 10 minutes from Takayama Interchange on the Chubu Jukan Expressway.

Opening hours and admission fees can change, so check the official website.

Tips

• If you don't have time to get to the gassho-zukuri villages of Shirakawa-go, this is close to Takayama and still lets you go inside a gassho-zukuri house.
• During the snow-season illuminations you can come to see the village under snow at night. The dates vary each year, so check the official information.
• Activities such as pottery and sashiko run on fixed days of the week. If you want to try one, check that it is on the day you plan to visit.

Sources

• 飛騨民俗村・飛騨の里｜【公式】飛騨高山観光公式サイト (opens in a new tab)
• 飛騨民俗村・飛騨の里｜岐阜県観光連盟 (opens in a new tab)
• 飛騨民俗村 飛騨の里｜日本博物館協会 (opens in a new tab)
• 飛騨民俗村 - Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)

Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.