Nihon Minkaen (日本民家園), the Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum, is located in Tama Ward, Kawasaki, and displays minka, traditional Japanese vernacular houses from all over Japan. It was established in 1967 for the conservation of 'folk houses' from the Edo Period (1603-1868) and holds 25 buildings and other structures on about 30,000 square metres.
The Nihon Minkaen consists of three areas: the Kantō Regional Village, the Post Town, and the Tōhoku Regional Village; visitors can enter almost all of the buildings which have been designated important cultural properties of either Kawasaki, Kanagawa, or even Japan. The park is not only an open-air museum but seeks to recreate the lifestyle of the Japanese during the Edo Period, displaying items of daily life, stone sculptures, and reproductions of traditional decorations which are changed according to the season.
Volunteers often give demonstrations in traditional crafts and techniques, such as bamboo and rice straw craftwork,...