Nihon Minka En

A collection of various folk houses dating back several hundred years have been transported to this valley and restored.

Most of the buildings, no matter how old, seemed to be quintassentially Japanese to my gaijin eyes: sliding doors, shyouji screens, raised floors, tatami mats etc etc. I wasn’t expecting the thatched rooves though, but it was quite nice to see that the process and the tools used are just like the ones back home!

90% of the hearths had a sculpture of a fish attached to the main chain and supported so as to be angled slightly down. Sachie told me that these are how old fires are shown in all the story books. We found out why! Fish are used to keep watch over the fire because they never blink! Faultless logic.

We spent hours here, so here are just a tiny fraction of the photos I took.
(The discerning viewer may notice a general disposition towards fixtures and fittings…)