Museums are not all enclosed spaces with objects in them. Some Japanese museums are in the open air. Here are some great Japanese open air museums :

TheHida Minzoku Mura (飛騨民俗村) or  Hida Folk Village is a museum of traditional Japanese houses. The houses are hundreds of years old and are typical of the type of farmhouses that Japanese farmers used to live in. The slope of the thatched roofs is very steep to keep the snow and rain from accumulating on the roof. The inside of the houses are also well furnished with farmer’s tools.

Meiji Mura (明治村,) means “Meji Village”. This open air museum features buildings that were built in the Meiji (1867 – 1912), Taisho (1912 – 1926) and Showa (1926 – 1989) period. The Meiji Period was a time of rapid modernization in Japan. These buildings all have some historical importance in Japan. Other items (not including the buildings) include locomotive steam trains and horse drawn carriages.

Nihon Minka-en (日本民家園) is a Japanese village that preserves the old style of Japanese houses called minka (民家). These houses date from the 17^th to 19^th centuries. These houses contain tatami (畳) mats. Tatami mats are mats made out of straw or grass. The roofs are made of similar materials as the mats, but in addition to the straw and grass, clay baked tiles line the roofs.

The Edo Tōkyō Tatemono En (江戸東京たてもの園) or Edo Tokyo Buildings Garden includes residences that were once the home of powerful and wealthy individuals to the humble homes of the middle class. The photo above is the entrance to the Edo Tokyo open air architectural museum. The name Edo was the former name used to refer to the capital city of Tokyo.

The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama are both UNESCO World Heritage sites. UNESCO World Heritage sites are places of cultural or physical significance. The villages of Shirakawa (白川) and Gokayama (五箇山) contain houses that were built in the Gassho-zukuri (合掌造り) style. Gassho-zukuri houses are characterized by steep slanted roofs.