Japanese House Garden

This is an open-air museum where visitors can experience Japanese old private houses and culture. The collection is centered on buildings from the Edo period, and visitors can see 25 valuable buildings scattered throughout the park, including old private houses, water mill houses, Takagura (a storehouse for old houses), and a Kabuki stage.

Located in the Ikuta Midori-chi area, the museum has 25 private houses with thatched roofs from eastern Japan scattered over an area of approximately 1.8 million square meters, divided into five areas: Tohoku no Mura, Shukuba, Shinetsu no Mura, Kanto no Mura, and Kanagawa no Mura.

These include seven nationally designated Important Cultural Properties (nine buildings) and one Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property (a stage).

The highlights of the area include farmhouses from areas with heavy snowfall, townhouses from inn towns, and Gassho-zukuri private houses, all of which have distinctive regional characteristics.

Opened in 1967, the park aims to preserve, hand down, and utilize minka, water mill houses, and other buildings and folk tools that have been handed down in Kawasaki City and throughout eastern Japan.

The Japan Minka En is a valuable place and an open-air museum worth visiting for those interested in history and tradition.

Learn

Visitors can see a variety of valuable architectural structures, including nationally designated important cultural properties. Visitors can enjoy learning the basics of Japanese architecture.

Visitors can also enjoy the atmosphere of an old fireplace, with hearths lit in three to five old private houses every day.

Hands-on Experience

At the “Traditional Crafts Hall” in the private house garden, visitors can easily try their hand at traditional indigo dyeing. Making a handkerchief dyed by yourself will surely be a wonderful memory to show off.

Eating

At the soba restaurant “Shirakawa-go,” visitors can enjoy soba noodles made with spring water from Oshino Village in Yamanashi Prefecture in a gassho style house relocated from Shirakawa-go.

The store “Miyoshino” offers dumplings. You can enjoy dumplings such as mitarashi dango, yakisoba dango, and karinto dumplings in the rest area while gazing at the old minka house. Minka-en Monaka” is another recommended souvenir.

Located in Ikuta Midori-chi in the northern part of Kawasaki City and easily accessible from the suburbs of Tokyo, the Minka-En is a wonderful outdoor museum with historic buildings scattered throughout the natural surroundings.

Visitors can enjoy old buildings and folk tools along with seasonal scenery. The museum also hosts a variety of local events, so a visit is sure to be an enjoyable experience!