3 Best Sights in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

Opposite Ogi-machi, on the banks of the Sho-gawa, this open-air museum has 26 traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses. The houses were transplanted from four villages that fell prey to the Miboro Dam, built upriver in 1972. Over the years a colony of artisans has established itself in the village. From mid-April to mid-October, you can watch them creating folk crafts like weaving, pottery, woodwork, and hand-dyeing in a few of the preserved houses, and try some crafts for yourself. Many of the products are for sale. In winter, stop by the "rest station" gassho-zukuri to warm up with tea by an irori hearth. Keep in mind that individual houses do close irregularly.

These traditional farmhouses, dating from the Edo period, were transplanted from all over the region. Many of the houses are A-frames with thatch roofs called gassho-zukuri (praying hands). A dozen of the buildings are "private houses" displaying folk artifacts like tableware and weaving tools. Another five houses are folk-craft workshops, with demonstrations of ichii ittobori (wood carving), Hida-nuri (Hida lacquering), and other traditional regional arts, as well as hands-on crafting experiences. It's possible to walk here from Takayama Station, or take a 10-minute bus ride.

Next to the Ukiyo-e Museum is Japan's oldest wooden courthouse. Displays pertain to the history of law enforcement from the feudal period to the modern era.