HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Fukushima City Minka-en Open-Air Architectural Museum
Stroll through this outdoor museum/garden with traditional kominka buildings
Fukushima Prefecture Tourism & Local Products Association
Get a taste of the Japan of yore at the Fukushima City Minka-en Open-Air Museum and explore over a dozen traditional buildings, including homes, a restaurant, a theater, and other preserved historical buildings. Originally built between the 18th and 20th centuries, these buildings were relocated here from various parts of Northern Fukushima prefecture.
Check out the distinctive features of kominka architecture like thatched roofs, irori (sunken hearths), tatami floors, and wooden pillars. Some were even built without using nails. The looms, straw baskets, furnaces and other objects inside allow you to imagine the daily lives of the inhabitants. The thatched-roof theater is perhaps the most spectacular building in the Minka-en. Constructed in 1887, it is one of the oldest theaters of its kind in Japan.
The park is enlivened by cherry blossoms in spring, hydrangeas in summer, colorful foliage in the fall, and a blanket of snow in the winter, and is open to visitors year-round. Minka-en hosts a variety of events throughout the year (like rice planting) and traditional doll painting workshops. After your visit, wind down at the on-site café, housed in a traditional wooden house with views of the garden.
How to get there
From Tokyo Station, take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Fukushima Station (1 hour and 30 minutes), then take a bus headed to Sabara (about 35 minutes). Get off at the Muroishi bus stop, then walk for 8 minutes.
Oishimae, Kaminagura, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima-ken
