We walked to this "folk village" from the centre of Takyama but there are buses and you could get a taxi. Took us about 20 mins and we enjoyed looking at the everyday streets, shops etc. The "Folk Village" was very interesting. Covered in deep snow it really hit home how hard life must have been in the 17, 18... More

Visited late Oct-2012: About 10 minutes’ drive from Hida-Takayama old town areas, has night-light up until 11-Nov-2012. Parking is free in the night-light-up hours (from 1730 hour). Very much recommended also. This area is a museum altogether, unlike Shirakawa-gou. We were offered free shiitake-cha, tasted good with nice fragrance. We were delighted that this museum offered nightly light-up as Shirakawa-gou... More

The houses were dusted in snow when we visited and were very interesting to look around. You only need 2 hours and can buy a combination ticket and bus pass from the bus station (next to Takayama JR station). Or ask at the helpful information centre outside the JR train station. Well worth a look.

Its a short 10 minute bus ride from Takayama station... there are a number of houses from different regions still maintained in their original condition and says a lot about the ingenuity and culture at that time.