This is a huge property with a lot of walking. The tour can be short what you want to see. Every building is a Sapporo and you are able to walk into various rooms. If you just walk on the outside of the building is the total would be sure, but if you’re going to every building and see what’s inside, it can be over three hours long. It is self guided, and mostly in Japanese, but he will get a lot out of it. If you go inside, you will need to remove your shoes in many of the buildings so wear something that you can put on and take off easily.

This was a cruise tour, with the guide from the tour giving our initial introduction to the historical village. Beyond that, there is a map near the entrance (in Japanese only), and some information in English at most of the buildings. However, if you are visiting, it would be worthwhile ahead of time to download from their website the English map pdf and the pdf giving English-language descriptions of all the buildings. I found this very interesting, and it was also interesting to compare this to historical villages in North America. The approach is similar, in this case focussing on the Meiji into the Showa periods in Japan (so, late 1800s and early 1900s). It's large; you could easily spend half a day here. The buildings cover many aspects of life in Japan in the period, from business to residential to industrial. One review suggested wearing footwear that can easily be removed - good advice, as many of the buildings require removing shoes before entering, due to the fragile flooring such as tatami mats in some of the buildings. Despite the rain while we were there, this was still an enjoyable visit - worthwhile, interesting, and informative.

Absolutely amazing! I bought a combo ticket with the Hokkaido museum and visited this open air museum second. As someone studying Japanese, i’m not yet fluent. The museum offers free English guides for any number of visitors for any length desired. I had the most amazing 1 on 1 guided experience for 2 and a bit hours today where I learnt so much about Hokkaido history with the volunteer. Everyone was so friendly and the whole experience was amazing! I’ll definitely be visiting again before I leave Sapporo. Theres a small cafe and also a small shop on site. You can go into multiple buildings and there are plenty of activities like tea ceremonies etc to participate in. Easily accessible from Shin-Sapporo via the 22 bus from stand 10 (it’s the second stop after the museum if coming from the station - though 10 min walk between the museum and the open air museum). Absolutely incredible day out I can’t recommend it enough!

We have been to many historical villages, mainly in Europe, but this is one of the best. There is a short and sweet horse trolley ride. Do take slip-on shoes or shoe covers if you want to go inside some houses. We took the train to Shin-Sapporo Station and taxied from there. Go on a weekday afternoon if you can.