Hida Folk Village

We were greeted by a persistent cold rain when we set off to browse the two local morning markets after breakfast and the weather seemed to have deterred the stall holders as there were only a handful of them. 

We did manage to do a bit of souvenir shopping though and, by the time we’d returned them to the hotel and fortified ourselves with a hot chocolate and pastry, the rain had eased so we caught a bus out to the Hida Folk Village.

This is a collection of about 30 old, regional houses that were rescued and moved to this location with the aim of preserving them and recording the traditional way of life that began to disappear in the 50s and 60s with the advent, apparently, of TV, washing machines and refrigerators which “improved” mass communication and reduced the intensive labour of domestic chores.

The houses contain exhibits of different facets of the traditional way of life, such as agriculture, silk production and family life as well as the different styles of architecture and roofing, as shown in extras.

Coping with different types of snow was a particular issue and there was a great display of different types of wooden sleds, ingeniously designed to fulfil different tasks in various types of snow. I couldn’t resist an extra of an old photo of children on their skis.

The rain returned while we were there and it was perishing cold, so we were glad of another soak in the onsen and another meal at the same convenient restaurant as last night, trying different dishes, including a delicious (and generous) bowl of tuna sashimi.