Inuyama Meiji Village – 犬山明治村

Meiji Mura meaning “Meiji Village” is one of Japan’s several outstanding open air museums, displaying over sixty buildings from the Meiji Period (1868-1912), This era followed the end of Japan’s feudal age, and its architectural is characterized by a strong influx of Western architecture.

The theme park-like museum is located in Inuyama, one hour outside of Nagoya, in a vast wooded area next to Iruka Pond. Meiji Mura is one of the most visited open air museums in Japan. It takes at least half a day to explore the spacious museum grounds and cover all of its exhibits.

Few of the buildings constructed in the Meiji Period survive in Japan today, as most of them were destroyed during the war or lost to city redevelopment. A collection of representative buildings from across the country have been relocated to Meiji Mura in order to preserve the period’s architectural and cultural heritage. Among them are the entrance hall of Tokyo’s old Imperial Hotel and Kyoto’s St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

Other attractions include the former Kanazawa Prison, Sapporo’s telephone exchange, Mie’s prefectural office, Nagasaki’s foreign settlement, as well as hospitals, sake breweries and schools. Some buildings have been converted into cafes, candy stores or traditional game stalls for visitors to enjoy. There is also a village bus which runs the length of the village, as well as a tram and a steam locomotive.

Getting there and around

From Nagoya Station, take the Meitetsu Inuyama Line to Inuyama Station (30 minutes, 570 yen one way) and transfer to a Meitetsu bus to Meiji Mura (20 minutes, 430 yen, 1-3 departures per hour).

Admission
2000 yen (additional 1300 yen for unlimited rides on the village bus, tram and train).

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:14 Mie Prefectural Office
00:28 Ohi Butcher Shop
00:42 Mie Prefectural Normal School
01:19 Imperial Guard Headquarters
01:39 St. John’s Church
02:04 Principal’s Official Residence, Peers’ School
02:51 Reception Hall of Marquis Tsugumichi Saigo House
04:41 Japanese Garden
05:21 Entrance Porch, Tokyo School for the Blind
06:14 House of Ogai Mori and Soseki Natsume
07:03 Ijinzaka Path
08:04 Telephone Exchange Sapporo
08:26 Renga-dori Road
08:38 Auditorium, Chihaya-Akasaka Primary School
08:49 Selfie 1
09:25 Aizu Branch of Yasuda Bank
09:40 Nakai Sake-Brewer
10:18 Tomatsu House
10:29 Physics & Chemistry Theaters, Fourth National High School
11:04 Higashi-Yamanashi District Office
11:15 Selfie 2
11:30 Meiden Type 1 Exhibition Hall
11:46 Streetcar Kyoto Shichijo Station
12:14 Kitasato Institute
12:50 Shibakawa Mataemon Residence
13:27 Nagasaki Foreign Settlement
14:33 Kobe Foreign Settlement
15:09 Entrance Porch, Religious College
15:57 Rest Area
16:37 Gymnasium for Martial Arts, Fourth National High School
17:05 Ward, Japan Red Cross Society Central Hospital
17:16 Barracks, Sixth Infantry Regiment
17:35 Ward & Administration Office, Nagoya Garrison Hospital
17:53 Japanese Immigrant’s House, Registro, Brazil
18:25 Japanese Immigrant’s Assembly Hall, Hilo, Hawaii
18:36 Steam Locomotive No. 1 of the Bisai Railways
18:49 Uji-yamada Post Office
19:15 Shinagawa Glass Factory
19:55 Barber Shop “Kinotoko”
20:08 Yakumo – Japanese Sweet Shop
20:31 Bathhouse “Azuma-yu”
20:50 St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral
21:31 Main Gate, Kanazawa Prison
22:18 Konasami-jima Lighthouse
22:34 Associated Ward, Maebashi Prison
24:01 Iwakura Substation of Nagoya Rail Road Co.
24:58 Main Entrance Hall & Lobby, Imperial Hotel
26:41 Central Guard Station & Ward, Kanazawa Prison
26:55 Miyazu District Court
27:20 Oguma Photo Studio
27:41 Cabinet Library
28:41 Lamp of Stone Bridge, Imperial Palace
28:53 Head Office of Kawasaki Bank
29:20 Japanese Evangelical Church
29:32 St. Paul’s Church
30:00 Shin-Ohashi Bridge