Nihon Minka-EN an oasis of peace and wooden old houses in Tokyo
Nihon Minka-En is a park/museum of traditional Japanese houses. You can enter all 25 old houses and eat Japanese sweets and drink green tea in some of them. Most are more than 100 years old and the oldest house was established 1751. People used to live in them up until they had been collected from all around Japan.
Minka-En is an oasis of peace in Tokyo
I have strong mixed feelings with regards to writing about Minka-En. The place is so underrated that I want more people to know about it and go there, but I don’t want it to become over-populated like Asakusa or Kinkaku-Ji, which are very crowded and commercial. It’s very peaceful and quite. Most people working there are friendly volunteers. Minka-En is an oasis of calm and peace in Tokyo. All year around, you enjoy different colors of leaves and flowers.
Eat Soba noodles in a 100-year-old house
You know how prices are in theme parks or museum. You’ll often find that they are not good but very expensive. Minka-En is a rare exception. Their Soba noodle is pretty tasty and is sold for a decent price.
I also liked that the waitresses there are friendly and casual, not like many Japanese restaurant in which they are super polite but kind-of robotic.
Eat Wagashi in traditional Japanese houses by fireplace
- Wagashi are traditional Japanese confections. You can buy Dango, Mochi, Daifuku and other Wagashi from stores for 200 yen to a maximum of 400 yen. You can get hot green tea and Wagashi and eat food by the fireplace.
How to get to Minka-En
It takes less 30 mins from Shinjuku by Odakyu Line or from Shibuya by Keio Inokashira line and Odakyu line. The nearest station is Mukōgaoka-Yūen Station. From there, it’s only 5-10 minutes on foot. You can find the route from your station to Mukōgaoka-Yūen Station with Route Search – Japan Transit Planner.