2026 Full-Day Course: Yamato City Folk Museum (大和市郷土民家園)

A day exploring Izumi no Mori Forest (泉の森), the green heart of Yamato City spreading around the source of the Hikichi River (引地川), and Yamato City Folk Museum (大和市郷土民家園) standing in one corner of it. The folk museum has two buildings, the Former Kitajima Family Residence (旧北島家住宅) and the Former Ogawa Family Residence (旧小川家住宅), relocated and restored Edo-period farmhouses, where you can see up close a way of life with thatched roofs, earthen floors, and hearths. Admission is free, and it is open 9:00-16:00 (until 17:00 from July 21 to August 31; closed Mondays). In the morning, play by the water in Izumi no Mori Forest and at the Nature Observation Center Shirakashi no Ie (自然観察センター・しらかしのいえ), which has exhibits of local creatures; in the afternoon, take your time feeling the dimness and earthy smell of the old houses at the folk museum. For children, it also makes a great social studies field trip, letting them experience firsthand the kind of daily life they read about in textbooks.