Little World Open Air Museum

Little World is a museum you walk through countries in. Spread across rolling hills near Inuyama outside Nagoya, it relocates and faithfully rebuilds houses from across the globe, from Okinawan farmhouses to Alsatian villages, Peruvian haciendas and African compounds, along a looping trail that takes most of a day to savour.

Around the world on foot

The circuit passes dozens of authentic buildings, many originals shipped and reassembled, others reconstructed with obsessive care, each furnished to show how its people actually lived. What makes the park beloved, though, is the eating and dressing: national costume rental at several houses lets you photograph yourself in Korean hanbok or Bavarian dress in the matching setting, and food stalls serve the cuisine of each zone, so lunch might be German sausage followed by Taiwanese dessert and Turkish kebab.

Tips for the day

The loop is long, so wear proper walking shoes; a park bus circles for tired legs. Costume queues build on weekends, and autumn and spring offer the kindest weather for what is essentially an outdoor day. Food stamp rally style eating challenges are a popular way to structure the lap.

Getting there

Direct buses run from Nagoya’s Meitetsu Bus Center to the park, or take the Meitetsu line to Inuyama Station and connect by local bus. Combining Little World with Inuyama’s original wooden castle makes a strong full day from Nagoya.

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