Japanese Farmhouse Museum

As I drive around the local countryside I am always bemoaning the fact that small farms are being abandoned and barns falling down. This isn't a big problem in my area as Mennonites are buying up most of the small farms and prospering. But even then they sometimes replace the nice old barns with modern structures. Apparently Japan has the same problem as they have established a Farm Museum near Osaka. The photo below is by Ichiro Wada who has made a nice slide show of photos of the site:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Ichiroyajapan/JapaneseOldHouses#

Click on "slide show" for the easiest view.

It exhibits 12 old farmhouses brought from different parts of Japan. The houses are from the Edo Period ( 17th to 19th century) Various furniture and tools are also exhibited and the houses are located in sites that approximate their original settings such as bamboo groves.