At this manufacturer of naturally fermented soybean miso, we protect the traditional methods of "wooden kegs and natural fermentation" by using massive cedar kegs. The shop adjacent to the facilities measures out and sells freshly-made miso straight from the barrel. This miso maker repurposed a hangar that was used by the air force during WWII and an old elementary schoolhouse for its production facilities. There you will find some...

Toyota City Folk Craft Museum is a facility that commemorates Shizuo Honda, a scholar of ancient ceramics. The inside is devoted to the appreciation of exquisite handiwork and the beauty of folk craft. The museum has started holding a number of lectures on Sanagekoyo pottery, Koromo cotton, and other industrial art with connections to the surrounding regions. Located in a wooded nature area next to Hiratobashi Park, the museum plans ...

The Toyota Kaikan Museum at the head office of Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the company’s oldest museums. It opened in 1977 to mark the company’s 40th anniversary. Exhibits at the Kaikan Museum highlight the company’s technological and organizational innovations and are more forward-looking than those at the Toyota Kuragaike Commemorative Hall, which focus on Toyota’s early history.

Aizuma Exchange Center moved to a new building in March 2010 designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima, whose prior work includes the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. The curved surfaces of this unique building are made entirely of glass. Not only the exterior, but also the meeting rooms and multipurpose hall are circular in shape. The rooms are divided by glass walls, and the entire structure allows ongoing activities t...

An intangible folk cultural property designated by the prefecture, the bonote is a martial art that is consecrated at a shrine festival. Here you will find a range of exhibits and materials describing it in detail. The Toyota region is home to many different variants of bonote. The exhibits go into detail about its origin, schools, and the implements used.

This living folk culture museum opened in 1980. The former villa of a wealthy farming family has been reproduced here, with the rear house, main house, and a bamboo house featuring a thatched-roof with wooden construction. The Asuke Mansion reproduces handmade items that were a part of mountain life in the region, among them charcoal brazier cooking, traditional paper making, and weaving. Ten different handicrafts are demonstrated be...

Culture is spread through information, information is spread through communication, communication is written on paper, paper is produced in Aichi. Kozo is the Japanese name for the mulberry trees that seem to grow particularly well in the Obara region of Aichi Prefecture’s Toyota City. These mulberry trees have been the source of the particularly strong and versatile traditionally handcrafted washi paper produced here since at lea...