About three kilometres east of Inuyama, Meiji-mura is an open-air architectural museum that preserves 67 buildings from the Meiji and early Taisho periods (1868–1926), relocated from across Japan to a hillside site overlooking Lake Iruka. The Meiji era was Japan's transformation from a feudal samurai society into a modern industrial state, and the buildings here document that change: Western-style brick banks, hybrid Japanese-European wooden houses, a Catholic cathedral, a prison, a post office, and the celebrated lobby of Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel.
The site covers over 100 acres and takes a full day to cover properly. Highlights beyond the Wright lobby include the former Sapporo telephone exchange, the Kyoto's third Nijo district, a steam locomotive that visitors can ride, and a Meiji-era tram running through the grounds. Natsume Soseki's house from Tokyo is here; so is a summer cottage belonging to Lafcadio Hearn. The combination of architectural heritage and beautiful lakeside setting makes Meiji-mura one of the most rewarding museums in the Nagoya region.