Guide to Shirakawago, most beautiful traditional villages in Japan

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Guide to Shirakawago, most beautiful traditional villages in Japan

Shirakawago (白川郷) is a traditional village that located along the Shogawa River in Ono district, Gifu Prefectures, Japan. In 1995, this village is added in UNESCO world heritage site. Shirakawago is one of most famous tourist attractions in Japan, and it is most beautiful villages in Japan as well.

The highlights of Shirakawago are architectural, and how they construct the house. Once you visit, you will see all the houses in this village are large (three to four stories), and used tall roof with a slope 60 degree. The roof is consisting of clay, wood, bamboo and bent. This architecture, in japan they called as Gassho-zukuri. For the reason that they used the tall roof because the snow is very heavy in winter season if they used normal roof the snow volume could damage to the house, that why they used this roof.

Another feature of this village is all the house was constructed by without nails. They used nature method to construct by using the wood overlap each other.

During the winter season (around January - February) they will open the lights in their house in evening once a week for tourism promote.

Sightseeing spots:

- Wadake Home is the largest gassho-zukuri in the area.
- Shirakawa-go Hirase Onsen. It designated as a national recuperation onsen.
- Miboro dam, Lake Miboro
- Hida Tunnel
- Hakusan Rindo, It is hiking path in the area.
- Amau Pass (天生峠), famous for its fall colors; 30 minutes away by foot is the Kōsō wetlands, also famous.
- Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine, where every October 14–15, the Nigorizake Festival is held.

How to get in:

The buses is an easiest ways to access this village, you can take a bus from Takyama and Kanazawa. To reach there, it takes around 50 minutes, and ticket is around 4300 Yen (In my opinion, that is not so expensive!). However, you can check the bus timetable from this link

Map direction here: http://g.co/maps/hujm6

Where to stay and sleep:

For more experience, you can stay overnight at the farmhouse. For the cost around 8000 Yen per person includes dinner and breakfast which feature local dishes.
However, if you think that stay at farmhouse is not convenient for you, then Takyama and Kanazawa is the best palces to stay stay because it not so far from Shirakawago.