January 2025
A Winter Day Trip to Shirakawa-go, Japan
The picturesque town of Shirakawa-go – this was one of the reasons for our most recent Japan itinerary. Located in the Hida region of the Gifu Prefecture, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for the Gassho-zukuri style houses and traditional, thatched-roof farmhouses. There are three principles that all residents in the Ogimachi Village abide by – “Do not sell”, “Do not rent”, and “Do not destroy” – which means, residents are not allowed to change anything about the exterior of their home.
One of the reasons we selected this itinerary for our second trip to Japan was the opportunity to explore the countryside of Japan and this day trip to Shirakawa-go and Takayama was definitely high on our list. Originally, I had planned for Kevin and myself to take two days of the trip to explore one town each day. The issue is that getting to these towns is not as easy as getting around the major areas of Japan and the public bus line takes about 3 hours one way for each of these day trips so it felt like a lot to do for two days. I then tried to arrange for the bus routes so we could complete both stops in one day and while it was certainly doable on paper, there seemed to be too many variables to make it work. I did find a bus company that arranges for this exact day trip and while I was not thrilled to book with a company, it would give us the guarantee of visiting Shirakawa-go and Takayama in one day which then gave us an additional free day during our trip for another adventure. I surrendered and booked the Platinum route tour: Shirakawa-go and Takayama with round trip bus service from Kanazawa that included an English speaking guide and lunch with White Ring Company Bus and Tours.
The drive down into the village was like entering a story book. The village is tucked away in the valley between giant mountain peaks with the Shogawa river running through it, and everything blanketed with white snow. The snow here was several feet deep – it is actually one of Japan’s heaviest snowfall areas and sometimes, the snowfall prohibits access to the town altogether.
Since we were visiting on a bus tour, we had a limited amount of time to explore and I had quite a list of things to see during our time here. The bus dropped us off at 940AM and we had to be back at 1120AM so I knew we had to hustle.
The first stop was hiking up to the observation point that overlooks the village below. There is a shuttle that you can pay for (300 yen each way) but we opted to use our legs and get there faster. The way up was a bit icy but even taking our time, it took less than 15 minutes to reach the top and I have to say, the view was so beautiful. Something about the snow covering the entire landscape with the dramatic mountains surrounding it really makes this viewpoint simply stunning.
While I would have loved more time to soak it all in, we were on a tight schedule so we made our way down the slippery slope as carefully and quickly as possible (hug the right side as there is a guard rail I used to increase my speed) to keep our time in Shirakawa-go going. We walked past many of the iconic homes – it was hard to believe people actually lived here! It really was quite a beautiful walk through the snow, it was hard to resist stopping to take so many photos.
One of the highlights of visiting Shirakawa-go is the opportunity to step inside one of the Gassho-zukuri houses. There are three that you can visit – Kanda, Wada, and Nagase Houses, but a visit to one of them is enough to understand the structures and how they are lived in. Gassho-zukuri style houses and traditional, thatched-roof farmhouses. The roof (made of miscanthus reed / kaya) is made without nails and the iconic shape has a steep slope around 60 degrees which is said to reflect praying hands. The slope also serves a practical purpose of helping to protect against snow, wind, and even earthquakes. Roofs are re-thatched every 20 to 30 years by the villagers and by the looks of photos we saw, it takes the entire village to do so. You can see fire hydrants throughout the village as it is a regular event to test the automatic sprinkler system as a fire can be catastrophic for these flammable roofs.
The Gassho-zukuri houses look quite small from the outside but are certainly deceiving as they have very large interiors with three to five floors. The intent is to have multi-generational families in these large houses with attic space to perform work, such as cultivating silkworms. For our visit, we entered the Nagase House for 400 yen each. This home is five stories and features different things on each floor. The first floor has a 500 year old Buddist altar as well as artwork and fixtures of what would likely be found here. The third and fourth floor display traditional household items while the top floor shows tools for the outdoors and you can see how the roof is attached to the large cedar beams that shape the house.
Visiting one of the Gassho-zukuri houses is a must do when exploring Shirakawa-go. Our next stop was to hop in and out of some of the shops. There are several souvenirs that are specific to Shirakawa-go and the Hida region, and we grabbed two of them.
- Monaka is a Japanese sweet treat typically with red bean paste wrapped in rice cake paper but we opted for the chocolate filled one which was a nice treat during the rest of our trip. And no surprise, the shape of these treats is the Gassho-zukuri houses. These came in a few different flavors and they are sold in every souvenir shop so it makes them a popular purchase.
- Sarubobo – meaning baby monkey – is a charm given for easing labor and for the child’s good health. Another translation that the charm represents is that sickness or misfortune will leave if you have this charm. It is now more of a mascot for the Hida region and it sold in every souvenir shop in various colors and in all different shapes and sizes.
I was super disappointed that the popular pudding shop – Shirakawago Purin no Ie (Pudding House) – was closed for their winter holiday. So if you are visiting, make sure you include this on your visit as it looks wonderful. There were lots of little shops open to get snacks like Hida beef, various rice based items, and even ice cream. We did get takoyaki nearby (白川郷 たこ焼き 結) as well as ice cream to share (Oishinbo) as our snacks for the morning.
We were going to cross the Deai Bridge over the Sho River but the people on the suspension bridge were too much to fight so we walked a few feet to see the view before turning back around. It is a beautiful view so definitely stop by.
Our time was starting to run out and there were a number of cafes in the area I wanted to visit – Ochūdo Cafe, Coffee Shop Hina, Hanamizuki Shirakawa, ”Kyoshu” Coffee Shop – and either the wait to sit down was too long or the cafe was closed. The cafe scene in Shirakawa-go looked pretty epic with their beverage and pastry game making me really disappointed we could not fit this in on our trip.
On our way back to the bus, we stopped in Binen Yumeromu Museum and Craft Shop and while we did not get a chance to walk through the museum featuring large wood slabs, wood carvings, and more (400 yen entrance), we did get to admire the woodworking crafts in the small gift shop where Kevin made a purchase. I wish we had more time to enjoy it here.
We loved visiting Shirakawa-go and I only wish we had more time or it was easier to get to from Kanazawa. For your day trip, make sure you include visits to:
- One of the three Gassho-zukuri houses
- One of the cafes for house made beverage and homemade treat
- Do some souvenir shopping
- A snack from one of the various vendors and definitely some pudding
- Walk up to the observation point
- And if you have time for a full meal, visit Hiiragi – it looks amazing!
- Walk to the Shirakawa-go Three Houses to get an iconic photo that is often used to advertise Shirakawa-go