Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

Located in the heart of the mountains, Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are two quiet villages crossed by a river and surrounded by rice fields. However, these adjacent villages have been considered a World Heritage Site since 1995, with their traditional houses built in the gassho-zukuri style. The main characteristic of these wooden houses is their triangular sloping roof made of straw, like praying hands (gassho), to better resist the weight of snow, abundant in this region. These are large houses 18 meters long by 10 meters wide with four floors, where several generations coexist. The top floor is traditionally reserved for silkworm farming.

Places to visit

Shirakawa-go village

Each season the town offers a different view: the snow and illuminated houses in winter, cherry blossoms in spring, scarlet trees in autumn, not forgetting the spectacular fire-fighting exercise on the last Sunday in October or the large jets of water irrigating the entire village. An observatory built in Ogimachi Castle offers a beautiful view of the town.
It is possible to stay in a gassho-zukuri style house as the village has 25 minshuku and 14 ryokan located in this type of dwelling.

• Tourist office: near the Ogimachi-Gasho-Shuraku bus stop. Tel .: (05769) 6-1013 (only in Japanese).
  Ogimachi-Joseki Observatory: Ogimachi bus stop.

Open air museum in gassho-zukuri village

25 abandoned gassho-zukuri-style houses have been restored and opened to the public to offer a glimpse into traditional life. In some of these houses, it is possible to see demonstrations and participate in workshops of traditional arts such as dyeing or weaving or learn about the making of soba (buckwheat noodles).

• Ogimachi-Jinjamae bus stop.

Gokayama Japanese Paper Factory

Gokayama is a traditional Japanese papermaking center. It is possible to learn about this production in one of the village workshops.