honshu36.26° N, 136.91° E
Shirakawa-go
Shirakawa-go is a village in the Shogawa valley of Gifu whose gassho-zukuri farmhouses, their steep thatched roofs shaped like hands joined in prayer, are a World Heritage Site.
Ogimachi from Shiroyama, Shirakawa-go
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the place
Roofs like hands at prayer, in a valley of snow and rice.
The roofs were built steep to shed the deep snow of the valley, and the great attics beneath them once housed the silkworms that kept the families. Ogimachi, the largest of the villages, holds more than a hundred of them among its rice fields, and from the Shiroyama viewpoint above, the whole village is laid out along the river.
We plan Shirakawa-go as a Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, with Takayama under an hour away and Kanazawa about an hour and a quarter. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans the days for you.
what we do here
Shirakawa-go, as we show it
Ogimachi
The village of thatched farmhouses among its rice fields beside the river.
The Wada house
The largest of the farmhouses, its attics open to see how the roof was built.
Gassho-zukuri farmhouses in the snow Shiroyama
The viewpoint above the village, the roofs laid out below.
questions
Questions about Shirakawa-go
How do you reach Shirakawa-go?
By private car from Kanazawa, about an hour and a quarter, or from Takayama, under an hour.
Can you stay overnight in Shirakawa-go?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, can give the village an evening, or base you in Takayama or Kanazawa for the day.
Can Shirakawa-go be combined with Kanazawa and Takayama?
Yes. The three sit well together in a Custom Tour of Japan. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans the days for you.
Shirakawa-go, created for you alone.
The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, and Shirakawa-go can be any part of it. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.