Shirakawa go village

Table of Contents

1 World Cultural Heritage
2 About `Gassho-zukuri`
3 Winter - Fairytale Village
4 Observation deck
5 Light Up
6 Information

World Cultural Heritage

One of the most touristed spot in Japan, Shirakawa Go village, is located in Gifu prefecture.
Shirakawa Go was registered in 1995 as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage zone.

The village has over 100 large and small-size of Gassho-zukuri building, and it is known as a village where people are live their lives and continuing existence the traditional way of life.

About `Gassho-zukuri`

Gassho-zukuri means constructed like “two hands in prayer”, this name is made by the unique roof design – the thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer.
Some of the gassho-zukuri farmhouses are more than 250 years old!
The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

Winter - Fairytale Village

In the winter, the area has about two meters of snow during the peak of the season! And the roofs are covered in a thick layer of snow and the buildings coated in white – like a fairytale village – a magical sight to be seen.

Since the area being granted UNESCO status, tourists (Japanese and Foreigners ) come from far and wide to enter inside these beautifully preserved buildings, many of the farmhouses are now restaurants, museums or a place where you can stay overnight.

Observation deck

One of our recommendation is to go to see the area from Observation deck, where you can enjoy the view of the village.

Light Up

During the winter they also do light up around the village . And is really recommended to be seen.
The light up in only few days during the winter, and because it become crowded it must to have reservation.
Also, the Observation Deck there must different tickets. We couldn`t get tickets to the observation at night . (at the day time, you don`t need reservations ).

Information

Access:
– From Takayama there a bus (need to make reservation) takes about 50 minutes.
– From Kanazawa there bus (need to make reservation) takes about 1 hour and half.
– From Nagoya there a bus (need to make reservation) takes about 3 hours.