Have you been to this part of paradise on earth? I've only learned about Shirakawa-go just before I left for Japan. It feels a little like the hobbit of Japan. This historic village was declared as UNESCO world heritage site in 1995 and it boasts of its beautiful Gassho houses that are over 2 centuries old.
To get there, you could either take a public bus or a tour from Takayama or a direct coach from Nagoya. We went with option 2, since we could get a train to Takayama on JR Pass and pay only half the cost to get to the gassho houses.
Upon arrival at JR Takayama station, you'll be greeted by a tourist information kiosk and Sarubobo. Sarubobo is actually a Japanese amulet, which is in a human shape and has no facial expression. In the past, it was given by the grandmothers to the grandchildren as dolls, or as a good luck charm to the daughters who are looking for partner to settle down.
Right opposite the station, you can see a few souvenir shops which sell the local produce. In Japan, most places sell local produce which you can hardly get at other shops - even at the airport - unless it is some big chain names.
Some of the local delicacies include skewers and also this pao looking thing. I never get a chance to try since I was looking for a proper lunch.
In Takayama, most of the old streets are still very well maintain. You can also chance upon art galleries where the local artists gather their art work for display. They are usually the older generation who still remain in this quaint little town.
To get to Shirakawa-go, you could take the Nohi public bus or join a tour with iSite. The tour with iSite costs 4000Y per person for a 2-hour return trip to Shirakawa-go. The journey to Shirakawa-go takes about an hour and the tour is about 2 hours before they depart from Shirakawa-go back to Takayama. We chose to go with iSite, mainly because it was a lot easier to get to the observatory site to view the village from afar. Only tour operated buses can get to the observatory site while the rest of the tourist can get there on foot.
It turns out to be a blessing in disguise because just as many of the less touristy places in Japan, there are not many signage in English which explains about the Gassho houses. Joining a tour helps to understand a little better before we reach the village since we were provided with some cards on the history and the details of those Gassho houses.
The overview of the village from the observatory site. It was quite a view indeed, with the remaining 100 or so Gassho houses in sight.
After that, the tour bus will bring us to the main bus stop where we will cross a suspension bridge to get across to the village.
Most of the Gassho houses are still resided by the local. It appears to be a self-sustaining village with agricultural activities in place. Further, I think the location of the village is quite far from town, so it is difficult to get some basic needs if they're not self-sufficient. We were also told that the village only has a primary school. Therefore, children who intend to continue their studies will have to travel 2 hours to and fro Takayama on a daily basis to attend the secondary school there. This could also be the reason why there are lesser younger generation staying on in the village.
It doesn't come by surprise that the houses are highly flammable. The roofs are generally made of dried leaves and hays and so if the weather is too hot, it can get dangerous for the villagers. We do notice that some of the houses have their traditional roofs replaced with a modern ones. According to the tour guide, the roof replacement activities usually happen once in every 3 decades. It takes about 2 weeks to prepare one side of the traditional roof and another 2 weeks for the other side.
There are 3 main Gassho houses that are popular among the tourists. Our tour guide suggested that we visit Kanda house, mainly because most of the houses are the same and there are English signage for the exhibits in Kanda house.
There's a fee to pay for each house and typically it's 300Y. For Kanda house, the only exception is that you can drink free flow of tea if you want, as it is served on the ground floor. Kanda house is about 4-storey high and each storey, you'll see the exhibits of the tools that are used in their daily activities such as agricultural activities or even weaving for the ones at home.
Some of these exhibits are still in good condition. It does feel very nostalgic as most of the tools used are wooden tools which are probably harder to get these days.
The Gassho houses are very popular especially in documentaries. Here is a plate that shows how frequent Kanda house has featured in the local documentary.
If you're up to view another part of Japan altogether, apart from the big and bright cities, do plan a visit to Shirakawa-go and enjoy the train trip on the way to Takayama. I truly enjoyed all the scenery along the way from Nagoya to Takayama and trust that you will feel the same!
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