Winter in January 2017
This year I visited Shirakawa-go in early January and only have 3 days 2 nights to travel, so we decided to go to Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa and Takayama. By the time I visited it wasn’t completely covered with snow which is good since it’s still in the early season. Also, it was my first experience to see, touch and play with snow (Tokyo doesn’t get snowy in winter). Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to stay there––it was full-booked.
Named as Ogimachi Village, is the largest village of preserved gassho-zukuri farmhouses in Shirakawa-go which built around 250 years ago located in Gifu Prefecture. In 1995, Shirakawa-go was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site along with Gokayama (Ainokura Village and Suganuma Village) in Toyama Prefecture. Because the access is not as difficult as Gokayama, Shirakawa-go area becomes one of the most interesting (yet so touristy) place to visit when you’re traveling to Japan. For some people Gokayama is an alternative place to go for you who doesn’t really enjoy crowd.
Beside become tourist attraction, this village also produce silk, rice and agriculture products such as mulberry.
Since the first time we came to this place only half area covered with snow, I visited this place two times and spent a lot of time at the observatory (Shiroyama view point) to see the view of whole village from the top.
If Kobe has Kobe Beef, Gifu has Hida Beef. It’s another first class of Wagyu (Japanese Beef). The taste is more sweet than other beef. Usually they serve it with nut sauce. You should try it when you go to Gifu Area.
Not much to say about Shirakawa-go, you should experience it on your own. For me, this village has it’s own beauty in every season. As you can see, winter brings this village into dramatic view. I can imagine the cheerful and fresh feeling during spring and summer, and peaceful during autumn.
There’s plenty of information about accommodation in Shirakawa-go and how to get there, so does for other places in Japan. The most convenient one I’ve got is in here.
Shirakawa-go:
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