Shirakawa-go

Valley of Thatched Roof Houses

After the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, we headed back south towards Osaka and stopped at Shirakawa-go village along the way. We should have stopped on our way to Matsumoto but didn’t because of a failure in travel planning.

Like the day we crossed the Alpine Route, it was pouring rain when we arrived at the village. Shortly after exiting the car we had soaking wet feet, but by the time we left the rain had slowed down to just a light drizzle.

Four thatched-roof houses in Shirakawa-go were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. Some of the farm houses are 250 years old.

We stopped at Ogimachi, which is the largest village and main tourist attraction. Interestingly it has free admission, but parking is 1,000yen per car and 3,000 yen for each busload of tourists (of which there were many).

I wanted to stop at some of the less touristy villages. There are fewer farm houses there, but they are closer together, so I think it might be better for photos. Ogimachi wasn’t bad though; I still got some good shots but I’d recommend stopping at some of the others if you have time.

The overcast sky and rain did give an interesting atmosphere to the old village, which has modern homes distributed throughout. I particularly enjoyed the clouds coming through the forested hills.

There is a hill that you can climb for an overview of the town site. The view is nice but the real magic of the town is down below, where you can be immersed in the historic buildings. Overall, it was a good experience and we’re glad that we made the stop even though it was raining and less convenient to get to.