You must go to "Shirakawa-go!"

Shirakawa-go is located in the north- west of Gifu prefecture which isGifu in the middle of Honshu. 

This village is registered as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Historic Villages in 1995.

”Gassho Style" Houses

There are "Gassho style" houses in this village. "Gassyo style" is the architecture which seems like a triangle , similar to placing one's hands together. The roof is very steep and built from wooden beams (not using the piles of metal etc). This shape is good to adapt to heavy snow and actually the houses will improve its strength year after year.

On the first floor, you can see some historical things like old style fireplace, straw sandals and old Japanese style crock.

On the second floor, you can see the inside the roof and enjoy the interesting decorations! 

"結”　(read as, "yui") is the key word in this village. It means "to join" "to connect" and "to link". This historic village is built off of the people's connections. They help each other and support each other. "Gassho style" houses can not last long if people do not take care of them. That is why people's connections and warm hearts are necessary in this village.

Try to Stay at Gassyho Style House "Yokichi!"

[note: Below, this is the author Masumi's personal experience going to the village]

I stayed in "Gassho style" house named "Yokichi".

I did not get to stay at the other houses  but I can say that "Yokichi" house is amazing.

Below photo was taken in front of Yokichi house with the landlady.

The most surprising thing was delicious foods!

 Honestly, I did not expect good food there because it is difficult to deliver the food into the deep mountain areas. However, it was opposite. The water is clear and very good, so everything would be very good. The rice was glistening. I ate three cups of rice! I really enjoyed many edible wild plants like flowering ferns and Japanese butterburs. The dinner is quite simple yet the flavor was amazing.

The landlady of the Yokichi house was so lovely. She was very friendly, gentle and a good cook.

If you look for the accommodation there, I really recommend you to stay "Yokichi".

You can enjoy seeing the interesting Japanese traditional things along the main street in Shirakawa-go. 

Beautiful Contrast of Gassho style Houses against the Night View

You can also enjoy the special night illuminations in the museum "Minka-en".  

After sunset, the houses are illuminated. 

Hope you discover the historical things in this nature environment "Shirakawa-go".

access: Shinjyuku(Tokyo) to Shirakawa-go  

             you can go straight by bus. I used bus and train.

             Tokyo-Nagoya         Shinkanse 100mins ¥10,360(one way)

             Nagoya-Shirakawa-go             by bus 2H ¥4,000(one way)

 Museum Minka-en: http://www.shirakawago-minkaen.jp/english/admin/

Yokichi: https://shirakawa-go.gr.jp/en/stay/3060/

#shirakawago #Gassyostylehouses #Japanesetravel #naturalenvironment # snowinJapan #BeautifulvillageinJapan #historicalsightseeing