Search this site

Car Rentals Compact cars from around 4,000 Yen/day!

Online Ticket Bookings Special fares for domestic air tickets

Online Hostel Bookings Hostels and inexpensive ryokan from $10 per night!

Related Pages

Travel Sightseeing Chubu Region Gifu Prefecture Toyama Prefecture Ogimachi Suganuma Ainokura Overnight at a farmhouse UNESCO World Heritage Sites Bus Timetables: Shirakawa-go Bus Timetables: Gokayama Shirakawago: Access and Orientation

Related Questions

Weather in Shirakawa-go in Early...  6 reactions, last updated 38 days ago Shirakawago gassho-zukuri stay or...  1 reaction, last updated 39 days ago Shirakawago minshuku:...  9 reactions, last updated 39 days ago From tokyo to shirakawago  1 reaction, last updated 51 days ago How much time do I need to visit...  1 reaction, last updated 61 days ago Ainokura to kanazawa  3 reactions, last updated 63 days ago Driving to Gokayama in late...  4 reactions, last updated 64 days ago Shirakawago and Ogimachi bus...  2 reactions, last updated 65 days ago Shirakawago in December  6 reactions, last updated 81 days ago Any Catholic Churches Near...  1 reaction, last updated 89 days ago Shirakawa-go - Kanazawa bus  6 reactions, last updated 96 days ago Day trip from Kanazawa to...  9 reactions, last updated 105 days ago Takayama-Shirakawago-Kanazawa bus...  2 reactions, last updated 143 days ago Shirakawa-go Farmstay in Autumn?  2 reactions, last updated 144 days ago Any Locker at Ogimachi Bus...  8 reactions, last updated 147 days ago Shirakawa-go Autumn Foliage  4 reactions, last updated 260 days ago The last bus from Kanazawa to...  2 reactions, last updated 271 days ago Snow capped roofs at Shirakawago  2 reactions, last updated 351 days ago Gassho-zukuri farmhouses  2 reactions, last updated 351 days ago Transport after shirakawago...  13 reactions, last updated 362 days ago

Japan Sightseeing Guide

Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Hakodate Asahikawa Furano Abashiri Noboribetsu Niseko Lake Toya Daisetsuzan Shiretoko Rishiri Rebun Akan Tohoku Sendai Matsushima Hiraizumi Akita Kakunodate Hachimantai Aomori Hirosaki Lake Towada Shimokita Hanto Dewa Sanzan Yamadera Aizu Bandai Kanto Tokyo Yokohama Kamakura Nikko Kinugawa Hakone Kawagoe Kusatsu Ikaho Minakami Oze Narita Ogasawara Chubu Nagoya Inuyama Mt.Fuji Fujigoko Izu Peninsula Shizuoka Hamanako Nagano Bessho Onsen Matsumoto Kamikochi Kiso Valley Hakuba Yamanouchi Sado Island Takayama Okuhida Shirakawa-go Gujo Gero Onsen Kanazawa Kaga Onsen Noto Peninsula Kansai Kyoto Osaka Nara Kobe Himeji Kinosaki Mount Koya Kumano Asuka Yoshino Amanohashidate Hikone Iga Ueno Ise Shima Chugoku Hiroshima Miyajima Onomichi Okayama Kurashiki Takahashi Inujima Tottori Daisen Matsue Iwami Ginzan Iwakuni Yamaguchi Hagi Shikoku Takamatsu Kotohira Naoshima Shodoshima Matsuyama Uchiko Kochi Tokushima Naruto Kyushu Fukuoka Dazaifu Arita Nagasaki Shimabara Kumamoto Mount Aso Kurokawa Minamata Beppu Yufuin Mount Kuju Miyazaki Takachiho Kagoshima Kirishima Satsuma Hanto Yakushima Okinawa Honto Kume Miyako Yaeyama

Survey

Have you visited Japan in the last 3 years? Yes No see results Other Surveys: Preferred Airport Favorite hotel reservation website Favorite travel guide books How to improve tourism Next trip to Japan Purpose of visit Most popular region Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter

Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

Home - Travel - Sightseeing Guide - Chubu
Shirakawa-go and Gokayama	# 42   of 140 destinations in our travel guide
access  -  hotels  -  tours  -  ratings  -  links

The Shirakawa-go and neighboring Gokayama regions line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains that span from Gifu to Toyama Prefectures. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, they are famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old. Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms. Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go's largest village and main attraction, makes a good day trip from Takayama, or a stop on the bus journey between Takayama and Kanazawa. The best way to experience the town, however, is to stay overnight at one of the farmhouses, many of which now serve as minshuku. Gokayama is a little more difficult to access and requires a change of buses in Ogimachi. Less developed and less crowded than Shirakawa-go, its villages are smaller, more intimate and with less intrusion from modern buildings. Gokayama's nicest villages are Suganuma and Ainokura. Any Questions? Ask them in our question forum.

Access and Orientation

Access and Orientation How to get to and around Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. About transportation in Japan

Accommodation

Search a Hotel in Shirakawago:

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 2012 2013 for 1 night 2 nights 3 nights 4 nights 5 nights 6 nights 7 nights from JAPANiCAN Hotels.com Hostel World Agoda Hotel & Ryokan (NTA) Jalan.net

Tours and Packages

2 days in snowy Shirakawago, all-you-can-eat snow crab! Nice price! Two satisfying days packed with fun things to do, for 16,980 to 24,980 yen. Shirakawago, Hida-Takayama, Kanazawa.Toyama Onsen Resort, with open-air hot spring bath. Takayama and Shirakawa-go Tours Various tours and travel packages for Takayama and surroundings.

Advertisements

Travel Community

Ratings for Shirakawa-go: japan-guide.com Rating:   best of Japan   User Rating (by 186 users): 93/100   highly recommended Popularity of Shirakawa-go: Users who have been to Shirakawa-go: 362 42nd most visited of the 140 destinations in our sightseeing guide. Have you been to Shirakawa-go? No - I have not been there yetYes - no ratingYes - highly recommendedYes - recommendedYes - mildly interestingYes - nothing specialYes - not recommended User Feedback We strive to keep japan-guide.com up-to-date and accurate, and are always looking for ways to improve the user experience. If you have any updates, suggestions, corrections or opinions, please let us know:

English Links

Shirakawa Village Official English website of the municipality where Shirakawa-go is located in. Nanto City Official English website of the municipality where Gokayama is located in.

Japanese Links

Shirakawa Village Official website of the municipality where Shirakawa-go is located in. Nanto City Official website of the municipality where Gokayama is located in.