observation deck viewing

Hi, Im planning to visit shirakawago on the 18 feb. May i know if i can go up on foot up to the Observation deck before the light up event start at 5:30pm?? Let say i want to come up at 1pm to have lunch at The Restautrant TENSHUKAKU. Am i allowed?

https://shirakawa-go.gr.jp/en/events/100/

The Shirakawa-go Light-up Event is held on a fully pre-booked basis.
Without reservaton, you will not be able to participate even if you arrive on the day of the event. No tickets will be sold on the day of the event.
The ticketing system will be implemented at this time to discourage people from breaking the rules. Entrance gates will be set up at the village entrances to check participants.
The ticket will be in the form of a lanyard which must be worn at all times when entering the gate and walking through the village.
Please note that those without a ticket will not be allowed in and will have to leave without one.
Please note that depending on your reservation you may or may not be able to visit the observatory.

On the day of light-ups, the observation deck is open to the general public (without reservations) until 15:45.

It seems kind of silly to do things like hold light-up events, and then implement draconian crowd-control actions when too many people show up. What the Shirakawago announcement describes sounds more like a system for managing prisoners than for welcoming tourists.

I wonder what it will take to get people to stop mobbing the small number of places that are starting to take measures to actively discourage tourism. There are so many beautiful, uncrowded places in Japan that could use the tourism money.

There seems to be a growing backlash against overtourism in Japan, but I canft see how relatively small countermeasures like this new system in Shirakawago, or the elimination of the one-day bus pass in Kyoto (and other measures being considered by the newly elected mayor), are going to solve the problem. I have seen mention of increasing Kyoto hotel prices for non-residents (and have in fact seen some marketing campaigns that offer discounts to residents), but honestly doubt if thatfs going to solve the problem.

The funny thing is, so many tourists say they dislike crowds, and want to go goff the beaten pathh and see gthe real Japan.h And then most of these people head straight for all the tourist magnets.

It seems kind of silly to do things like hold light-up events, and then implement draconian crowd-control actions when too many people show up.

I disagree... calling a ticketed entry a "draconian crowd control" is an exaggeration. Museums and concerts have tickets and a maximum capacity, should that be forbidden too? It ensures a nice and safe experience for those attending.

I went once to a flower festival in Spain. Very popular and crowded. Not ticketed, but they limit the number of entries at each location, making the visit much more pleasant.

sounds more like a system for managing prisoners than for welcoming tourists

Is it because of the lanyard? From the various reports I read/heard, Shirakawa-go sounds a bit like a theme park anyway.

I have actually been there once in 2016, and my own experience was so vastly different I am now wondering if I accidentally went to a different place! Maybe it was because of the bad weather or because we were off-season, but the "village" was almost deserted. Empty streets, most of the shops closed or left unattended (mid afternoon), no one in the houses open to the public... The atmosphere felt a bit depressing, although it was nice to be able to visit at our own pace and take pictures alone.

I think it was more the extremely direct tone of the announcement, the comment about gbreaking the rules,h and the entrance gates being installed.

I also went to Shirakawago once, about 10 years ago, and found it to be uncrowded (and okay but not as fun, for me, as many other places in Japan). But things have changed a lot since then.

I am sort of curious about why people feel so intensely drawn to Shirakawago. I am seriously not meaning to be snarky, but do they honestly believe it represents gthe real Japanh? There are lots of other places where one can see old fashioned farmhouses and other structures. I agree that Shirakawago feels like a theme park. (To me personally, the famous temples and shrines in Kyoto start to feel that way when you get hundreds of people packed into them.)

I donft have a solution, but I do think that the problems with overtourism in Japan are not an issue of too many tourists, but of too many tourists all going to a small number of places. I wish there were some way to convince people that fear of missing out may in fact be causing them to miss out, on a lot of great things about Japan.

I am sort of curious about why people feel so intensely drawn to Shirakawago.

I think it is a mix of FOMO and accessibilty, in terms of transport and lodging. At least for me, Shirakawa-go was just very easy to get to, as a stopover between Kanazawa and Takayama. That certainly makes it a choice destination for tour groups as well.

If its location was swapped with Iwami Ginzan/Ōmori (also a UNESCO site), I am pretty sure there would be much less visitors. That, or there would be a boom of tourism in the San'in area.

Ifm sort of hoping that the fact that the regional JR passes for western japan are still relative bargains will encourage more tourism in places beyond Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Takayama/Shirakawago. Now that the nationwide JR pass is a bad deal for most tourists, Ifm afraid that everyone will switch to point-to-point tickets, which tends to discourage them from taking trains to other than the absolute gmust-seeh destinations. I do wonder whether JR Eastfs new regional pass pricing (with steeper increases than the other JR companies) might cause fewer people to consider destinations in northern Japan. Hopefully, JR West, JR Shikoku, and JR Kyushu wonft soon follow suit in making the regional passes considerably more expensive. Of course, JR has to base its decisions on what works for JR, and not on the convenience of foreign tourists.

Well, sorry for steering the thread off topic. I do understand that people who have never been to Japan before, or have only been once or twice and might never go again, are afraid of missing out on the gbest of Japan,h and I sincerely hope the original poster finds what they are looking for in Shirakawago. It is in fact very picturesque, I can certainly say that for it. And the view from the observation deck is very nice.

This is not my first time visiting Japan. Last time i came to Osaka-Kyoto-Hokkaido-Tokyo. Well, based on my itinerary, I donft need any JR passes. Point-to-point tickets are much cheaper and to cross to northern japan, i took local flight way cheaper and faster.

Next week, i will be visiting Japan again. I drafted my itinerary and still i donft need JR passes.

Itfs depends where and how long u will visit japan. I think JR passes is suitable for someone who wants to visit many places within short time. Like touch & go places which u are not really enjoy and feel Japan.

So, my opinion, forget about JR passes when u want to visit Japan. Itfs not worth to spend.

Well, of course nobody gneedsh any JR passes, but until the big price increase for the national pass, that option was often cheaper than point-to-point tickets (but that is not the case anymore). This encouraged people to use trains more and possibly add some destinations that they wouldnft have gone to if they had to pay for the tickets.

I might never have gone to Akita, Kochi, or Matsuyama (let alone Kushimoto, Tanesashikaigan, or Takizawabokujo) if it werenft for the JR pass. And I would have missed out on so much if I hadnft.