The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go Gassho Style Houses, Chubu, Japan

4.5 (2.175 reviews) Spent 2-3 hours Ranking #3 in Chubu Points of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas

If you don't want to pay for the Open Air Museum, the town also has Gassho-Zukuri Farmhouses

Shirakawa-Go is a UNESCO Heritage Site famous for their traditional Gassho-Zukuri Farmhouses. Basically the roof is constructed like hands in prayer. We spent 2 hours here as part of a Day Tour with Yokoso Japan. It gave us plenty of time to go to the Open Air Museum, walk up to the Observatory and walk around the Historic Village. Inside the Village, you will see examples of these farmhouses. However, the town is pretty touristy. Large buses came on a daily basis. We came on January 4 and unfortunately there wasn't much snow. But I did enjoy walking around the town.
Chubu review images

Address

Ogimachi, Shirakawa-mura, Ono-gun 501-5627 Gifu Prefecture

Mobile

+81 5769-6-1013

Website

http://shirakawa-go.org/kankou/

Current local date and time now

Friday, May 10, 2024, 18:22

User Ratings

4.5 based on (2.175 reviews)

Excellent
54%
Good
34%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
2%
Terrible
1%

Reviews

  • 5Toru O 5:00 PM Sep 9, 2020
    Definitely worth the visit
    Luckily the place wasn't so crowded when I went there (ironically, thanks to COVID-19) but the weather was very unstable, thanks to an oncoming typhoon. The traditional thatched roof houses were quite a beauty to look at. Some are open to visitors but charge you a 300 yen admission. As you will be walking around a lot, it's best to visit during spring or fall when the weather is mild. If it weren't for COVID_19, you should definitely book a round trip bus ticket in advance. I traveled from Kanazawa station, and purchased tickets at an information center nearby. There are also tickets to and from Takayama station. Also, there are no trash cans, just like in most Japanese tourist spots. Bring plastic bags to put your trash in, so you can dispose of them when you get back to your hotel.
  • 5liburannatal 5:00 PM Jan 1, 2020
    Stay overnight to avoid the tourists
    The village is as beautiful as the photos when it is snowing in the winter. At daytime, the tourists are overwhelming. I would recommend to spend a night here so that you are able to explore the areas after the last buses for the tourists have left and in early morning before the first buses arrive. It takes about 30 minutes walk to the observatory as well as to the 3 houses often featured in the the photos, but they are at opposite side of the village. This year it does not snow as much as other years so I was lucky to visit on a day when it was snowing. Visiting for snow in December is risky so consider to visit in late January.

See also

More Things to do in Chubu