Shirakawa-go is a village located in Ono District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is a small, traditional village showcasing a building style known as gassho-zukuri. Together with Gokayama in Nanto, Toyama, it is one of UNESCO‘s World Heritage Sites. As of 1 December 2017, the village had an estimated population of 1,668 in 582 households and a population density of 4.7 persons per km2.The total area of the village was 356.55Â km2 (137.66Â sqm).
How to get to Shirakawa-go from Osaka:
- Train from Osaka/Shin Osaka/Kyoto to Kanazawa
- Take Nohi Bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go bus stop (1hr). Nohi Bus need to be reserved and they can be reserved 1 months before.
We bought Hokuriku tourist pass and use the pass to travel on this area and call the Nohi Bus reservation center by phone
You can also go to Shirakawa-go using Nohi Bus from Takayama. We did this in our way back to Kyoto as we want to explore the old town of Takayama. We didn’t spend time in Kanazawa which is a shame because they have the 3rd biggest garden in Japan and the town has some interesting attractions as well.
Alyssa first time seeing snow. It is no longer snowing in Shirakawa-go as we went there in spring but there are still left over snow which have not melted yet as during winter this quaint village was wholly covered by snow.
Observatory Top
Many people only visit Shirakawa-go as day trip because the accommodations in Shirakawago are very limited and you need to book way in advance.
Shirakawa-go quaint village
I initially wanted to stay at the Gassho-Zukuri house but they were booked already. The only alternative is Shirakawa-go No Yu (a modern ryokan) which comes with its own onsen. Happy I made the choice to stay there and at the same time bucket list checked for onsen experience 🙂 The accommodation package comes with dinner and breakfast. We were staying in Japanese room; sleeping in futons and bathing in Onsen 🙂
