Shirakawa-go, Gifu pref, Japan

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Observatory - Vantage point of Ogimachi Hamlet, it is the best place to overlook the traditional Japanese village with paddy filed and thatched houses. You can also see the Shokawa river and mountains beyond. There are professional photographers who are willing to take the memory photos for you. There are various souvenirs e.g. buckwheat tea, T-shirt, calendar, cosmetic goods sold at the Tenshukaku shop. There are two ways to access to the Observatory; one can be followed by the driveway starting from the Wada House, the other route starts from the foot of the former Ogimachi castle. The latter one is accessible by the walkers only.

Gassho Zukuri House Museum - An open air museum at east of Seseragi Car Park of Shirakawa-go, which has become the Unesco Heritage Site recently. There are authentic residential houses, teahouse, shrine, mill house for draining rice, and temporary accommodation, all of which are constructed with woods and thatched roof, and have been relocated from the nearby villages. Its layout appears a lively community together with lovely plants and flowing brook, and events and performances, e.g. binding straws and rice planting which are held regularly. You are encouraged to look round the inside of the residential houses with dining, living, mourning room, and stables. It is found that the mountain villagers used to keep cows rather than horses. The showrooms include the work shop and you will see many types of devices and tools displayed on the floors and rooms, all of which were used for agriculture, silkworm industry and everyday. The permanent exhibitions include the video of the remote villages with details of people cultivating the field manually, re-thatching the roof without using convenient tools, spending the winter without electricity. You will also find it interesting to learn the story of the bus driver who planted cherry trees through the mountainous routes between Nagoya and Kanazawa and see the photos of cherry blossoms. Many remote hamlets on the mountains disappeared from the map as a result of constructions of dam between the 1970s and the 1990s. Most of the permanent exhibitions do not have English translations but newspaper articles and photos of events, exhibited items, and outstanding presentations give you sound pictures of rural life. Finally, don’t forget to pop in the Nakano Rest House and have buckwheat tea at the square charcoal fireplace. Admission 500yen.

The Wada House - The most famous heritage house in Shirakawa-go near the Observatory. The heritage house was designated as an Important National Cultural Property in 1995 when Shirakawa-go was registered as a Unesco Heritage site. The Wada House is thought to have been built between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and was resided by the leader of the village, official member, and gunpowder manufacturer. In short, the house was owned by the wealthy people and has been preserved to its former glory, i.e. between the late 19th century and the 1930s. The visitors are encouraged to look round the living space with a large main hall, a room with Buddhist altar, guest rooms, and bedrooms on the ground floor. There are a series of Japanese landscapes with pines and cranes drawn on the sliding doors, valuable pieces of treasure, certificates of trade or licence displayed in the living space. This can tell you how successful the silkworm industry and gunpowder manufacturing carried out by the Wada House and how much they have contributed their expertise to the society. The second and third floors were used for cultivating silkworms, and have become exhibition rooms for household items, e.g. straw sandals to prevent sinking into the snow, roof thatching tools, silkworm tools and equipment, and lacquerware sets which were used by the Wada family. There are a lot of features of constructions to withstand the snow and wind, and keep the house warm, e.g. use of Japanese oak trees for beams, stone walls, windbreak grove, and a pond to dispose of the snow around the building. Admission 400 yen

The Kanda House - Standing on the centre of Ogimachi Hamlet in Shirakawa-go, the Kanda House presents as an authentic Gassho Zukuri style house. It is thought that the Kanda House was built at the beginning of the 19th century and completed with advanced technology which would be the most appropriate for both living and working. There is a video in the living room, showing the techniques and characteristics of Japanese thatched houses enabling to withstand gales, earthquakes, and snow. The descriptions include; thick bending oak trunks which had long survived the snow are used for beams for thatched houses, assemblying timbers in s steeply angled way enables to reduce the pressure from the snow, tightly binding up ropes and timbers helps to protect the building against gels, earthquakes, and snow, and the steep roof makes it easier to sweep the snow away. The residents earned income with silkworm industry and gunpowder manufacturing. There is sunken hole on the ground floor which was used for producing gunpowder with grasses, weeds, and urine liquid. There are massive collections of household items, agricultural tools, woodcutting tools, etc on the 1st and 2nd floors. There is a floor between the ground the 1st floor, where the residents used as a bedroom. There is a sliding door where the residents checked through the fire on the fireplace to prevent the disaster, as well as keeping the house warm. Furthermore, the visitors can admire the garden with pond, stone bridge, lanterns, and the watermill from the living room. Admission 300 yen

The Nagase House - With more than 30 year-old Japanese cypresses and 300 year-old Judas trees and horse chestnuts, the Gassho Zukuri style house with five floors was built in 1891, and the size of which is one of the largest in Shirakawa-go. The generation of the Nagase family lasted 250 years. The occupation of the 1st to 3rd Lord was the Doctor, and thus there are several pieces of medical items, e.g. small drawers to keep different types of medicines remained, and displayed alongside numerous pieces of valuable treasure and lacquerware which were used for ritual ceremonies by the Nagase family on the ground floor. Loads of everyday items, e.g. cookware, wooden tubs, containers for fermenting rice wine are displayed on the 2nd floor, re-thatching tools, woodcutters goods and agricultural goods are exhibited on the 3rd, and silkworm industry’s devices and equipment are kept on the 4th floor. Maintenance of the thatched roof is one of the most arduous and important tasks for Gassho Zukuri style houses. Having twice as big as the average Japanese houses, more than 500 volunteers participated in re-thatching the roof in 2001. This event was broadcast on NHK and drew the huge attention to the public. You can read the English article at the living room, and will find the details of the event and communal labour-sharing system, which Japanese call “Yui who maintain Gassho Zukuri style houses and environment both for residents and tourists in Shirakawa-go. Admission 300 yen

Myozenji Temple - While there are ten temples in Shirakawa village, Myozenji Temple is thought to be the most historical one. There are three buildings to look at. Firstly, you can see the façade of the main temple (Hondo), which was built 260 years ago. 9,191 people were involved in constructing the main temple. There are two interesting carvings at the corners of the beams, which appear to represent mythical elephants. Secondly, you will see the temple’s gate, Shoromon with the bell hanging from the top. The bell is still used at the certain occasions. Like the main temple, the best selections of oak trees were used for the structure, and 1,425 people were involved in constructing. Both the main temple and gate have thatched roof, which is very rare in Japan.
The third one is Myozenji Kuri House. Kuri is old-fashioned Japanese word, and means the kitchen of the temple. It’s rather big and can be used for the monk and his family’s living room. The Kuri House was built 200 years ago by two groups of carpenters and took three years to complete. Like other Gassho Zukuri houses, no nails are used instead long surviving shrubs and ropes are tied up for the constructions, retaining a steep roof, which the well known German architect complimented in the 1930s. 6,000 tons of timbers were used for the Kuri House and have been constructed and maintained with great care. It is a grand ancient building. This is an entrance for the monk and his living room, mourning room (Hondo) and the Folk Museum on the upper floors. In Shirakawa-go and neighbourhood, the villagers had long been inherited the morale of “self-sufficiency” for their food from their ancestors. There are scores of agricultural tools, wooden furniture, cooper and wooden cookware and tableware, household items, machinery and devices, and goods made of straws which were used by villagers and submitted for the exhibitions displayed on the 2nd to 4th floors. The visitors are invited to the mourning room followed by the corridors. There is a big Butsudan with Buddha statue, incense sticks, flowers, the pieces of boards inscribing the deceased members of the families and local people, golden screen, and scriptures. There is an authentic dining room with the fireplace where the visitors are encouraged to have refreshments and take the memory photos. Admission: 400 yen

Dobukuro Festival Museum - Hachiman Shrine is not only used for the place of worship but also the centre for the local festival, i.e. Dobukuro Festival, which is held at mid October. There is a museum which provides comprehensive exhibitions related to Dobukuro Festival. The video (Japanese only) runs 20 minutes and shows you the details of Dobukuro Festival; history, preparation of the festival, process of Dobukuro wine, individual roles including performers’ wives who are obliged to cook nutritious meals for their husbands, highlight scenes when everybody having Dobukuro wine, which have been offered for the God, and Shishimai (mythical lion)’s performance. There are models of performers - red and blue devils, shishimai, mikoshi (the portable house) carried by several people in the centre of the march, music players displayed at the exhibition rooms. Finally, visitors are invited to have a sip of Dobukuro wine as a complimentary. Admission: 300 yen.

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