The Photographer's Paradise of Shirakawago

This is, very simply, one of the most aesthetically striking places in all of Japan.

You don't need to be a photographer to appreciate Shirakawago, though its incredible beauty has attracted domestic and foreign photographers in droves. If you're a casual tourist wanting to snap a few pretty photos for your desktop, I guarantee you won't go home disappointed. And even without a camera, this is the most romantic place to just breath in the rustic atmosphere, and let it forever imprint in your mind.



To the Japanese, the name Shirakawago conjures the image of an immortal hamlet, the glow of a the ancestral hearth, the warmth of family bonding from a bygone age and, in general, paradise on earth. Though the recent arrival of mass tourism has shifted the focus of the village from its age-old subsistent farming roots to modern commercialism, the traditional townscape has stayed remarkably unchanged, due mostly to the local government's commitment to uphold the UNESCO World Heritage standards. To this day you still won't find any luxury Ryokans in the village, let alone a multi-storey hotel. After all, the biggest selling point here is the unique experience of spending a night under the giant thatched roof of a Gassho-zukuri farmhouse.



What's so special about this steep thatched roof? The Japanese consider it a national treasure, one of the best examples of human ingenuity against the forces of nature. Located at the northern edge of the Japan Alps, this region sees the moist air from the Sea of Japan coast turned into metres upon metres of heavy snowfall every
winter. As a simple matter of survival, the ancient people invented a unique architectural plan to guard against the cold, the wood-rotting moisture, and most importantly the real possibility of the roof collapsing under the snow.



Back in those days Shirakawago lived in its own isolated world, cut off from the outside civilization for months at a time by the snowy mountains. Even though the Kaga Prefecture to the northwest produced the best earthen roof tiles in the feudal ages, the locals came up with their own solution -- a one-metre-thick thatched roof with superb insulation and waterproofing capability.



Underneath the roof stood the gigantic cedar pillars and beams harvested from the nearby mountains, held together by nothing but hand-woven ropes. An open hearth was strategically placed at the centre of the house, not only to serve as a heating source, but also to fumigate the ropes under the roof to give them water- and
insect-repellant qualities. The solution is as architecturally functional as it is visually impressive.



Even today most villagers still live inside their own Gassho-zukuri farmhouses, many dating from the era of the Tokugawa Shoguns a couple centuries ago. A few of the best-preserved houses belonging to the wealthiest families have been converted into museums, but most have survived into the 21st Century as fully functional homes to local working families, albeit taking on the extra function as shops or Minshuku guesthouses.



Sons and daughters continue to hand-plant this year's rice seedlings in the same ancestral fields that their great grandfather cultivated, often drawing the camera flashes of their curious guests. The indigenous strain of rice continues to serve as the staple food it has been for centuries, and the excess continues to be fermented into the strange-tasting Doburoku wine (unfiltered wine with rice chunks in it ... way too strong for my tastebuds). There still exists a very pronounced communal side to Shirakawago when you look past the tourism. The Japanese in general are a very cooperative people with a strong sense of the community, which doesn't get much more evident than in Shirakawago.



Example? A brand new roof generally lasts only about 30 years, which means that a few of the 100-or-so thatched roofs will need to be rethatched every spring. We're talking about ripping out a 10 x 12 x 1 metres chunk of compacted thatch, and replacing it with fresh, loose straws that first needs to be tied into bunches
and secured onto the house frame -- a task too big for even the biggest family in the village.



If you're lucky enough to arrive in early April of any given year, you can see the entire village coming out to rethatch a few of the oldest, leakiest roofs. Literally dozens of villagers can be seen standing on the roof together to secure the thatch under the command of the experienced elders. And if you can speak Japanese,
you can even apply to become a volunteer in the roofing effort and experience the communal spirit yourself.



Can't make it in early April? No worries, as there are many other wonderfully picturesque occasions throughout the year. We arrived during the rice planting season in late May, when domestic photographers and painters turned up to capture the reflection of the village upon the artificially flooded rice fields. Villagers and
their kids came out in full farming gear, rubber boots and all, and hand planted each seedling that will produce the one annual crop in the coming Autumn. This is the one crop of rice that will feed the entire family -- and the guests if the family is running a Minshuku guesthouse -- for the whole year.



Staying at a Minshuku is a MUST for anyone wishing for the full Shirakawago experience, even if you understand not a word of Japanese. Your host family will take in your luggage while you go out for sightseeing, serve you tea and snacks when you come back to rest your weary legs, sell you discounted tickets to the local hotspring,
fluff up your feather-filled futon for a sound night of sleep on the Tatami mat, and cook you a multi-course dinner and breakfast using their freshest local organic ingredients ... while you lounge around their little square hearth. I've got so many pictures from the Minshuku that I'll need to separate it out into the next article. Do yourself a favor -- don't settle for a day trip and cheat yourself out of one of the most authentically Japanese experiences.

What is there to do after settling into your Minshuku? Shirakawago has an impressive number of attractions given its relatively small size, which takes no more than 8 minutes of walking from one end of the village to the other. Befitting its UNESCO World Heritage status, the major sights here are all designated as Important Cultural Property of some sort.



GASSHO-ZUKURI MINKA-EN


By far the best exhibits are the excellent collection of farmhouses within the open-air museum of Gassho-zukuri Minka-en, located on the other side of the Shogawa River.



Inside the museum stands some of the best specimens of rural Japanese architecture, the star attraction being the preservation of the entire desserted village of Kazura, just 20 km to the north before its valley was flooded and turned into a hydro-electricity project. When the villagers launched a final exodus around 1967, several of the most impressive houses were saved by a massive conservation effort and relocated to their current location here in Shirakawago. There is a subtitled interview documentary playing inside one of these houses, in which the surviving villagers recounted their daily life in Kazura as school-aged children and ended up in tears. Very universally human and well worth the 15 minutes.



The interiors are exceptionally well preserved, sporting fully functional hearths and various hand-crafted household items, many dating from the era of the Shoguns. The ground floor typically consists of the communal living spaces, an unfloored kitchen, and even horse stables for the more affluent families. Detailed exhibitions of the traditional industries of silkworm farming and gunpowder production are given in the upper floors. And the best part was ... authentic 70-degree-steep ladders provide access all the way to the top floor in some of the sturdier houses, which afford a great view over what remains of the Kazura village.



Besides farmhouse residences there are also storage sheds, Shinto shrines, grain stores, water-powered mills, and even functional toilets ... all built in Gassho-zukuri style with the signature thatched roofs. And as expected a couple have been converted into noodle stands and souvenir shops, but that's just the commercial side that pays for the cost of preserving the complex. Entrance cost 500 yen (CAD$5), a bargain IMHO if you compare it to the other two open-air farmhouse museums at Takayama and Gero.

Official Site (in Japanese): http://www.geocities.jp/psgifu/



THE RESIDENCES OF WADA-KE, NAGASE-KE AND KANDA-KE


These were the residences of the wealthiest clans in the village, now all converted (at least partially) into museums and openly displayed to the public. You can visit all three if you have the time, but any one of them will give you a good idea of rural life in this mountainous region as it used to be a few centuries back.

Out of the three, Wada-ke boasts the largest and most luxurious Gassho-zukuri house in the village, which remains continually inhabited to this day. But since the top floors are the living spaces of the Wada family, only the bottom two floors are open to tourists. Nagase-ke is slightly smaller, but lets you climb all the way to the fourth floor. Kanda-ke comes from an offshoot of the Wada family, is the smallest house of the three, but allows access to the top floors. Tough choices ... and we ended up going to the Wada-ke.



You can tell from the heirloom collection of antique lacquerware in the communal space that the Wada must have been one of the most prominent families in the region. In fact, since the 16th Century the head of the family had always served as the village chief, passing down the hereditary name of Wada Yaemon from father to eldest son. As expected the details of the house reached a level of lavishness beyond any other building in the village ... but was it worth the 300 yen? Probably, but it definitely wasn't as much of a bargain as the Gassho-zukuri Minka-en.

Links:
Wada-ke - http://www.shirakawa-go.gr.jp/details/?i=68
Nagase-ke - http://www.shirakawa-go.gr.jp/details/?i=69
Kanda-ke - http://kandahouse.web.fc2.com


THE VIEWING PLATFORM


This is everyone's favorite photo spot, the one attraction nobody would miss. Formerly the site of the local warlord's castle stronghold, the elevated platform now provides a majestic vantage point over the entire village.

If you're in reasonable physical shape, consider taking the scenic uphill walk to the platform, which should take less than 40 minutes from the Information Centre. Alternatively, you could pay 200 yen (CAD$2) and hop on the shuttle bus, which departs every half hour until 16:00 or so.


OTHER NOTABLE SIGHTS

The two major places of worship in the village, one Buddhist and one Shinto, are open to visitors. The 200-year-old Buddhist temple of Myozenji is the tallest thatched roof building in the village, with 5 storeys of towering splendor now housing a modest folk museum that charges 300 yen (CAD$3) for entrance. The Shinto shrine of Shirakawa Hachiman Jinja is even older, but it's not a Gassho-zukuri structure and therefore looks just just like any other dilapidating shrine anywhere else in Japan. Right next to the shrine stands the little museum known as Doburoku-Matsuri no Yakata, which will show you every little details of the village's major annual festival for another 300 yen.

There's a little hotspring at the far end of the village, costing 700 yen (CAD$7) to day-trippers, but you can buy a discounted ticket for 500 yen from your host if you're staying at a Minshuku. I'll write a review in the next article.


WHEN TO VISIT

Shirakawago holds a number of quirky little festivals throughout the year, the most internationally popular being the "Light-Up Festival" held over several weekends in January and February. Spotlights are brought in to illuminate the snow-covered thatched roofs in an attempt to create a romantic winter wonderland atmosphere ...
except for the coachloads of tourists and photographers snapping pictures everywhere.


Rethatching of the roofs, with the participation of the entire village, takes place in early April. The Sakura season arrives in mid April and blooms until early May, and rice planting gets kicked off at its own little festival in late May. July and August is best avoided, as the whole nation seems to come out for summer
vacation and overruns the little village.

The biggest crowds of the year congregate in mid October for the Doburoku festival, when the unfiltered wine is poured out for everyone, the village swells to several times its normal population, and TV crews from all over Japan comes for the footage of the good natured chaos that ensues. The Autumn foliage season arrives early amidst the cool mountain air, and comes into a full display of colours around late October. The first snow usually arrives in mid to late December, in case you're hoping for a white Christmas.


TRANSPORTATION

It used to take days to get through the treacherous mountain passes to reach Shirakawago, until modern engineering blasted Highway 156 through this region in the 1950's. Even today Highway 156 still gets closed off a few times a year due to heavy snowfall. So this should give you a rough idea of the advance planning it typically takes to get to Shirakawago -- most tourist would need a half day just to get here, stay overnight, then take another half day to get back to the rest of civilization.


That has changed since July 2008 with the completion of the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway, effectively halving the travel time into the region. Though I would NEVER recommend it ... it's now possible to make Shirakawago a day-trip destination from either Takayama (50 minutes by bus) or Kanazawa (75 minutes by bus), both world class destinations in their own rights. IMHO the best route would be to do Takayama -> Shirakawago -> Kanazawa (or vice versa) as part of a grand tour of Central Japan, if you can afford the time and budget.


From Takayama / Kanazawa

The Nohi Bus company operates the excellent bus route from Takayama through Shirakawago to Kanazawa. English timetables are available from their new English website.

From Takayama, there are at least 4 daily buses that don't require prior reservation, plus more buses on weekends, holidays and the summer high season. 2400 yen (CAD$24) one-way; 4300 (CAD$43) round trip.

From Kanazawa, 3 daily buses depart from just outside the JR Kanazawa Station, costing 1800 yen (CAD$18) one-way, 3200 (CAD$32) round trip. But note that this bus is by reservation only, through Hokuriku Railway's reservation centre (Tel: 076-234-0123).

Bus Reservation in Japan It's not as difficult as it sounds. This is how we made made our bus reservations: 1) We reserved bus tickets through the Internet by registering as a member at the J-Bus reservation site, in Japanese ... you'll need to negotiate through the Japanese webpages, but it's the safest way as you get a confirmation page for printing out. 2) The easier, but slightly tricky way is to ask the Tourist Information Centre at your airport of arrival to make this reservation for you, providing you get to the Information Centre between 09:00 and 18:00, the typical business hours of most bus companies. If you arrive outside of these hours, you'll need to go to your local Tourist Information Centre and hope the staffs speak reasonable English. 3) Or as a last resort, you can make a reservation for the next day when you get to the bus station, though this is getting real risky in case you get there on a national holiday or during some local festival.

From Nagoya

The only direct bus route is operated by Gifu Bus, which costs 3500 yen (CAD$35) and depart daily at 09:00 from the Meitetsu Bus Centre, which is the next building from the JR Nagoya Station. This is also the quickest route, taking less than 3 hours. However, this bus operates only from April to November, and there's only one bus per day. Oh, and this bus is by reservation only.

If that doesn't work for you, your best bet would be to take the JR Train or the cheaper Meitetsu Bus to Takayama first, then follow the above instructions to get to Shirakawago.

JR's Express Train (nicknamed Wideview Hida) departs hourly, and gets you to Takayama in less than 2.5 hours comfortably for 5360 yen (CAD$54). Alternatively the Meitetsu Bus departs costs only 2900 yen (CAD$29) and takes slightly longer (2 hours 45 minutes), departing outside the JR Nagoya Station. Nohi Bus operates part of the route, so you can also go to its English site to get more information. Note that this bus is also by reservation only.



From Tokyo

Again you'll need to get to Takayama first. Easiest way to get to Takayama from Tokyo is by Nohi Bus's express bus route, departing outside Shinjuku Station's West Exit and gets you there for 6500 yen in 5.5 hours. There are 4 daily buses, and ... you guessed it ... this bus is also by reservation only.

Alternatively you could take the Shinkansen bullet train to Nagoya, then the JR Express Train to Takayama and get there in less than 5 hours. But this would cost more than twice the bus fare, and thus makes sense only for JR Pass holders.


From Osaka

You should know by now ... get to Takayama first. Nohi Bus operates two daily buses from Osaka, taking more than 5 hours and costing 5500 yen (CAD$55). This is also a reservation-only bus route. Again, JR Pass holders can simply take the bullet train to Nagoya and transfer to the hourly-departing Express train to Takayama.

MY WIFE'S CORNER Shirakawago belongs to the historical province of Hida, a mountainous region with its own peculiar food culture. One of its signature culinary practices involves the use of magnolia leaves (Hoba) for wrapping sushi and as a dish for grilling meat and vegetables in Miso paste. This Hello Kitty cellphone pendant is titled simply "Hida-ji" (Hida Road) Edition, with Kitty dressed in the region's traditional outfit and wrapped in a Hoba. It can be purchased from any of Shirakawago's local souvenir stores for about 450 yen.