For centuries I have dreamed of visiting Shirakawago, a bizarre picturesque UNESCO World Heritage site in the Japanese mountains. Small enough to discover it, but far enough away to reach it in a day.

Shirakawago is one of those places that’s just super inaccessible. If you want to visit the city, you are best to include it in a wider route that includes visiting the nearby Takayama and Kanazawa both equally interesting cities that are just as far away from your normal arrival at Narita airport.

However, these days, the new bullet train to Takayama has made it even easier to access the city (and therefore Siracavago) so make sure that at least half a day’s journey will take you faster than before!

About Shirakavago

Situated 50 minutes by bus from Takayama, Shirakawago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site – a village consisting of hundreds of gasso-zukuri houses (reed-roofed houses) in the alpine region of Japan. It is these characteristic houses, which have survived for so many years, that make Shirakawago famous, and tourists from all over the world come here for day trips and overnight stays during their stay in Japan.

Check out the website

The closest cities to Shirakawago are Takayama and Kanazawa, and the closest are Takayama (about 50 minutes by bus) and Kanazawa a little further. To get to Shirakawago, it is best to take the train to Kanazawa or Takayama first and then use the Nohi or Hokuriku bus companies to book/buy a bus ticket to Shirakawago.

How long to travel to Shirakawago

Shirakawago is really very small, so there would be enough time from half a day to all day to see the main sights. There is also the possibility of staying overnight in one of the Gasso-zukuri houses and this is a particularly popular tourist option as you can experience what it is like to live in the village.

TIP: Although you can only allocate one day for Shirakavago, I would super recommend you to allocate an extra day off in case you get bad weather. When we were in Shirakawago, the only day free for visiting was a day of rather heavy snow. In the end, we were unable to get to many of the sights because of the weather and the fact that it was so damn cold. Next time, I would definitely set aside a free day in case something like that happened again.

Things to do

• Ogimachi Castle Ruins: Perhaps Shirakawago’s most popular attraction is this observation deck, where you can see the village so whimsically from above. Unfortunately, however, due to the terrible weather, when we climbed to the top, we did not see anything. Perhaps this is an excuse to return for a while in the future.
• Wander the streets and appreciate the village: it’s so picturesque!
• Visit at least one of the houses: we chose the Kanda House (but there is also the Wada House, which you can also visit). For a small introductory fee you can see the intriguing buildings behind the houses here. You will be shocked to see how many floors there are on each straw roof!
• Visit the Myozen Ji Temple: it is a straw roof temple that you can explore inside. It was on our to-do list, but unfortunately the snow became too heavy for us to continue our journey, so we had to interrupt our one-day trip.
• Visit the Deai Bridge: The walk from the bus stop to the Deai Bridge is quite scenic and gives a beautiful view of the river that crosses the village. At the end of the village you will see the Deai Bridge, a long suspension bridge that takes you to the other side of the river, where you can also visit the Gasshozukuri Minkaen open-air museum, a village farmhouse village that you can walk on.

Here are some pictures of our trip to Shirakavago: