Day trip from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go (by highway bus)
After a day of sightseeing in Kanazawa, why not extend your visit to Gokayama and Shirakawa-go? Although they are part of the same Kaga domain, the mountainous Gokayama area has inherited a unique culture and, together with Shirakawa-go, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a Hida Folk Village. This is a day trip from Kanazawa, the castle town of the Kaga Hyakumangoku, to a mountain village where the original Japanese landscape remains.
(To search for accommodation, go to the accommodation booking page.)
This time, we introduce a model course using the World Heritage Bus.
On the Experience Plan page, you will find tours that include Gokayama and Shirakawa-go!
Please make use of the official Hokuriku, Hida and Shinshu 3-Star Road Trip website, which introduces model routes including Gokayama and Shirakawa-go!
Shin-Takaoka Station
Get off at "Ainokura-guchi" bus stop.
World Cultural HeritageAinokura Gassho-zukuri Village
One of the gassho-zukuri villages on the World Heritage List.
The village is spread out on a long, narrow plateau on a terrace slightly away from the Shogawa River, with 20 gassho-zukuri houses, most of which were built between the late Edo and Meiji periods, but the oldest is estimated to have been built in the 17th century. Together with Shirakawa-go and Suganuma, the three gassho-zukuri villages were registered as a World Heritage Site on 9 December 1995.
Volunteer guides can be requested for sightseeing in the World Heritage Gassho-Zukuri villages of Ainokura and Suganuma.
2,000 yen per guide (booking required at least one week in advance, official website).
Ainokura Folk Museum
8:30-17:00
Admission: adults: 300 yen, elementary and junior high school students: 150 yen.
Get off at "Kaminashi" bus stop.
The Murakami Residence
Gassho-zukuri houses with an architectural style dating back about 400 years.
This is the largest gassho-zukuri house in the Gokayama region and is designated as a National Important Cultural Property. It is said to be unique in the country in that it retains many remains, such as those showing the transitional period from the samurai warrior style to the shoin style during the Warring States period.
After getting off at the Kaminashi bus stop, visit the Gokayama Information Centre across the road and ask for a guide book about the Kaminashi area to help you find your way around.
You can also watch a demonstration of the Kokiriko dance at the information centre if you wish.
(On the way, you will see the World Heritage Site Suganuma Gassho-Zukuri Village from the bus window.)
Get off at Shirakawa-go (Ogi-machi).
Suganuma Gassho-Zukuri Village
One of the gassho-zukuri villages on the World Heritage List.
The area includes nine gassho-zukuri houses, traditional buildings such as storehouses and boardhouses, as well as mountain forests such as yukimochi forests and thatched fields, giving visitors a magical feeling as if they have stepped back in time several hundred years. The view over the village from the Nanto World Heritage Suganuma Gassho-Zukuri Settlement Observation Plaza is a peaceful, rustic landscape that will soothe your soul.
There are also facilities in the village where you can learn about the history and traditions of Gokayama.
Together with Shirakawa-go and Ainokura, the three gassho-zukuri villages were registered as a World Heritage Site on 9 December 1995.
Ogi-machi Castle Ruin Observation
Panoramic view of the gassho-zukuri villages of Shirakawa-go.
The Ogimachi area of Shirakawa-go, dotted with gassho-zukuri houses, was selected as an Important Preservation Area for Groups of Traditional Buildings and was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1995.
The view of the World Heritage Site Shirakawa-go Gassho-zukuri Village from the observatory is exceptional. It is a great photo-opportunity for photography enthusiasts.
Shirakawa-go Ogi-machi walk and visit to the Gassho-zukuri open-air museum
Gassho-zukuri villages with beautiful landscapes that can be described as the original landscape of Japan.
As you step off the observatory, the Gassho-zukuri village of Ogi-machi unfolds.
A short walk through the village of Ogi-machi and across the encounter bridge is the Gassho-Zukuri, an open-air museum built from disused gassho-houses in Shirakawa Village, which have been relocated and preserved. The old way of life has been recreated here.
At the Shinsho-ji Temple, just inside the main gate of the museum, visitors can try their hand at making various folk crafts, including old-fashioned bamboo dragonflies, straw crafts and hide-zaiku (Thinly stripped and woven wood products).
