I learned of Shirakawa-go from my friend Jovic Ferrer, who visited Japan a couple of years ago. So when we visited Japan late last year, it was in the list of places I wanted to visit.
The Shirakawa-go (白川郷, Shirakawagō) and neighboring Gokayama (五箇山) regions line the Shogawa River Valley in the remote mountains that span from Gifu to Toyama Prefectures. Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, they are famous for their traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.
Gassho-zukuri means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms. (source: japan-guide.com).
From our base at Hida Takayama, we took a fifty-five minute bus ride to this village. Here are some of the images I was able to create at this picturesque village.
Luis & Leon taking photos of autumn foliage
I am forever grateful to Lorna and my boys Luis and Leon for agreeing to include this in our itinerary. I don't think they enjoyed it as much as I did (hehehe).
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