Itinerary Day 5 Hakuba to Gokayama/Shirakawago
28 Nov (Sat)
- Gokayama. Gokayama is a village within the city of Nanto in Toyama Prefecture. Its very traditional gassho-zukuri style homes make it a nearly unique site, and is regarded a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the village of Shirakawago in the Gifu Prefecture. The maintained existence of this traditional architecture is owed largely to the seclusion created by the illage's location in the upper reaches of the Shiragawa river. This is also the reason that Gokayama's lifestyle and culture remained very traditional for many years after the majority of the country had modernized. Many of the houses easily surpass 300 years in age.
- Suganuma Gassho Village. The Gassho-style houses are based on their own building structures according to their regions characteristics. The slope of the roofs of the Gassho-style houses in Suganuma and Ainokura Village are a bit steeper in comparison with the Gassho-style houses in Ogimachi Village. This is because the snowfall in Suganuma and Ainokura Village is heavier than Ogimachi Village. It is believed that the snow falls much easier from the roofs of Suganuma and Ainokura Gassho-style houses than Ainokura.
- Ainokura Gassho Village