SHIRAKAWAGO WINTER DREAMS IN FEBRUARY

SHIRAGAWAGO Dreams!!!
For so many years of dreaming and planning to visit this magnificent place on earth, I finally tick Shirakawago off on my bucket list few weeks ago, on my birthday week. I had to keep on pinching myself because I still believe I was here, I only get to see this village on the internet and there I was, stoked on its beauty.
Shirakawago is a popular sightseeing destinations in Central Japan located in Ono District, in Gifu prefectures. A UNESCO World Heritage site, known for its traditional landscape and Japanese architecture style thatched roof houses called the Gassho-zukuri. It resembles two hands in a prayer position. Amazingly, these houses were built without nails or brackets. The whole complex joinery, ropes, and strips of hazel wood hold the beams together. They are sturdy enough to withstand winter storms and earthquakes.
This entire village made me never forget about every spot, it could have been nicer if I was able to see them full covered with snow, but unfortunately when I got here, snows were already melting. But nonetheless, Shirakawago is still enchanting and worth a visit. I considered myself really lucky because I get to be here two times, and on my second day, I get to have the village almost all to myself. There was no flocking tourists and I felt incredible calm and relaxed, listening the water running through the creeks, the singing of the birds, and the warm winter blow of the wind on my face. It was really quiet and peaceful and made me felt detached from the hustle of the world physically and mentally.
Shirakawago can be visit all year round, each seasons has different charms that would leave each visitors stoke by its beauty.
If you happen to come on this village, always start at their Observatory deck located on top of the hillside that offers a panoramic view of the entire village. You can either follow a trail and walk up there or take a shuttle bus from the station for JPY200 fare.
There are a lot of old farmhouses on this village converted into shops, museums, restaurants, and inns where you can spend the night. There are also a few heritage houses like Kanda, Wada and Nagase that open their doors to visitors willing to explore the historic buildings. If you only have few hours to stay explore this village I suggest you opt to visit Kanda House, as it is the best preserved houses in the Shirakawago.
As you cross the bridge and stroll through the historic architecture of the village, you’ll pass by Myozenji Temple built about 230 years ago. It also features the iconic thatched roof which makes it stand out from other tile-roofed Japanese temples.
As cliché as it may sound, I left a piece of my heart in Shirakawa-go. This is probably my favourite Japan adventure to date. Never been so happy being here in Shirakawago. There was no shortage of beautiful gassho-zukuri houses with incredible views and cannot wait to go back.
HOW TO GET HERE:
Shirakawa-go is easily accessible from Nagoya, Takayama or Kanazawa via bus. Make sure to get “The Shoryudo Highway Bus Ticket”, it’s a bus pass available exclusively to foreign travellers, which provides unlimited use of designated buses in the Chubu Region as well as airport access. There are three versions: two 3-day passes and a 5-day pass with a variety of coverage areas. This pass would saves you a lot as getting to one place to another from this region can really be expensive. Booked mine at KKDay as it is a bit cheaper than KLOOK.
Once you have your Shoryudo Pass your good to go. I’d also like to recommend going to this village on your own, because joining tour groups would not be as fulfilling as DIY, normally tour groups are always on the run, and would only allocated 2 hours per locations. Spend at least half of your day here in Shirakawago to truly immerse the culture and history of this village has to offer.