1. It is astoundingly gorgeous!
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| A view of the village from the top of a hill. |
To get the full view of the whole village, tourists climb to a nearby hill which serves as an observation deck by either walking (steep slope) or by riding a shuttle bus. And once you get to the top, you are greeted with such a breathtaking scenery.
2. Be amazed with the landscape and architecture
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| A close up view of the traditional houses |
Known for their unique construction method, Shirakawa-go village gives us insight on the way of life of its early settlers and their effective environment adaptation skills as reflected by their houses built in gassho-zukuri (prayer-hands construction) style. This building technique protects the houses from heavy snowfall during winter and strong winds during typhoon season.
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| A fireplace greets visitors in the middle of the house. |
3. It is a village and a tourist spot at the same time!
If there are a few places on earth where people live quietly while hundreds of tourists come by each day, Shirakawa-go just made it on this list.
4. It is one of the few places in Japan where you can drink sake in its "original" form.
This one is sake with a twist of rice granules! :)
5. It is a place where gardening also means farming!
While rice boxes are common sites in many of Japan's suburbs and rural areas, it is here in Shirakawa-go where almost every family owns a rice field right next to their traditional houses.
with these on one side...
And these on the other side.
If you want to know more about Shirakawa-go, you can click on the following links.
Note: I learned that it is equally awesome to visit this place during winter as evidenced by the photo below.
http://www.japan-guide.com/blog/schauwecker/g/130127_00.jpg
Have fun in your next trip to Japan!
Another note: All photos published here are raw, unedited and taken during the author's visit to the village. Photos in this blog except otherwise cited are owned by the author.
