Shirakawa-go

Or should I say Shirakawa-went . . .

Shirikawa-go is only about an hour and a half from where I live, so a big group of us decided to pile into a few cars and make a visit to the quaint town nestled within the mountains. We had wanted to go a couple of days earlier, but the day we had arranged ended up being quite rainy. The forecast for our rain date also looked less than ideal, but we were pleasantly surprised to be winding through the mountain roads with a clear blue sky overhead and leaves beginning to turn to a warm, autumnal red.

Shirikawa-go is a traditional village in Ishikawa’s neighboring prefecture, Gifu. The town showcases a building style called gasshō-zukuri. The farmhouses are known to be resilient through all types of weather, specifically the heavy snow-fall this area gets, and some of them are up to 250 years old. The steep thatched roofs of the houses symbolize the hands of Buddhist monks in prayer. The village was established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

We grabbed a quick lunch upon our arrival and then began wandering through the idyllic streets. Part of what made this day so wonderful is that there isn’t necessarily and agenda one must follow when visiting Shirakawa-go. I often find myself racing from one museum to another, trying to see as much as possible and soak up all the culture when visiting a new place, but here the experience is just walking around. There are lots of little shops with delicious food and small souvenirs, and, of course, a shrine or two thrown in there.

It was a great group of people and we spent the day enjoying each other’s company and seeing the beautiful, traditional Japanese homes. Of course, it wouldn’t be a day in the life if it was all rainbows and butterflies. We got back to the car to find this kind note taped to my windshield. Life’s hard when you can’t read parking signs.