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Most viewed - Shirakawa 白川村
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Dinner at Isaburo: River fish and mountain vegetables. After dinner, the proprietress and her husband and daughter sang and danced for us. 692 viewsThey demonstrated different traditional musical instruments and had us try playing them. It was great. However, I was told that they don't do that anymore.
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Shirakawa-go 白川郷668 views
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Bird's eye view of Shirakawa-go from Ogimachi Castle ruins.516 views
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Breakfast at Otaya459 views
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Shirakawa-go 白川郷429 views
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Mountain vegetables 山菜429 views
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Dinner418 views
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Grilled Iwana river fish416 views
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Breakfast at Isaburo minshuku409 views
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Myozenji is a Buddhist temple of the Jodo Shinshu sect, the most common sect in Shirakawa-go.377 views
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Fried Iwana, eat the head and all.355 views
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Tofu344 views
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Shirakawa-go is also a National Important Traditional Townscape Preservation District (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区).341 views
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The bottom ends of these beams are pegged into a point (komajiri) resting on another cross beam. Wada House, Shirakawa-go320 views
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Close-up of Ogimachi318 views
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Wada House, Shirakawa-go309 views
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Myozenji Temple, Shirakawa-go275 views
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Myozenji temple bell with thatched roof260 views
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Side view of Wada-ke House255 views
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Isaburo minshuku 民宿 伊三郎253 views
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Manhole in Shirakawa-go.247 views
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Inside Otaya242 views
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Otaya minshuku 民宿 太田屋231 views
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The thatched roof is replaced every 30 years. Every spring, 6 or 7 thatched roofs are replaced in Shirakawa-go.215 views
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Implements to raise silkworms.207 views
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Mihoro Dam, made only of rocks and clay. 131 meters high, 405 meters long.206 views
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Entrance to Isaburo203 views
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Myozenji is the only temple in the gassho-zukuri style with a thatched roof. The Hondo worshp hall is the largest building in Shirakawa-go.195 views
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It costs several million yen and a small army of workers to replace the thatch. The cost is subsidized by the town, prefecture, and national government.192 views
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Photo gallery190 views
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Foundation and pillars rest on stones. The beam is shaped to fit the stone.190 views
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Due to a lack of thatch, only half of one side of Otaya's roof is newly thatched.188 views
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Rethatching a small storehouse.186 views
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Two foundation beams interlock.185 views
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Restaurant184 views
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Gassho-zukuri Minka-en outdoor museum182 views
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River next to the inn, mainly to carry away snow.173 views
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Dam reservoir171 views
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Hida beef170 views
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Shokawa River168 views
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Deai Bridge crossing the Shokawa River.167 views
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Tofu steak166 views
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Cooling system160 views
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Main house on left and latrine on right with large vats to gather fertilizer.155 views
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Path to Wada House entrance155 views
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Entrance to the Gassho-zukuri Minka-en outdoor museum.153 views
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Tourist Information Office152 views
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Shirakawa Village Office152 views
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Gassho-zukuri minka houses slated for destruction were moved to this outdoor museum and saved.151 views
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Where silkworms were raised to make silk cocoons.151 views
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Tourist Info Office near the bus stop.149 views
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Gassho-zukuri Minka-en outdoor museum148 views
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Underside of roof made of an A-frame truss structure148 views
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Another rope made of a crushed tree branch to tie smaller beams. It tightens as it dries.147 views
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Thatch repair work.145 views
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Deai Bridge145 views
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Straw rope tie the large beams to form a truss for the roof.142 views
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Tourist Information Office in the center of town.140 views
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Main house with a recently rethatched roof, making it look very smooth.136 views
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A small stream beside the house helps to melt the snow falling off the roof.136 views
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Myozenji Temple Museum134 views
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Fire hydrant133 views
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Gable openings let light and air come through the attic to foster silkworms.133 views
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Restroom behind the Tourist Information Office132 views
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Slats on the attic floor to enable smoke and soot from the hearth to reach the attic.128 views
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Parking lot along the main road through the village.126 views
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Dinner at Hisamatsu, Shirakawa-go. Includes Hida beef.116 views
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View of temple roof113 views
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Breakfast at Hisamatsu, Shirakawa-go110 views
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Sink75 views
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In autumn (Oct.), approaching rice harvest season.74 views
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My room72 views
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Irori hearth in Hisamatsu minshuku71 views
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My room in Furusato. It was not the same room where the crown prince stayed.69 views
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My room in Furusato.69 views
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Dinner at Hisamatsu near the irori hearth while the friendly proprietress chatted with us. I asked her about the difficulty of having a successor to take over the minshuku.69 viewsShe said it was a common problem among the minshuku operators there and hoped that one of her daughters would take over. She explained the Three Golden Rules that they follow: Do not sell, do not rent, and do not destroy the farmhouse. They are trying to change the rule about "do not rent." Perhaps if they rent it, the owner family can have another family operate their lodge.
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Myozenji's temple bell68 views
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Inside the Myozenji temple Hondo worship hall. Tatami mats and looks like a typical Jodo Shinshu temple on the inside.68 views
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Myozenji's Hondo Main worship hall67 views
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Irori hearth in Myozenji temple67 views
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When you want to stay overnight in Shirakawa-go, it's hard to decide which minshuku (farmhouse lodge) to stay in. There's a good number of minshuku in Shirakawa-go.67 views
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Greetings in English by Furusato. ¥9,000 per night including a sumptuous breakfast and dinner. 66 views
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Next to Furusato is another minshuku named Hisamatsu in Shirakawa-go. Looks almost the same on the outside.66 views
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It costs 10 million yen to rethatch the roof. They do it once every 30 years. The thatch is Japanese pampas grass (susuki) from the base of Mt. Fuji.66 viewsThe rethatch cost is subsidized by the national government and municipality. So the family only pays one-third the cost of 10 million yen. In the old days, they had family and friends gather the thatch and the roof was rethatched by the villagers as a community project. Not anymore. They have to hire professionals to do it which cost a lot of money.
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The Hondo worship hall can be entered through the adjoining building.65 views
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Most people go through an agent to book a room instead contacting individual minshuku to see if they have a room.65 viewsThese are two minshuku, Hisamatsu on the left and Furusato on the right. They are within walking distance from the bus stop.
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This is a minshuku in Shirakawa-go named Furusato where I stayed overnight. Looks very traditional on the outside and there are strict regulations on keeping it that way. ふるさと65 views
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I was surprised to see these pictures displayed inside Furusato. They showed Prince Hiro (currently the Crown Prince) who stayed at this minshuku while a college student.65 viewsHis brother Prince Aya/Akishino also stayed at this same minshuku when he was in college.

I was very surprised to hear from the proprietress that the Imperial Household Agency had designated the Furusato minshuku as *the* place to stay for Imperial family members visiting Shirakawa-go. She doesn't know exactly why. She says that although it was an honor to host the Princes, they can't really advertise it (the Imperial family can never be used for commercial purposes). She also lost money because they (her mother) had to buy new, fluffy futons, etc., just for the prince.
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The restrooms are modern. I'm told this part of the house was for horses.65 views
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Hisamatsu at night.65 views
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Buddhist altar of Myozenji63 views
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Inside the temple museum.62 views
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View from the upper floor of the temple museum.61 views
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Myozenji Hondo worship hall.59 views
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Roof of Hondo worship hall.59 views
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Enter Myozenji through this adjacent and adjoining building that is a museum and minister's residence.58 views
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Side view of Hondo worship hall.58 views
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