Registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Shirakawa-go is a historic village in Gifu near the town of Takayama. As we approach the village by bus, the first thing that came into my mind was the movie - The Last Samurai by Tom Cruise. It looked like the tiny village in the movie.
I was impressed by the condition of the traditional houses, it is well preserved and still in use up to this date. The town is simple, you'll discover places by foot. There are also local shops for tourists selling souvenirs, traditional foods, a grocery and a small mini mart... and that's about all. For these places, the main thing is to enjoy the beautiful picturesque landscape against a surreal local reality and probably take time to compare the drastic differences to today's modern day life in the bigger city.
But if you're looking for a different experience all together, I suggest you stay in town for the night - 1 night would be enough; 2 nights may bore you to death.
We stayed at the Shimizu Inn for a night. About ¥8400/person per night you get to experience staying in a traditional house, in a tatami room(common toilet outside the room) with breakfast and dinner. It is wise to get the meals included as it gets really dark outside during the night and it would be impossible to find a restaurant around the village. So either you pop by the grocery store first before night fall or enjoy the meals at the inn.
Food is served at the fireplace, where you'll get to enjoy the famous Hida beef and a variety home cooked dishes for dinner, while for breakfast, you'll get a traditional Japanese set.
We hiked up the small hill for the view of the entire village.
This should be the tourist information office.
Our first glimpse of the Shimizu.
Chopped woods for the fireplace.
Dad & Mom
Pay first! Mom at the main dinning room.
Dinner.
I love beansprouts!
Breakfast.
We had an awesome time all together...
Shimizu Inn
2613, Ogimachi, Shirakawa-mura,
Ono-gun, Gifu-ken, Japan
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment