Shirakawago

While in Takayama to visit Shirakawago is a must-do. Once a secluded village, located in the mountainous region of Gifu and cut off from the rest of the world for a long period during winter, Shirakawago can nowadays be reached in 50 minutes by an Express shuttle bus from Takayama. Surrounded by tree-covered mountains, most beautifully displaying the various shades of autumn colours, the about 150 traditionally farmhouses in Ogi-machi are outstanding examples of a traditional way of life perfectly adapted to the environment and people's social and economic circumstances. They were built in the Gassho-Style, of wooden beams combined to form a steeply pitched thatched roof - resembling two hands together in prayer - to stand long-lasting rain and heavy snowfalls. The village subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and so the houses were larger than normal Japanese private houses to have space in the attic for rearing silkworms and for producing fuming nitric acid to earn rare cash.

It was a pleasure to cross the suspension bridge and to walk through Ogi-machi. On this sunny day washing was on the line everywhere and clothes out for airing. A wheel barrow was leaning against a wooden shed and the colourful farmhouse gardens were gleaming in bright light. There were bikes and cars and of course modestly modern buildings in this lived-in historic village. I managed to find Kanda House, one of the two original Gassho-houses, now kept as a museum and open to the public. Up in the attic I could see the wooden structure of the roof and a display of the implements of the home industry. At ground floor there was an Irori fireplace and I was offered a cup of tea brewed from wild grass.





Back on the other side of the Shougawa river is the Heritage Museum of Shirakawago, a quiet and peaceful place, a world apart from the busy shops and eating places of Ogimachi.
Provided with a map in English at the entrance I strolled around a rebuilt historic village from various parts of the area. There are farmhouses, barns, sheds for storage of all kinds of goods, stables, a teahouse, a working watermill, a shrine and also a fire watchtower - all beautifully set along a river and ponds. On a field by the river two people where harvesting and bundling sheaves of corn.