Introducing the Gassho-style houses of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama | Special tours of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

Recommended Sightseeing Spots

Club Tourism to go for tours and trips to the World Heritage sites of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama! We introduce recommended day trips and Accommodation tours to the World Heritage sites of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, famous for their Gassho-style houses. We also have tours to enjoy sightseeing around Shirakawa-go and hot springs! If you choose a tour with a tour guide, you can trust us with support during your trip. Searching and booking tours is easy.

What is Shirakawa-go?
Highly recommended! Recommended spots Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa-go is...

白川郷は江戸時代以前からの地名で、現在、白川郷と呼ばれる場所は、岐阜県の白川村の荻町(おぎまち)を指しています。
世界遺産として登録されており、五箇山の菅沼集落・相倉集落の三箇所をまとめて1995年に「白川郷と五箇山の合掌造り集落」として世界遺産登録されました。

Requests when walking around

Gassho-style buildings are vulnerable to fire, so smoking is strictly prohibited.
All land within the village is privately owned, so please do not enter houses or gardens.
There are no trash cans in the village, so please help us by taking your trash home with you.

If you visit Shirakawa-go go, be sure to come here!

Highly recommended! Recommended spots Shirakawa-go

野外博物館合掌造り民家園

写真提供：阿武悦司(Anno Etsuji)

25棟の合掌造りがありそのうちの9棟が岐阜県の指定重要文化財に指定されています。「住まい」として使っていた主屋だけでなく、穀物などを貯蔵しておくための板倉(いたくら)、刈り取った稲などの穀物類を干す小屋、他にも神社やお寺の本堂、水車小屋などいろいろな建物があり、見学することができます。合掌造りの屋根裏までも見学できます。

和田家(国指定重要文化財)

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荻町合掌集落で代表的な合掌造りです。江戸中期から後期の合掌造り家屋で築400年を経過した今でも住宅としての生活が続けられています。庭や生垣、周囲の田畑、水路を含めよい保存状態が保たれています。

神田家

神田家は和田家の次男である和田弥右衛門(わださじえもん)が分家し、この地に居を構えたのが始まりです。4階建ての合掌造りで1階には「いろり」でお茶を飲みながら神田家の説明を聞く事ができます。2階は常設展示ホール、酒造り・生活用具などを見ることができます。3階は民具展示ホールで養蚕具の展示、4階は最上階で展望スペースがございます。

ふる郷長瀬家

5階建ての合掌造り家屋で江戸期の医療道具が残されています。

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30 minutes by bus from Shirakawa-go

Gokayama Gassho Village: A home to Gassho-style houses and folk songs

1995年、「岐阜県・白川郷荻町合掌集落」と同時に世界文化遺産に登録されましたが、白川郷のにぎわいにくらべると静かな印象の強い「五箇山合掌集落」。「菅沼（すがぬま）合掌集落」「相倉（あいのくら）合掌集落」の2つの集落を合わせて「五箇山合掌集落」と呼ばれています。
五箇山の地そのものが険しい山岳地帯であったため、「秘境」と呼ばれ、伝統的な合掌造りを中心に、昔ながらの静かでなつかしい風景が広がっています。

同じ合掌集落といっても、白川郷と大きく異なる点は「屋根の勾配」。菅沼集落や相倉集落の合掌造りは白川郷・荻町合掌集落とくらべると、勾配が若干急になっています。
これは、同じ豪雪地帯といっても、白川郷で降る雪が軽いことに対して、菅沼・相倉の五箇山地方の雪は湿気を多く含み重たいため、少しでも屋根から雪が落ちるよう考慮されています。

また、五箇山は『民謡の宝庫』と言われ、いつ頃、誰がうたい始めたものなのか、どこから来てどのように広がっていったのか定かでない民謡が数多く現代に歌い継がれています。五箇山の民謡は口頭伝承によって受け継がれ、風土とともに発展してきた文化遺産です。
もっとも代表的な「こきりこ節」や「麦や節」は無形文化財に指定され、うたい踊り続けることによって守られ、時代を越えて五箇山の地に息づいています。

If you visit Gokayama, be sure to come here!

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五箇山を訪れる際は、上梨地区にある「村上家」への入場がおすすめです。
「村上家」は、国重要文化財に登録されている約400年の歴史のある旧家。ご主人が話してくれる五箇山での生活の様子や、民族文化のお話は、大変興味深い内容です。
囲炉裏端でいただける「薬草茶」もぜひ♪

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What's inside a Gassho-style building?
Shirakawa-go attracts attention as a "heritage for all mankind"

What's inside a Gassho-style building?

Everyone is curious about what's inside a Gassho-style house. It must be different from the houses we live in!
What is on the top of a triangular roof? We will explain in detail.
Gassho-zukuri houses were much larger than ordinary houses, and were huge 3-5 story buildings with 30-40 people living in large families.

Shirakawa-go attracts attention as a "heritage for all mankind"

Attraction number one: a Gassho-style house with factory functions

This village flourished at the end of the Edo period. It is said that there were nearly 1,800 gassho houses, and tens of thousands of people are thought to have lived in the Shirakawa-go village. In this deep mountain area, what supported their lives was "sericulture" and "smoke gunpowder production." "Sericulture" was the source of cash income, and the sericulture industry began around the beginning of the 16th century, and production increased until the 1890s. "Smoke gunpowder" is artificial saltpeter, which is the raw material for gunpowder. The people of this region were skilled in the technique of processing silkworm feces to make high-quality saltpeter. Silkworms were raised in the attic using the heat from the hearth. Workshops for spinning thread and other tasks were set up on the second and third floors, and huge holes were dug under the floor to produce saltpeter. The large space of the gassho-style houses functioned as a place of living as well as a factory.

Attraction number two: connections between people

In Shirakawa-go go, a system called "yui" still remains. "Yui" refers to the labor practice of mutual help between households, and in particular, "yui" in Shirakawa-go go refers to the "social system of lending and borrowing labor to re-thatch the roofs of gassho-style houses." Gassho-style roofs need to be re-thatched once every 30 to 40 years. A total of 400 people are needed for one re-thatching job. The roofs are huge and have a steep slope, so it takes a lot of labor. In addition, since people live in the houses, it needs to be completed in a short period of time so as not to interfere with their lives. Therefore, the entire roof of a gassho-style house is completed in just two days through this cooperative work of villagers called "yui." In Shirakawa-go go, "yui" not only means "a social system of mutual help," but also has a strong feeling of "the importance of ties between people."