This is a traditional japanese village. It takes about 3-4 hours to cover the entire village. We visited here during early autumn. There is a bus to the observatory point. Cost is 200 JPY. But there is also a foot path to climb there. We used the bus to go uphill and used the footpath to come down. River side is very beautiful. Try to visit the museums if you are interested to see the historical things.

Amazing place, big snow and magical scenario. Christmas time must go place. If you go with car, must need snow chain. All restaurants open and not over crowded. Way better to enjoy then any other season.

A magical experience in this winter wonderland! It was snowing on Christmas Day! We had so much fun building a snowman. Many beautiful farm houses are covered in snow for great photos. Lots of souvenirs shops and little restaurants and dessert shops. The road leading up the observatory deck has turned icy, so need to walk slowly and carefully. The view from the observatory deck was breathtaking. It was an incline going up. Need to take breaks along the way. Don't forget to take pictures!

We have visited this place before and I have also reviewed this place previously and so I will keep this one "short and sweet". This time round, we allocated more time here as previously we only stopped by here for about an hour (after our visit to Takayama Old Town) but didn't have much time to roam the place. We arrived slightly before 3pm. Weather was cold (but it was much colder later on when the sun set) but the river had not fully frozen like in our previous trip. It was quite comfortable to walk under the sun and yet very cold condition. More shops were opened as it was weekday (our previous visit was on a Sunday and many shops were closed then). So we could walk around and shop for local foods and souvenirs. We loved the scenery, lots of greenery and beautiful cottage houses, and our mother nature was just right around us! Surely it was a wonderful revisiting trip on this UNESCO World Heritage site! Definitely worth it!

This place is indeed magical! Went in July, it is very hot and sunny to comfortably walk around. But the beautiful green rice field make the whole place look so much more stunning. We stayed a night in the village and walk around the village before the sun set is so magical where most day trip tourist left.

International tourists spot in Gifu prefecture of Japan. Went here on the first week of February and the weather was clear and warm. The snow still filled some of the place. You can visit the traditional house and going inside by paying around 400 yen per person. Just strolling around the complex of it is also worth doing. Be prepared of the numerous tourists from around the globe.

Beautiful village!!! It would be best if you can find a place and stay for a night near the village. You can visit it early in the morning next day. No crowded tourist before 8:30am. There are few restaurant near by but only 1 open after 7:30pm. So be prepare and have your dinner before that.

I was amazed at this well presented Heritage town! The houses still accommodate the locals & stay over tourists. That was us!😊 The locals are early morning risers due to the thousands of tourists that converge during the day. I observed the locals dog walking, gardening & general outdoor cleaning in the early morning hours. If you stay overnight, you really must arise early, you will have the village streets to yourself! We had a fabulous experience!

Visit in the winter peak so temperature was -5. Beautiful and fairytale-like village, make sure you have your time after 3pm or before 10am as all same day tourists would arrive from 10am and leave by 3pm. Observation deck has beautiful view but extremely crowded most of the time.

This place is absolutely amazing. I was speechless by the amazing sceneries. I think I can live here forever. Couple things need to be aware of. Local traffic can be quite fast, make sure you are well aware of your surroundings while you’re mesmerising by the nature beauty’s. Please bring your own plastic bag to keep your own rubbish. I’ve seen many tourists sneakily throw their rubbish illegally. This is a place you mistakenly visit. I will be back for autumn season.

Shirakawa-go is a UNESCO heritage site located in the Gifu prefecture. The site is on the left side of Takayama City. This site is famous for its countryside-like scenario all season around, particularly during the winter times. This village also is famous for the well preserved traditional thatched farm houses. There are 3 households that are made into museums. During the late December to end of January, there is a special activity where one can check out the scenery of the site at night/dusk and see the house lights getting turned on one by one, illuminating the entire village. It takes around 1 hour of driving, either by car or bus. It is recommended to book tickets for the bus if one wishes to go with public transportation. Also please check the weather as well. Heavy snowstorms will shorten the amount of time one can visit.

While this place is the most beautiful in wintertime, covered with snow, it is still very nice place to visit anytime of the year. I visited Shiragawa-Go during Autumn and didn't disappoint. This place/village is very attractive. You can see why it is UNESCO world heritage site. People preserved old architecture, and village very well so you can feel like you warp to the past.

It was nice. Seeing the traditional homes in that region up close was spectacular. There are plenty of shops to visit and buy reasonable priced trinkets. We stopped by the restaurant nearest to the entrance parking lot and had lunch. It was lovely.

This is a very nice place to visit, especially in the Autumn when the leaves are changing colors. There is quite a bit of space to walk, and a few small museums. One could easily spend 2-3 hours here, which is the recommended time. There is a good but small viewpoint near the bus station that provides nice views. Was disappointed though, when I went in mid-November most of the cafes and restaurants were closed, and I left starving as not much is nearby.

Beautiful village of old houses. It's actually not a lot different from many other rural places that have old houses. It's just that all of these happen to have the straw roofs Of a particular style. It's a huge tourist attraction and very busy. There is no parking inside and you have to drive around to a designated parking area outside the village and there is a bridge into the village. The place is overrun the place is overrun with tourists and you ll see more foreigners than Japanese here. Lots of touristy shops for souvenirs and overpriced snacks.

Absolutely love this place! When going when its less crowded, it is very peaceful and tranquil feeling the cold wind on your skin while looking at the surrounding green mountains and the old fashioned village. Drain water is so clear and clean that there are fishes swimming in the drain! Definitely recommend to go up to the observatory either through hiking or a shuttle to observe and really appreciate the beauty of the landscape aswell as the village in its entirety! Definitely should go!

Scenic place to spend a couple of hours. Whilst it was lovely to walk through and take photos, there really isn't much to do there. They do have bad storage both with lockers and a bag storage room. All requires you to pay a small amount. The bag storage room is manned by a bloke with the easiest job in the world. He sits there, takes the money and puts your bags into rows. Note that it does get quite crowded irrespective of the weather. We were there on a rainy day and it was packed.

T'is the highlight of our trip. Truly magnificent and an amazing place to visit. It's really worth the travel. I'm glad that we were able to capture the colors of Autumn here. I'm sure this village would tell another story when visited during winter time. I envy the people who actually live here and experience waking up to these views everyday. I hope we can visit this place again.

We enjoyed our visit to this breathtaking village. There was beauty to be found every way we looked. It rained just before our arrival but the sun broke through the clouds while we visited and it felt very peaceful. It was about an hour on the bus from Takayama, but the ride was stunning as well.

Beautiful year-round. You can look inside a few of the homes. There are shops and cafes. It’s best to spend between 2-3 hours I should think.

Photos taken Nov. 28, 2023 Would like to see this place in every season. Very very beautiful. We were here on a rainy and cold day. ☺️ Booked bus tickets in advanced.

A little town with all the good feels. The houses are lovely. Everything is walkable. Homes are fascinating too. Homes have no signal nail and are known for their roof structure that look like praying hands. I particularly loved the cafe where you see the Shirakawago scenery whilst drinking coffee. There was also a lunch menu for 2000 Yen with hida beef set super yummy. Everything is great and amazing in this lovely town. Japan 🇯🇵

A really scenic and peaceful place. Lots to see and do. There are many tourists that come here, however the place is so big, it's no big deal. As part of our tour, we also had a delicious meal. If you are in the region, definitely add this place to your list.

There was quite snowfalls when I visited but makes it more magical and very beautiful! Most shop and restaurants are closing early before 4pm. Parking is close by the village and the bridge so it's very convenient to walk around the village.

We were lucky to see some snow when we visited this unique village in the north of Gifu. Very unique house design and there were shops and restaurants around the village. It's such a famous tourist attraction spot that at the time when I visited, there were more tourists than locals living in this area. I would definitely recommend coming here when it's snowing a lot more than the pictures here.

Amazing place, it transports you to another time period almost. The people there were so welcoming to us, we had something to look at every step of the way around the village. Make sure to respect and follow the rules of the place (no trespassing, no littering, etc.)

We made a three hour stop here on our way to Kanazawa by bus. It's a bit of a tourist spot and good for a one hour stop only. It has lots of toilets around the town and two small cafes if you want a coffee. We found one restaurant which was open. A very nice town with a lot of original houses and you can also go up to the observatory. When we went there was a very large number of tourists.

This is a really cute and peaceful town to walk around in. I just explored at my own pace and took in the sights for a few hours. Unfortunately, when I visited (11/30), many sit-down cafes and restaurants were closed. Not sure if this is a seasonal thing? There were just a few stalls selling croquettes and rice balls. Aside from that though, the vibes were immaculate. I'd love to visit again in a different season and see how the place transforms.

It was the hot autumn this year with 20-25 C degrees but easy to access to each area. The winter is different scenery but both are beautiful.

Absolutely beautiful village! The buildings and houses are amazing! 100/10, would visit again. The castle observatory is a must do for the view.

Shirakawa is a beautiful village, maybe victim of mass tourism like most places in our world. Yet, walking through the old farmhouse offers a great half day out away from the largest towns. Some of the houses are preserved like small museums and are interesting to visit. It can be hard finding a spot to eat or drink as there are more tourists than the facilities can accommodate. Don't miss out on the walk to the hilltop to get a wonderful panorama of the village. Buses depart from Takayama station. Some have reserved seats selling out fast, others are first come, first serve, so make sure to wait in line quite early - at least 5 minutes before departure during busy days.

Came here on late spring. One of the Unesco World Heritage. A must visit. A historical village that secluded beyond the mountain. It was a calm, serene, peaceful. You need to go up to the hill to see and enjoy the whole village area from above. It was too beautiful. The river and the water ditch sorround is super clear and clean as crystal

Felt like I stepped into a magical storybook. The snow adds to the effect as well. There are a lot of shops for souvenirs, cafes and delicious soba restaurants. We walked around and then went up to the view point to see the whole village. The scenery with the mountains surrounding the village is unreal.

A World Heritage site in Gifu, around 80KMs drive from Takayama City by local road. Historical Japanese houses can be found there. Traditional hats, kitchen utensils, footwear, clothes and lot more can be brought from different shops. There is a long bridge which is being used as an entrance to the village from parking. You can shoot photos there combining village, river and mountain. Parking is 1000 Yen per car. No other fees are required to enter the village. But you may find museum type houses where you need to pay to enter. A nice place to visit.

It is situated at the foot of Mt. Haku-san in northwestern Gifu Prefecture. It is a secluded, quiet and beautiful traditional timber mountain village with rice fields and a river running through it. 114 unique tradition thatched roof stand together in the village, which was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Loved it. The traditional Japanese guest houses are really far superior than those 5 star hotels in Urban areas.

Such a beautiful and unique place, I read that it is World Heritage Site. This is a magical town, with a really impressive architecture. While walking around you’ll see several restaurants and souvenir shops. I definitely recommend anyone to visit.

UNESCO Heritage Village that would be best to visit during winter and seeing the village from above point. Glad to make it here even though it's summer, still can see the details of the house and enjoy the surrounding.

A really pretty village, although can get quite touristy at times. Try to explore deeper into the village to get away from the crowds. The Hida beef food sets are really delicious so definitely try them out.

Nice little tourist area, deserted at night so make sure you get dinner early! We had a lovely quiet time there in the morning before the crowds started to com at around 9am when the museums open

Nice, calm, beautiful area. Can have a lot of people walking around, but the vibe is rather pleasant and everyone seems to respect these lovely surroundings. We have a room with a back window looking right out over a wonderful stream. If you do your research and set the right expectations, I think you will love including a visit here within your regional travel plans.

Well worth the bus ride (or rental car drive) to see these amazing houses built hundreds of years ago in a picturesque location. Spend at least 2-3 hours here to walk around and view the village, and grab a bite to eat or a souvenir. Visited on May 22, 2023.

Quaint Little town with rich characteristic, long history and many photo opportunities. Went during summer, and the lush greenery and Japanese hospitality makes this place very personable and enjoyable. Spent 4 hours, including snacks and lunch. There are regular buses from cities like Kanazawa, Takayama, Nagoya etc. Suggest to reserve the return tickets. Good to have cash as some retailers do not accept credit card payments

This is a beautiful rural town. Yes, it is touristy, but the nature and houses are beautiful! People roam the streets stopping at stores, buying ice cream and such. The only downsides is that places to eat close pretty early. We stayed at the hotel Onyado Yuinoshi in the other part of town. There is a shuttle that takes you to the hotel (about 2km away) once you arrive at the bus station, but there is no shuttle back to the main attraction. Overall a beautiful place!

Came here in April 2023 on a rainly-gloomy day but still loved it. It was like walking into a horror movie set. Isolated remote ancient village cut off from civilization. It was definitely one of a kind experience in Japan. Transportation was a bit painful though since buses are not that frequent. Make sure to book it ahead and not on the day of.

It was incredibly overcrowded when i visited. Yes it's a really beautiful village. However, it is simply way to busy here to enjoy the scenery quietly. So keep in mind that there will be people everywhere you look.

Beautifully preserved village. No trash cans, carry your trash back. Just an hour ride from Takayama. Easy walk in the village. Visit wada house to see construction inside