The Historic Fairytale Village of Shirakawa (白川村)

Probably one of the most fascinating places I have visited. The Shirakawa Village is a Japanese mountain settlement located in the Gifu prefecture, registered as one of Japan’s UNESCO world heritage sites. It was once an unexplored region surrounded by nature and high snow capped mountain tops.

The village features the famous gassho zukuri farm houses, some are older than 250 years old! The distinct houses are made with steep slanting thatched roof-tops that resembles the hand of a praying buddhist monk, hence the name: gassho zukuri, which means constructed like the hands in prayer. I think there were 3 houses you can visit, some don’t open everyday, I managed to go see the Wada House and had a good glimpse of the inside architecture, it costs 300 Yen per person to enter. Also, some houses have birds nests outside.

Overall, it was such a great experience to step back in time and explore the village.

—Tofu