Shirakawa-go and Ainokura Villages

Yesterday we took a guided day tour from Kanazawa to the mountain villages of Shirakawa-go and Ainokura. 

These locations are famous for their gassho-zukuri (“praying hands”) farmhouses. The name refers to the shape of the steeply angled roofs, like two hands in prayer, designed so that heavy snow can easily slide off in winter. The roofs are thatched with tightly bundled rice straw for insulation.

Inside, the houses use thick timbers to support the roof. The walls are a combination of woven bamboo and mud plaster (also good for insulation). Nails aren’t used in the construction, instead hemp and wisteria vine and other natural fibers are twisted into extremely strong and durable cord to hold the beams in place. Hemp doesn’t stretch and it holds tight even when wet, making it a very useful material in this climate. The roofs can last upwards of thirty years before needing to be replaced. Many of the Gassho homes here are two or three hundred years old, so they have had their roofs replaced many times! 

Thick thatching gives them a shaggy look. The villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These houses are under strict building codes and the exteriors can’t be altered or demolished without permission. Modern development in these protected villages is limited in order to preserve the historic look of the community. 

When it’s time to replace the roof, it’s a neighborhood affair. Other villagers all chip in to help get the work done. This collective labor exchange (where each neighbor helps one another in turn) is called “yui”. 

During the growing season that begins in May, villagers farm rice. After the harvest in September, they use the vast attic space as workshops to brew sake, make handcrafted art or goods to sell locally, repair equipment, or just as a general storage area. 

Traditionally the villagers here also raised silkworms and spun silk in their spacious attics. But in the past fifty years the silk industry has declined significantly. Probably for several reasons, but the rise of cheaper and easier to produce synthetics has shifted demand away from expensive silk. In the old days these honeycomb-style trays would have had a silk cocoon in each cell.

One of the homes had a good exhibit on the silk production process. These are what the silkworm cocoons look like. 

Our tour gave us two hours in the village to explore, take pictures, and visit a few of the homes open to the public. 

Yes, there were many tour buses, but it was possible to get away from the crowds and experience the sense of small village life here. 

Our tour included a hearty lunch at Hakusuien restaurant: Hida wagyu beef, a small trout, pickles, tofu, miso soup and hot soba noodles. It was very good and filling. 

After lunch the tour bus took us to Gokayama, to the very small village of Ainokura. The scenery around this hilly village was breathtaking. The oldest houses here are four hundred years old. 

Among the highlights of this village is a small proto-Gassho house. It’s all roof! As you might guess, it’s not as spacious or livable inside. Judging from what we could see through an open door, it appeared that the current owners were using it as a bike shed and general storage, kind of like a Gassho-garage. 

Ainokura only has about 20 Gassho-style houses, and gets fewer visitors than Shirakawa. Here, it seems more like a lived-in town and a little less like a tourist attraction (although there were still some other groups and independent tourists wandering the lanes). One of the specialties of this village was making washi paper, and a workshop in the village has a class where you can make your own. I wish we'd had enough time for it, but we only had an hour before we had to get back to the bus. Maybe next time. 

Today we are on our way to Kurashiki, a little over three hours by Shinkansen from Kanazawa, although it’s not a straight shot—we do have to transfer a few times. Kanazawa was in the center of the main Japanese island of Honshu, on the northern coast. Kurashiki is on the western side of Honshu, on the southern coast that faces the Seto inland sea.

In the meantime, enjoy these extra shots from Shirakawa. Here are some of the Gassho-themed sweets we didn't buy because we are learning that the Japanese definition of "sweet" usually doesn't mean what we think it means.

My educated guess would be that the cute white houses taste of rice with maybe a sweet red bean paste filling and the gingerbread-looking ones advertise three types — summer, autumn, and winter, but probably all three have a vaguely cardboard texture. 

And here are a few more pretty snapshots of Shirakawa because it was just such a picturesque town to visit! This one is a great example of Koinobori streamers.

These blooming tulips indicate that it is almost time to plant the rice. 

One of the villagers in Shirakawa planted some carpets of pink moss phlox. We are so glad we gave ourselves enough time in the Kanazawa area to do this day trip and see these beautiful villages!