Following on from my Achi Snapshot (here) Shirakawa-Go was the next stop on this unexpected and frantic weekend.
Snowboards firmly latched to the roof of a tiny car, we set off on the long ride towards the famous thatched roof tourist trap.
Due to the length of the journey we decided to break it up with some snowboarding half way in. An avalanche stopped us from going to where we’d wanted to go but a quick check on Google Maps saw us hastily diverting to Takasu Snow Park. After a worryingly icy start on some busy slopes we soon found ourselves enjoying a long run down Gifu’s famous snow.
We made it to Shirakawa-Go late into the night and stayed at “Shirakawa-Go Hostel” – one of the friendliest and most hospitable hostels I’ve ever been to. Thanks especially to Tomo-Chan! If you ever find yourself in need of accommodation close to Shirakawa-Go then you can certainly do a lot worse than the warm open tatami rooms of here.
A quick onsen trip and early morning rise meant we finally made it to the picturesque village in the morning light. It’s fair to say this is a busy tourist destination and you can expect to share the views and streets with endless coach loads of tourists from all over the world, but if you’ve got the time to spare then I recommend wandering these streets. Eat gohei-mochi, visit Kanda House, build a snowman and take that ever important photograph in front of the gassho-zukuri roofs of the farmhouses… Just don’t expect to find a MacDonald’s for lunch.
