When mentioning Shirakawago, people often think of an ancient village with hundreds of wooden houses covered with snow on the roofs, all over the roads and fields. Because the most popular time for tourists here is winter, and most of the advertising posters about this place are also during the snowfall season. It is impossible to deny the mystery of the thick layers of snow under the sparkling lights in this place in winter, but today I will show you that the autumn scenery in Shirakawago is not inferior at all!

The image that people often think of when mentioning Shirakawago (Photo: Japancheapo)

You can book a car to Shirakawa-go very easily at HERE, depart from Nagoya at 9:00, on the way will stop to visit the old town of Hida Takayama, then will go to Shirakawa-go and at 18:30 will get on the bus back to Nagoya.

The best time to see red leaves here is around the end of October.

I decided to go to Shirakawago in late October, when the leaves had already started to turn yellow and red. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily when I arrived.

Shirakawago in the rain.

But that does not diminish the beauty of Shirakawago. On the contrary, the rain creates clouds and fog that spread across the mountains surrounding the village, creating a very magical scene.

Clouds and fog spread across the mountains.

Right at the parking lot in front of the village entrance, a lot of red leaves appeared, signaling a "bumper" day of photos for me 😀 Come explore with me what's inside the ancient village!

Parking lot in the old village.

First, we will have to cross the 107-meter-long Ogimachi suspension bridge, to go from the parking lot into the village.

Ogimachi suspension bridge.

Right at the beginning of the village are souvenir shops and food stalls with typical designs: made of wood and thatched roofs.

Shops here.

Right at the beginning of the road into the village, I came across an ancient bell tower, whose appearance is quite similar to Khue Van Cac - the symbol of the capital Hanoi, Vietnam. (see my article about Hanoi's old town at HERE).

A bell tower in the ancient village.

Even though it was raining heavily, it didn't make it difficult for me to take photos 😀 We will even have an additional accessory throughout today's photos: a transparent umbrella.

First view next to a yellow leaf garden here.

Next, I walked along the main road and looked at the old houses here.

Not the same as the old village Kayabuki no Sato In Kyoto, the houses in Shirakawago have many different designs, each old house has its own unique characteristics.

In front of a cafe in Shirakawago.
Red leaves on the doorstep. A pretty satisfactory shooting angle for me.

A few more poses.

After taking photos in front of the ancient houses here, I moved to the Ogimachi observatory, where I can see the entire village from above.

Observatory address for you to easily find: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gnP8Caci7JsPJbre6

After walking for a while, remember to turn around and look back at the scene behind, there are many beautiful views!

Houses gradually appeared below us.

After about 15 minutes of climbing to the observatory, this is my result:

The entire ancient village of Shirakawago is within sight.
Really overwhelmed by this beauty.
Another angle with red leaves next to the mountain.

You can book tickets to see the Light up ancient village in Shirakawa-go at HERE. This special event only takes place for 4 days in a year, if you miss it, you will have to wait another year to attend this event. You can easily check the lighting schedule each year at HERE .

Even though the rain was quite heavy, it didn't take my eyes off this frame. The atmosphere is truly peaceful, in complete contrast to where I live, the always bustling and bustling Osaka.

Take a few more photos and then take shelter from the rain 😀

Walking up, we have another observatory, called Shiroyama Tenshukaku, and restaurants and souvenir shops here.

Address: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jyVEyH8u57nDhatU9

A super cute wooden house model on the observatory.

I walked around the shops, then went back down to visit the remaining half of the ancient village.

Pass by the “lonely house” in Shirakawago.
There is also a very large lotus pond here.

Take advantage of taking photos here.

Food is sold everywhere along the way.
A lovely moment I captured.
Don't miss this amazing view on the way home.

After that, I returned to the Ogimachi suspension bridge, ending a round of exploring Shirakawago.

The view on the bridge is also amazing.
A huge red leaf tree next to the bridge.

Take photos with 3 colors: blue, red, yellow in the same frame.

Take a few new angles outside the parking lot of the old village.

After viewing all the photos in this article, you can easily see that Shirakawago is not only beautiful in winter, right?

The village is also extremely peaceful and breathtakingly beautiful in the fall. Try coming here once in the fall and write your own experience! Thank you for reading to the end of the article.

***************************************************************************************************************

Explore our useful services in Japan:

  • Taking photos of individuals, couples, and families in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara: See more HERE
  • Plan and schedule your trip to Japan: See more HERE
  • eSim data, pocket wifi travel in Japan: See more HERE

***************************************************************************************************************

*** Please read the requirements carefully Copyright & Collaboration before copying or quoting blog content and images. Thank you.

Categorized in:

Gifu |岐阜Japan Travel

Tagged in:

,