My second visit to Shirakawa-go, with the first during winter in December 2022. I guess the most important question is: is the village worth a second visit in a different season? I reckon if you’re in Gifu or Aichi Prefecture, you might as well just go for it. Day trips to this area from Nagoya are very frequent and often at very low cost — likely because of the number of competing tour operators working this area. Moreover, the scenery one gets in September was very different from that in December. I would of course have liked to see this area in autumn, but oh well!
Pictures and comments!
It normally takes just over an hour to get to Shirakawa-go from Takayama, but we were stuck in traffic in the last 500m stretch, with a long queue of vehicles all trying to get into the parking area at the main entrance. That was when our tour guide decided to get the bus driver to reverse and park at the alternate parking location on the other side of the Sho River.The bus finally got to park at 3:20PM, and the first thing I did was dash for the Shiroyama observation platform, where one goes to take those iconic pictures from the hilltop overlooking the village. Why the rush though? Well, Google said that entrance to the hilltop platform closes at 3:30PM. That turned out to be a false alarm, as there were still people going up at 3:45PM at least. The view from the platform was magnificent as always, though partially spoilt by that green construction platform you can see in the foreground.Unlike the December 2022 visit where the village was draped in powdery fine snow, the fields had been planted with crops during this September visit, and the mid-afternoon colors made for lush scenery.The village had a fair number of visitors at this mid-afternoon timing, so there was a fair bit of framing I had to do to have as few people as possible in the picture. The crowds generally started dwindling from 4PM onwards.This pond was iced over in December 2022.Some of these huts are residences and are clearly marked out for visitors, informing them that entry is prohibited.The fields give plenty of opportunities for low-angle shots like these.Flower garden at the front porch of a hut.A small landscaped garden at another residence.
We were among the last of the day-trip buses to leave the village at 4:45PM to start our long, almost 2.5-hour journey back to Nagoya. That’s also a wrap for the touring and visits I’ve done for this Japan trip, and I’m glad that I went on this day trip to Gujo Hachiman–Takayama–Shirakawa-go, especially considering the very low price I paid for it. Hopefully I’ll be able to come visit again in autumn!
