Shirakawa-go

Recently I went to a place called Shirakawa-go it is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Gifu. It is about 2 and a half hour drive from Nagoya. Shirakawa-go is very deep into the mountains and is on the highest peak of Mount Haku in the Ryōhaku Mountains. They are home to a special style of housing called Gassho-Zukuri (がっしょうづくり or 合掌造り) to survive the heavy snowy season in the area.

It is a truly gorgeous site especially in the winter.

Shirakawa-go is a great place for a day trip if you live in one of the surrounding Prefectures and also a great spot to stay over night as well as they have several Ryokan Gassho-zukuri.

Hida Takayama is another area about an hour from Shirakawa going back towards Aichi, Gero Onsen is also on the way as well! It is a great place for a weekend vacation.

For more information on Shirakawa-go you can go here!
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/734

These houses are called Gassho-Zukuri. It is a style of housing called Minka. The roofs are built to sustain heavy snow fall and can hold large amounts of it.

Close ups on how thick the roofs are.

The Shō River.

Shirakawa used to be famous for raising silk worms and producing raw silk. These are some old cocoons on display.

95.7% of Shirakawa is covered by forest.