Gokayama Gasshonoyado Syoshichi

Fascination of Gokayama

Beautiful, nostalgic, and original landscape of Japan is here.

Gokayama are the deep mountains and dark valleys that the Heike-no-Ochudo legend has been told to. Thatched houses called “gassho-style” were created in the harsh nature by the prayer and wisdom of our predecessors. They are very valuable form of houses not found in any other region of this country but in Gokayama and Shirakawa-go. Including the gassho-style houses in Ainokura and Suganuma that are registered as a World Heritage Site, Gokayama with many more popular sites has now become a major tourist destination that represents Japan, especially after the registration of world heritage and the opening of the Tokai Hokuriku Expressway. Furthermore, Gokayama was awarded by “Michelin Green Guide Japan 2009” as one of the best, three-starred tourist destinations side by side with Tokyo and Kyoto. Gokayama, by its nature, history, culture, and people who are warm and kind, never stops attracting the visitors.

Gokayama Tourism Association
http://www.gokayama-info.jp

Ainokura Village World Heritage Site

Even at the first visit, it’s as if you had been there before.

In December 1995, the gassho-style houses in Shirakawa Ogi-machi in Gifu prefecture and Gokayama Ainokura and Suganuma in Toyama prefecture were registered as a “World Heritage Site” by the 19th World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. There are 23 gassho-style houses in Ainokura, with rice fields, stone walls, and Yukimochirin (forest to defend against avalanche) in the village serving as a nostalgic landscape. There are also Ainokura Folk Museum, inns, and souvenir shops available in the area, by which you can feel the traditional culture and touch the warmth and hospitality of the people. It is a small village in the mountains where an old-fashioned life is still alive even to this day.

●Parking/Standard-Sized Vehicle & Light Vehicle JPY 500 (fund for world heritage preservation)
●Contact/Gokayama Tourism Association (TEL:81-(0)763-66-2468)

Ainokura Gassho-Style Preservation Foundation　
http://www.g-ainokura.com/
Ainokura Gassho-Style Village　
http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~gassyou/aikura.html

Suganuma Village World Heritage Site

Touching the traditional culture inherited by our predecessors.

Suganuma village was designated as a historical site by the government in 1970, selected as an important preservation districts for groups of historic buildings in 1994, and registered as a World Heritage Site along with Ainokura village in December 1995. In Suganuma village, there are 9 gassho-style houses surrounded by nature, leaving the quiet and peaceful environment still intact up to this day. There are Gokayama Folk Museum and Ensho-no-Yakata (Gunpowder ingredient Museum) inside the village where you can experience the history and tradition of Gokayama.

●Parking/Standard-Sized Vehicle & Light Vehicle JPY 500
(fund for world heritage preservation)
●Contact/Suganuma World Heritage Preservation Association
(TEL:81-(0)763-67-3008)

Gokayama Gassho-no-Sato　
http://www.gokayama.jp
Suganuma Gassho-Style Village　
http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~gassyou/suganuma.html

Seasonal Calendar of Gokayama

"Kokiriko” and “Mugiyabushi" representing the Gokayama folk songs are designated as an intangible cultural asset and protected by continuously been sang and danced by the people, making them still alive in Gokayama beyond the era. Please experience and enjoy the cultural heritage of Gokayama that was inherited by oral traditions and developed with the climate of the region.

●Gokayama Spring Festival
From April 19 to May 6
Villages in the Taira and Kamitaira Districts
“Gokayama Spring Festival” is said to have begun with the legacies of the gassho-style.
Shishimai (lion dance) called “Mukade Shishi” dances proudly and courageously for two weeks.

●Gokayama’s Four Seasons　Haru-no-Yoi (Spring Evening)
Middle of May Suganuma Gassho-Style Village (Gassho-no-Sato)
Gokayama folk songs such as "Kokiriko," "Mugiyabushi," "Toichinsa," and "Osayobushi" will be performed at Suganuma. Light-ups of the houses are also famous.

●Gokayama Taira Festival
"Gokayama Mugiya Festival" (September 23 to 24) is held at Shimonashi District
"Kokiriko Festival" (September 25 to 26) is held at Kaminashi District

●Gokayama Washi Festival
Last Saturday and Sunday of September (or the first Saturday and Sunday of October) Road Station TAIRA, Gokayama Washi-no-Sato

"Exhibition of Collage with Japanese Traditional Paper" that exhibits the works from nationwide as well as some local folk songs will be showcased and performed.