Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [201]
Also close by is the shrine Hakusan-gū. The main hall dates from 1502 and has been designated an Important Cultural Property. Its Kokiriko Festival (25 and 26 September) features costumed dancers performing with rattles that move like snakes. On the second day everyone joins in.
AINOKURA
This World Heritage Site is the most impressive of Gokayama’s villages, with over 20 gasshō buildings in an agricultural valley amid splendid mountain views. It’s less equipped for visitors than Ogimachi, which can be either a drawback or a selling point. Pick up an English pamphlet at the booth by the central car park.
Stroll through the village to the Ainokura Museum of Life (; 66-2732; admission ¥200; 8.30am-5pm), with displays of local crafts and paper.
Continue along Rte 156 for several kilometres until Gokayama Washi-no-Sato (; Gokayama Japanese Paper Village; 66-2223; adult/child ¥200/150; 8.30am-5pm), where you will find displays of washi (Japanese handmade paper) art and a chance to make your own (from ¥500, reservations required, limited English spoken). It’s inside the michi-no-eki, a sort of public rest station.
Sleeping
Ainokura is a great place for a gasshō-zukuri farmhouse stay. Have a Japanese speaker contact the inns directly for reservations, or approach them yourself; all cost about ¥8000 per person, including two meals. Try the welcoming four-room Yomoshiro (; 66-2377; fax 66-2387); Goyomon (; 66-2154; fax 66-2227), with excellent views from the 2nd storey; or Chōyomon (; 66-2755; fax 66-2765), with its atmospheric dark-wood sliding doors. Ainokura also has a camping ground (66-2123; per person ¥500; mid-Apr–late Oct), which is closed if there’s snow.
Getting There & Away
Nōhi Bus Company (0577-32-1688, Japanese only; www.nouhibus.co.jp/english) operates seven buses daily linking Shirakawa-gō with Takayama (one way/return ¥2400/4300, 50 minutes). Some buses require a reservation. Two buses a day connect Kanazawa from Takayama (¥3300/5900, 2¼ hours), from Shirakawa-go (¥1800/3200, 1¼ hours). Weather delays and cancellations are possible between December and March.
Just before Ainokura, buses divert from Rte 156 for Rte 304 towards Kanazawa. From the Ainokura-guchi bus stop it’s about 400m uphill to Ainokura.
Kaetsuno Bus (0766-22-4888) operates at least four buses a day between Takaoka on the JR Hokuriku line, Ainokura (¥1450, 90 minutes) and Ogimachi (¥2350, 2½ hours), stopping at all major sights. If you want to get off at unofficial stops (eg Kuroba Onsen), tell the driver.
By car, this region is about 50 minutes from Takayama, with interchanges at Gokayama and Shōkawa. From Hakusan, the scenic toll road Hakusan Super-Rindō ends near Ogimachi (cars ¥3150). In colder months, check conditions in advance with regional tourist offices.
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JAPAN ALPS NATIONAL PARK
Boasting some of Japan’s most dramatic scenery, this mountain-studded park – also called Chūbu-Sangaku National Park – is a favourite of alp-lovers. Highlights include hiking the valleys and peaks of Kamikōchi and Shin-Hotaka Onsen, and soaking up the splendour of Shirahone Onsen or Hirayu Onsen. The northern part of the park extends to the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpen Route.
Orientation & Information
The park straddles the border between Gifu-ken and Nagano-ken. Several maps and pamphlets are published in English by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and local tourist authorities, with more detailed hiking maps in Japanese.
There are no banks in the park, and the only ATM in the communities listed in this section is at Hirayu Onsen’s post office, which keeps shorter hours than most ATMs nationwide. Be sure you have enough cash on hand before setting out.
Getting There & Around
The main gateway cities are Takayama to the west and Matsumoto to the east. Service from Takayama is by bus, while most travellers from Matsumoto catch the private Matsumoto Dentetsu train to Shin-Shimashima Station (¥680, 30 minutes) and transfer to buses – the ride