Shirakawago village is located at the foot of Mount Hakusan, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. All houses here are built in the style of ancient traditional wooden houses, with sloping roofs covered with thatched grass. The roof is also specially designed to withstand the dense snow in winter.
The oldest surviving traces to the present day, proving human existence in the village of Shirakawago can date from 7000 BC to 2300 BC. Therefore, this place is typical of the model of village that ancient Japanese lived in before.
However, the name Shirakawago is not mentioned in the historical documents until 1176. The mountain village is surrounded by hills, which implies that most of the area is forest and agriculture is the main industry. here, for the purpose of providing food to the local people.
Despite dramatic economic and social changes in Japan over the years, Shirakawago village miraculously stands. Attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors all year round. From central Kyoto, visitors only take about 4 hours to move to the village Shirakawago.
In 1995, the village of Shirakawago was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. This place is famous for the traditional Gassho-zukuri houses, which are more than 250 years old.
The word Gassho-zukuri means "built like a praying hand", this is the feature of the roof most characteristic of ancient Japanese. It is estimated that there are 114 houses and 600 people still living here. These houses are now used as restaurants and museums, and visitors can even stay overnight.
With such classical beauties, it is easy to understand why tourists from all over the world come to enjoy them.
No matter what time of year tourists come here, the scenery still makes people feel attached. In winter, the village of Shirakawago sinks in brown and white colors.
Spring is immersed in the green color of rice fields, autumn with green, red and yellow leaves interwoven or summer with brilliant yellow sunlight spreading everywhere.
However, the most outstanding feature is the beauty when Shirakawago village enters autumn. At this time, the weather is chilly, red foliage spreads throughout the walkway. The ancient houses are silhouetted on the surface of the clear blue lake, the natural scenery is very spectacular.
It is known that this fairy village is also the place where the famous Japanese mechanical cat Doraemon was born. The manga series is famous around the world, associated with the childhood of many generations, inspired and composed here by Fujiko.
