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Shirakawa-go and Gokayama: Traditional Japanese Villages
5.0
23 Ratings
金沢市
Explore Shirakawa-go, Gokayama, and Inami’s woodcarving on a day tour from Kanazawa. Experience traditional crafts, historic homes, and UNESCO sites.
Explore Shirakawa-go, Gokayama, and Inami’s woodcarving on a day tour from Kanazawa. Experience traditional crafts, historic homes, and UNESCO sites.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Inami - Arrive at Inami to explore the main street full of wood carvers and their interesting creations throughout the townscape. This will be followed by a walk around Zuizenji Temple to see the place where all the wood carving starting.
- Gokayama - Arrive at the first stop in Gokayama, the Ainokura Village, where you have a short amount of…
- Inami - Arrive at Inami to explore the main street full of wood carvers and their interesting creations throughout the townscape. This will be followed by a walk around Zuizenji Temple to see the place where all the wood carving starting.
- Gokayama - Arrive at the first stop in Gokayama, the Ainokura Village, where you have a short amount of time to walk around and get some good pictures of the village. Your guide can show you the way to nice photo spot overlooking the the area.
- Gokayama Washi - Once at the Japanese Paper-Making Experience, you can choose paper inserts to put in your paper before actually giving it a try. After 10 to 15 minutes of drying you’ll have a small souvenir of three postcard size pieces of paper to bring home.
- Shirakawago - Arrive at the observation point in Shirakawa-go. We will head into the village to learn about the history and the homes themselves. During walk through the historic town, we will also enter one and discover more about the lives of the farmers and the construction itself.
After the entering a farmhouse, you will have free time to walk around and see whatever else you want. There is time to shop, enter other houses or even eat some of the various food in the village.
What's Included
- Guided Tour at the Wood Craft Town Inami and Shirakawa-go UNESCO site
- English speaking guide
- Entry fee at Zuisenji Temple
- Japanese Paper-Making Experience Fee
- Transportation to and from Shirakawa-go and all other destinations
- Guided Tour at the Wood Craft Town Inami and Shirakawa-go UNESCO site
- English speaking guide
- Entry fee at Zuisenji Temple
- Japanese Paper-Making Experience Fee
- Transportation to and from Shirakawa-go and all other destinations
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Accommodation
- Lunch
- Accommodation
Additional Information
Deep in the mountains of Japan lies the quaint villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, with their beautifully preserved gassho-style houses. These UNESCO World Heritage Sites, some of the buildings are over 250 years old, gives a glimpse into the ways of Japanese traditional farming communities. On the way from Kanazawa to those stunning sites, there are…
Deep in the mountains of Japan lies the quaint villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, with their beautifully preserved gassho-style houses. These UNESCO World Heritage Sites, some of the buildings are over 250 years old, gives a glimpse into the ways of Japanese traditional farming communities. On the way from Kanazawa to those stunning sites, there are other historic towns such as the woodcarvers of Inami. Being far from the large cities of Tokyo and Osaka, enjoy walking through a town which continues its tradition of woodcarving to this day. On the shops, in the temples and on signs are beautiful examples of this living history. The entire region was once home to many different kinds of local crafts, such as Japanese style paper making, an activity that you can do on this tour. Enjoy a day long bus tour from Kanazawa where you can see expert wood carving, try your hand at paper making and see the UNESCO World Heritage sites Shirakawa-go and Gokayama traditional homes.
Location
Kanazawa Station
The meeting point is outside of the Shinkansen Ticket Gates, across the concourse and in front of the information center. Look for a four large sumo wrestlers under the information center sign. Be sure to look for our guide wearing the SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tag.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(23 Ratings)
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A9491iorebeccas
Feb 24, 2025
Winter experience - We went during winter with stunning views. It’s important to wear the right kind of shoes (boots), as I could not access certain parts of the trails with sneakers. I still felt I had a good experience and got to see 95% of what I needed to, though! Probably in the summer there is more opportunity to wander along smaller paths, but it was far less crowded during winter and I felt we could more comfortably spend time at each location to explore. The paper making experience was excellent and we purchased a very reasonably priced but beautiful print we plan on framing once we return home.
Lee was a fantastic guide. He was knowledgable but focused on the most relevant / notable things to make the tour accessible. He navigated each site fluidly and with familiarity that made each visit remarkably smooth. He provided excellent recommendations for Kanazawa and other cities as well and I felt he really personalized our experience! He was very patient and honest when it came to answering questions about Japan in general. Side note: we forgot our gloves on the bus and he was kind enough to bring them out to us after the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alice_k
Jan 22, 2025
Ask for Mike ! Amazing tour guide - Excellent tour from Nagano, with fantastic knowledgeable guide Mike . We had a great day enjoying all the sites, at the same time learning all about the Japanese culture and history of the places we visited, it was incredible value and Mike made it interesting and engaging the whole day . You have to book this amazing tour !
Review provided by Viator
Johnsx5772on
Jan 18, 2025
Serene Villages and Exceptional Craftsmanship - Tour was exceptionally well done! This tour visits some of the more niche and quiet parts of Toyama and Gifu. The temple in Inami (the wood carving village) is beautiful and the general craftsmanship of the wood carvers is incredible. This tour also visits Gokayama which is the quieter and less visited of the two UNESCO heritage site villages but I found that more pleasant. The tour guide was very helpful and accommodating (eg for finding the perfect souvenirs or for genuinely good shops to visit in each location). This has been one of the better tours I have been on in my travels.
Although it's colder in the winter, the aesthetic of the villages and drive up are incredible with the layered snow.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Josshyy
Dec 22, 2024
Worth it! - Everything's been great with Lee, our guide. I fully recommend this tour!
It is worth visiting these small but charming towns.
Naiara and Jose.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roving32312952790
Dec 21, 2024
What a wonderful experience !!!! - On December 11, my mother and I participated in the "[Kanazawa] Departing from Kanazawa: One-day tour of Shirakawago, Gokayama, and Woodcarving Village". It was really a wonderful experience.
Since my English is not very strong, I appreciated the tour guide Garrett explaining the background and historical stories of each attraction in simple English. I would also like to thank Teacher Luo for his translation help, which is a great help to us foreign tourists. The thoughtful care and guidance throughout the entire journey brought wonderful experiences and wonderful memories to my mother and me.
I sincerely appreciate the effort and professionalism of everyone involved on the day and I would love to go on another trip with the Snow Monkeys in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Junita_s
Nov 27, 2024
Amazing World Heritage Tour - This tour was the first and only tour I'd booked so far on my 2 weeks Japan holiday. I was very surprised to find out on the day that it would only be me, Mike and the driver on this tour. Instead of being a group tour, it became a very awesome private tour.
Ai no Kura was very nice, the climb up to the view point was worth the view.
Mike was very knowledgeable, so I ended up learning a lot about the places that we visited. Thank you for sharing all your expertise and knowledge. The paper making workshop was fun 😆. Loved it!! Please tell the master good luck on his 100000(?) snake figurines commission!
Review provided by Viator
Tomrp8651mc
Nov 25, 2024
Lots of fun! I would highly recommend - This trip was super scenic and fun, and it was a good cultural experience too. It’s hard to take a bad picture on this tour, especially when you go during the fall leaves like I did. This is my first time in Japan and that day trip was one of the highlights. The views are beyond worth it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Doreem292
Nov 22, 2024
Gorgeous scenery - This day trip from Kanazawa is absolutely worthwhile. The trip takes you to some stunning scenery in mountain villages, which would be difficult to visit on your own. I loved the stops we made in smaller villages, beautiful temples and the delicious lunch spot. One of my favorite stops was learning how to make beautiful Washi paper (which we were able to make our own to take home). Lee was a great guide: he has a solid knowledge of local history and culture, had a long list of Kanazawa dining recommendations, and also knew the best routes to take to get phenomenal photos and less crowds. I would highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Voyage30811806719
Nov 11, 2024
Authentic day - Pick this one. Brilliant Three artisan villages in one day. Small group numbers. Plenty of time to see and do. Made paper.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
993maryl_neg
Nov 5, 2024
Good tour - Lee was a great guide who know a lot about the region. He also recommended us some food locations.
The visits and especially the paper making was good.
However, It's too bad that the lunch was not included (even if it's precise on the description of the tour).
Our guide recommended us a place and the food was amazing.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
