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The Nakabashi Bridge in Takayama on a snowy autumn day
Dark wooden merchant houses along a street in Takayama's Sanmachi district
View over the thatched gassho-zukuri houses of Ainokura
Stalls of the morning market in Takayama
Thatched farmhouses at the Hida Folk Village

Things to do in Takayama and Shirakawa-go: 8 experiences

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Photo: Nick Sevarg, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sanmachi, Takayama

Taste sake under the cedar balls of Takayama's old merchant streets

Check dates and prices

Photo: 663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ainokura, Gokayama

See Ainokura, the quiet gassho village deep in Gokayama

Check dates and prices

Photo: Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0

Miyagawa and Jinya-mae Morning Markets, Takayama

Graze Takayama's two morning markets by the river and the Jinya

Check dates and prices

Photo: Bgabel, CC BY-SA 3.0

Hida no Sato, Takayama

Smell the morning hearth fires in the farmhouses of Hida Folk Village

Photo: Eckhard Pecher, CC BY 2.5

Takayama is an old merchant town in the Hida mountains of Gifu, and Shirakawa-go and Gokayama are the valleys of thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses to its north west, a World Heritage site since 1995. The Japan page covers a walk through Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go's main village. This page covers Takayama's old streets, markets, government house, folk village and festival floats, then a night in a farmhouse, the quieter village of Ainokura in Gokayama and the double-decker ropeway into the Northern Alps.

8 things to do in Takayama and Shirakawa-go

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Dark wooden merchant houses along a street in Takayama's Sanmachi district

Taste sake under the cedar balls of Takayama's old merchant streets

Sanmachi, Takayama

2 to 3 hoursGo alone or with a tour

Streets of dark wooden merchant houses, where cedar balls over the doors mark sake breweries that have sold for centuries.

Check dates and pricesJinya and old town walk with a sake tasting
Been there?
Stalls of the morning market in Takayama

Graze Takayama's two morning markets by the river and the Jinya

Miyagawa and Jinya-mae Morning Markets, Takayama

About 1 hourFree

Two daily markets of farm produce, pickles, snacks and crafts, one along the river and one in front of the old government house.

Check dates and pricesOld town walk from the Jinya-mae market
Been there?
The gate and long white wall of the Takayama Jinya

Walk the tatami offices of the shogun's Takayama Jinya

Takayama Jinya, Takayama

About 1 hourNo booking needed

The old government house from which officials sent from Edo ran the Hida timber country for nearly three centuries.

Been there?
Thatched farmhouses at the Hida Folk Village

Smell the morning hearth fires in the farmhouses of Hida Folk Village

Hida no Sato, Takayama

About 2 hoursNo booking needed

An open-air museum of over 30 Edo-period houses from the Hida mountains, including thatched farmhouses moved from Shirakawa-go.

Been there?
The ornate Kagura Tai float of the Takayama Festival

See the Takayama Festival floats up close in the Yatai Kaikan

Takayama Matsuri Yatai Kaikan, Takayama

About 45 minutesNo booking needed

Centuries-old, richly decorated festival floats, shown all year in a hall next to Hachiman Shrine.

Been there?
The rope-bound timber frame under the steep thatched roof of a gassho-zukuri farmhouse

Sleep in a thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouse in Shirakawa-go

Ogimachi, Shirakawa-go

One nightBook ahead

A night on futons in a family-run farmhouse inn, with dinner by the irori hearth after the day visitors have left.

Been there?
View over the thatched gassho-zukuri houses of Ainokura

See Ainokura, the quiet gassho village deep in Gokayama

Ainokura, Gokayama

Half a day from Shirakawa-goGo alone or with a tour

The most remote and largest gassho village of Gokayama, a World Heritage site like Shirakawa-go with a fraction of its crowds.

Check dates and pricesShirakawa-go and Gokayama bus tour from Takayama
Been there?
A gondola of the Shinhotaka Ropeway

Ride a double-decker gondola into the Northern Alps at Shinhotaka

Shinhotaka Ropeway, Okuhida

Half a day with the busNo booking needed

Japan's first double-decker gondolas, climbing over 1,000 m up the Hotaka range to a deck at about 2,150 m.

Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Takayama and Shirakawa-go yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    From Tokyo, take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya and the JR Hida limited express to Takayama, or the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Toyama and the Hida from there; both take four to five hours and are covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Keio and Nohi highway buses run from Busta Shinjuku. Shirakawa-go has no railway: buses link it with Takayama, Kanazawa and Toyama.

  • Getting around

    JR Takayama Station and the bus centre next to it are about ten minutes on foot from the old town, and most sights are walkable. The Sarubobo Bus runs every 30 minutes to the Hida Folk Village. Gokayama needs a change of buses at Ogimachi, and Okuhida is an hour or more by bus.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, two nights in Takayama, with a day trip to Shirakawa-go, or one night in Takayama and one in a Shirakawa-go farmhouse. Add a night in Okuhida for the ropeway and the hot springs.

  • When to go

    The Takayama Festival fills the streets with floats on 14 and 15 April and 9 and 10 October; book rooms early. Winter brings deep snow to the gassho valleys and illuminations on selected days in Shirakawa-go. Autumn colour and summer hiking suit Okuhida.

Questions travellers ask

Is Shirakawa-go or Gokayama better?

Shirakawa-go's Ogimachi is bigger and easier to reach, and a stop on the bus between Takayama and Kanazawa. Gokayama's villages, Ainokura and Suganuma, are smaller and quieter but need a change of buses at Ogimachi. With a car or a tour, see both.

How do I book a farmhouse stay in Shirakawa-go?

Try through the local tourist association, and early: the gassho minshuku are popular and hard to reserve. Expect around ¥8,000 to ¥20,000 per person with dinner and breakfast, and shared baths.

When are the Takayama morning markets?

Every day until noon. The Jinya-mae Market opens at 6:00 (7:00 from January to March) and the Miyagawa Market at 7:00 (8:00 from December to March).

Does the Japan Rail Pass cover the trip to Takayama?

Yes, on the JR Hida limited express from Nagoya or Toyama, and on Hikari trains from Tokyo to Nagoya; faster Nozomi trains need a supplement. It does not cover the buses to Shirakawa-go.

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