Shirakawa-go and Gokayama: Traditional Japanese Villages

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…
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
What's Not Included
  • 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…

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.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(16 Ratings)
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513rhettc
Sep 23, 2024
This is why you rely on experienced guides - We had a great time exploring several scenic and fascinating places. For a long time I have been enamored by the beauty of Japan's rural areas. Setting foot in these faithfully maintained cultural sites tucked away in picturesque settings is an experience that I will always remember fondly. We do a good bit of DIY exploring but experiences like these are quintessential examples of the value inherit in going with a seasoned guide. From the start Lee never left us wandering about what to expect and the excursion played out like clockwork. He was conscientious and consistently anticipated our needs throughout the trip. Not having to fuss with logistics allowed us to focus on the experience itself. We wouldn't have been able to see as many sites with this much efficiency on our own;not even close. We got insights into the culture and history of each location. We avoided unnecessary crowd and our walking routes meant less energy spent compared to winging it on our own. If you're hoping to capture memorable photographs, you won't be disappointed!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dveep
Sep 20, 2024
Discovering the Mountain villages with Lee - We had a memorable Day Trip with Lee . He made Us feel very comfortable and encouraged us to ask Questions and Motivated us to try new experiences. That made this Trip very interesting and interactive. He made sure That we were taken care of and made the experience very personal. It was just like spending a day discovering A new destination with an old friend. Thank you Lee for making this so memorable. Definitely recommending this tour to all our Friends.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Faraway08598706864
Sep 9, 2024
Scenic, low-key tour in the Japanese Alps - Shirakawa-go and Ainokura Gassho-zukuri village were very scenic and fascinating. Making paper in Ainokura was a fun activity. Visiting the master craftsman's shop in Tonami was awe-inspriring. I enjoyed the museum in Shirakawa. Lee was a great host, had things arranged and convenient at each stop. He was patient to let us go at our own pace. He had a lot of great insight for our questions about Japanese culture from the perspective of a fellow North American, but has lived in Japan for awhile now. Meetup was easy and transportation was comfortable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kimberly_k
Jul 3, 2024
Fantastic Family Tour! - Great experience for the whole family! We were able to do this with just our family and our guide Garrett was awesome! Everything from the wood-carving village, to making paper, to experiencing old-world Japanese life at Shirakawago was fantastic. Even though it was a long day, Garrett was super knowledgeable and engaging with the adults and our teens. Definitely recommend this tour for anyone looking for a unique and memorable experience for their family.
Review provided by Viator
Gary_w
May 29, 2024
Really excellent tour! - Garrett was absolutely fantastic. He had in-depth knowledge about virtually every aspect of the tour. He was also really fun to be around. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Viator
Lim
Apr 27, 2024
Captivating Gassho-zukuri Villages - Our guide Garrett is an approachable person, he is friendly and is Excellent in his work, giving clear explanation on facts of sites that we visited, sharing his knowledge on nice places to visit and eateries in Kanazawa in our conversation. We will not hesitate to recommend his services to anyone looking for day trip from Kanazawa.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Karen_d
Apr 15, 2024
Perfect - Garrett made the trip perfect. He was informative and answered all our questions, and very pleasant. He helped us discover so many things of interest, and also just plain fun. We would definitely want him again. The tour was great in every way.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
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