As a popular tourist destination selected as a World Heritage site, Shirakawa-go attracts many domestic and international visitors. If you are departing from Tokyo or Osaka, it takes a long drive of over 4 hours to get here, which some travelers may find very inconvenient. However, if you depart from Nagoya City, located between Tokyo and Osaka, you can arrive in less than 3 hours, allowing you to fully enjoy the beauty of Shirakawa-go even on a day trip! Today, we would like to recommend a classic day-trip itinerary to Shirakawa-go departing from Nagoya.

🏯 Nagoya: A major metropolis with excellent access to Tokyo, Osaka, and Shirakawa-go

Nagoya is Japan's third-largest city after Tokyo and Osaka, with a well-developed transportation network. Nagoya is only about a 30-minute drive from Chubu Centrair International Airport (CENTRAIR), where domestic and international flights are available to various destinations. In addition, taking the Shinkansen from Nagoya Station takes only about 30 minutes to Kyoto and about 1 hour and 30 minutes to Tokyo.

The World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go is less than a three-hour drive from Nagoya, making it possible to do a day trip from Nagoya. This is ideal for travelers who want to efficiently visit Shirakawa-go and other attractions! At the same time, as a major city, Nagoya offers plenty of accommodation options, making it easy to book a hotel. Compared to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, the number of foreign tourists in Nagoya is relatively small, allowing you to spend a wonderful time in a relaxed and leisurely atmosphere. In addition, Nagoya has many local specialties known as "Nagoyameshi," which is another major charm of the city. Here, everyone can taste many unique dishes that are slightly different from typical Japanese cuisine.

🚌 Depart from Nagoya and enjoy a day trip to Shirakawa-go!

Here, I will introduce a Shirakawa-go day trip itinerary departing from Nagoya. In just one day, you can enjoy the beauty of Shirakawa-go! First, arrive at Chubu Centrair International Airport! Take the express train from the station directly connected to the airport to Nagoya Station.

📍 Arrived at Nagoya Station!

Nagoya Station is a massive hub station where multiple railway lines intersect, including JR, Kintetsu, Meitetsu, the subway, and the Aonami Line. Nagoya Station also features a bus terminal, serving as the departure and arrival point for city buses and highway buses within Nagoya. Consequently, the passenger volume at Nagoya Station is extremely high for both local residents and out-of-town visitors alike. The underground shopping malls connecting the stations of various railway companies are also extensive and occupy a large area, so be careful not to get lost.

In addition, there are many attractive sightseeing spots in and around Nagoya, including the following:

I will also have the opportunity to recommend classic routes around Nagoya in the future. It is recommended to store large luggage, such as suitcases, in coin lockers near Nagoya Station.

📍 From Nagoya to Shirakawa-go

Taking the highway bus from Nagoya to Shirakawago is very convenient. Nagoya Station has multiple bus terminals, and travelers heading toward Shirakawago need to board at the Meitetsu Bus Center. The Meitetsu Bus Center is located inside the Meitetsu Nagoya Station building, which shares the same platform as the trains coming from the airport. First, you need to take a highway bus bound for Shirakawago or Kanazawa Station from the Meitetsu Bus Center. After boarding, you can relax on the bus. Along the way, the highway bus will stop at parking areas (PA) and service areas (SA) on the expressway, giving you the opportunity to use the restroom or browse souvenirs and snacks.

🏡 Visiting Shirakawa-go: What kind of place is Shirakawa-go?

Shirakawa-go is located in Gifu Prefecture and features a rich natural landscape where you can deeply experience Japan's ancient rural culture and traditional lifestyle. "Gassho-zukuri" is a unique architectural style native to Japan. Nowadays, this type of architecture is rarely seen in Japan, and Shirakawa-go is one of the few regions that preserves it. In 1995, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

I remember when I first came to Shirakawa-go, I was deeply moved. The environment here is magnificent and serene, and you can see the beautiful scene of harmonious coexistence between nature and humanity. One of the great charms of Shirakawa-go is that, with the changing seasons, it presents completely different landscapes. Spring brings cherry blossoms, summer brings fresh greenery, autumn brings red leaves, and winter brings pure white snow. No matter how many times you come, every single time you can experience a different mood and atmosphere.

Another characteristic of Shirakawa-go is that a total of over one hundred large and small gassho-style buildings are preserved within the gassho-style village, and people still live in these houses. Among them are shops selling folk crafts and souvenirs, as well as restaurants where you can taste local cuisine, allowing visitors to enter and tour the village.

The signature local foods of Shirakawa-go mainly include Hida beef dishes, wild vegetable dishes, river fish, teppanyaki pickled vegetable egg stew, soba noodles, gohei mochi, and Hida pufferfish, among others. "Suttate soup (Suttate hot pot)" is a very famous local dish made by grinding boiled soybeans into a paste and adding seasonings such as miso and soy sauce. If you are interested, be sure to try it.

Next, I will introduce you to some of the attractions in Shirakawago that are worth checking out.

📍 Wada House

The Wada House is the most representative Gassho-style old folk house in Shirakawa-go. Built in the mid-Edo period, it has a history of over 300 years and is still used as a residence today, with some of the rooms open to the public as an exhibition space. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the Wada family's actual daily life from back then through facilities such as the hearth, veranda, and silkworm attic. As a precious piece of architecture, the Wada House has been designated as a Japanese Important Cultural Property.

📍 Kanda House

This is a 160-year-old Gassho-style traditional folk house. The original owner of this house was in the sake brewing business. This traditional house features an advanced layout and retains a large number of handwriting marks left by the carpenters of the time on its structural framework, making it a relatively highly refined structure among Gassho-style folk houses.

📍 The Nagase House, which evokes homesickness

This is a grand, five-story Gassho-style farmhouse. The first floor displays a solemn Buddhist altar said to have been made over 500 years ago, along with fine art and various artifacts. The third and fourth floors exhibit old household utensils of yesteryear that evoke a sense of nostalgia. The Nagase family is an ancient lineage with a 250-year history, and since their first three generations practiced medicine, precious medical equipment from the Edo period is preserved here.

📍 Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine

There were 43 villages in Shirakawa-go, and Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine was honored as the head shrine. Shirakawa-go is also the prototype of the story stage of the Japanese animation "The Time of the Cicada", and the shrine is featured many times in the movie. It has become a popular destination for fans of the movie, and some of them have drawn the characters from the movie on the shrine's painted horses. Every October, Shirakawa-go holds a "Nigori Festival". This is a unique folkloric event that attracts a large number of visitors from both inside and outside the prefecture.

📍 Ogimachi Castle Ruins Observatory

The Ogimachi Castle Ruins Observatory is the best place to see all of Shirakawago, a World Heritage Site! When you look up from the observatory, you will see a beautiful picture of the houses built in the shape of a traditional Japanese-style palm tree, the beautiful landscape of the fields, and the mountains behind you, and you will want to take a picture of it.

There are two ways to get to the observatory, one is by climbing the gently sloping trail (takes about 20 minutes) and the other is by taking the regional bus from the village center (takes about 10 minutes).

📍 Meeting Bridge (Aiao Bridge)

The Deai Bridge is also a highly recommended attraction. This suspension bridge is 107 meters long and connects the Gassho-style village with the parking lot of the Seseragi Park. The Shogawa River flowing beneath the bridge is wide, and standing on the bridge offers a panoramic view of the open natural scenery. Because the bridge is close to the river surface, it is very cool in the summer, and even visitors with a fear of heights can easily cross it to enjoy the scenery.

📍 Shirakawago no Yu

Located near the Shirakawago Bus Terminal, this onsen ryokan is also open to day-trippers. As the only natural hot spring in the World Heritage Site, the water will leave your skin smooth and silky. From the open-air bath, you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Shirazan mountain range, the village of Gosho, and the Shogawa River! The view is breathtaking! Before you take the bus back to the city, why not come here to warm up your body and mind?

🏨 Returning from Shirakawa-go to Nagoya Station: Check in to a stylish hotel!

Just like when you came, you can take the highway bus back to the Meitetsu Bus Center. After arriving at Nagoya Station, first retrieve your stored luggage and items from the coin locker, and then go to the hotel to check in. Once you have checked in, settled your belongings, and rested a bit, you can go out for dinner.

There are many hotels in Nagoya city, and the one we recommend here is Nikko Style Nagoya. As a lifestyle hotel, it features a sophisticated, design-filled space and is also the very first location in Japan of "Nikko Style," a new brand launched by Okura Hotels & Resorts.

The hotel is decorated with regional specialties, such as Nagoya art, Seto-yaki art, and Arimatsu-dyed tapestries. Two of the main features of the hotel are the background music that changes according to the time of day and the season, and the DJ booth, which is not common in other hotels. You can enjoy not only a cup of specialty coffee from Nagoya's popular cafe, "TRUNK COFFEE", but also delicious dishes from the hotel's collaboration with famous restaurants in Nagoya.

If you use Nagoya as a base for your travels, you can travel to Ise Jingu Shrine in Mie Prefecture, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in one day, in addition to Shirakawa-go. Staying at a hotel with the charm of Nagoya will surely leave you with many wonderful memories of your trip to Japan.

Conveniently located and full of charm, Nagoya is an ideal base for a trip to Japan!

If you travel to Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture from Tokyo or Osaka, the entire trip will take a full day, including transportation from the airport. However, from Nagoya, it takes only 30 minutes from Chubu International Airport to Nagoya Station, and less than 3 hours from Nagoya Station to Shirakawago, so you can enjoy the beauty of Shirakawago even on a day trip. Nagoya has an airport, Shinkansen and highway buses, so you can easily travel to other cities. If you're traveling to Japan, Nagoya is a very convenient place to stay.

Press Release Source:PR TIMES / Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation / Edited by JoyJapan Editorial Department