Shirakawago

From Kanazawa we travelled by bus to this UNESCO World Heritage village - Shirakawago, hidden in the mountains. We are going to use that word again - amazing! Below is the bridge we had to cross to get to the village. It was like being in an Indiana Jones film - the bridge bounced, the river boiled below and we held on tightly.
This was taken after another intrepid trek to the view point in the blazing heat.
Above is the house that we stayed in - view from the back. Calum at the front door.

This interesting ornament was spotted in the koemon, yes it's a snake - lots of them about in ornament form but happily none were seen in the flesh.

We went out for an evening stroll - nothing was open.

The hearth in the dining room.

To stay in this village was an absolute privilege. It is a real, working, living place. There were lots of pictures taken when it was snowy in the winter time. Thatching the roofs is a real community event - people come from all over Japan to help.

We wrote a haiku -

Hidden valley

Rapid river

Wood and thatch

Smoking hearth

Welcome inn!