Japan S2E8: Takayama – Shirakawa-Go
Kon’nichiwa and welcome back to our Japan adventure. Today we are completing the Japanese Alps Trinity: Tateyama, Toyama and finally Takayama! There is also a Takashima, a Takahama and even an Obama, but on the other side of Lake Biwa, so it doesn’t count as it is not located in the Northern Japanese Alps From Nagoya we take a local train to Takayama. The Gifu Prefecture is well known for the nature adventures and rustic excellence. We can watch the change of scenery as the train travels from Nagoya to Takayama, getting deeper and deeper into the mountains. From Takayama we take a bus to the village of Shirakawa-Go Thanks to the social media, everybody knows our days about this extremely remote historic town. That includes us. Shirakawa-Go (Shirakawa Village) is a Japanese mountain settlement which gained the UNESCO World Heritage Village status Because of its isolation with high mountains and heavy snowfall, interaction with neighbouring regions was limited. This also created unique cultural practices and lifestyles. Original inhabitants are estimated that arrived here between 7000 B.C. and 2300 B.C. The first use of the name “Shirakawa-go” appears in history in around 1176. The “gassho” style houses have been built from around 1800 and still stand to this day without using a single nail. In this area, even now, the people continue going about their daily lives, surrounded by the unique and beautiful scenery. The tourists are required to follow a strict etiquette, respecting the people still living there.
00:00 Intro Map
00:24 Opening Titles
00:45 Nagoya Station
01:15 Gifu Valley
03:12 Shirakawa-Go
#jjaway, #japan, #shirakawago