I have a trip itinerary that starts in World Herritage Site, Shirakawago, but I do not recommend people go there. I only start my itinerary there to catch some of the people who read about it in all of the tourbooks and think it wold be a good idea to visit. Sure, it *is* beautiful - in the morning between 4:30 and 7:00 when I was literally the only one walking around. For some reason all the tourists that stay in the nice inns wait until 8:00 or so when the busloads of other day-trip tourists arrive. From then until evening it is just like walking around a crowded Disney theme park. One would not know that only a half-century ago this was a normal, poor, dilapidated and dying farming hamlet. There are a few nice museums and collections of old tools with very minimal, if any, English explanation - without someone to describe the tools and significance they had on rural life, there is little to gain from staring at them. NOTE: There are two similar (if not better) museums right here in my village with much more authentic surroundings and without the crowds. I would be happy to take you there. The main drive of Shirkawago is a junk-shop selling trinkets that have nothing to do with the valley, and $5 ice cream cones. Ironically, the best, most local, and most overlooked snack was from a little old lady selling fresh from the garden tomatoes and cucumbers for 10 yen ($.10) each. Lucky for me she failed to sell out of her meagre daily harvest, and I was able to snatch up the last fifteen or so tomatoes for only $1 with a few cucumbers thrown in for free. This time I made a mistake, a momentary lapse of judgement. The customers had not originally intended to go to Shirakawago, but had read about it on my itinerary, so they wanted to start there and against the little voice in my head, I relented. It took an extra three hours of driving that could have been spent riding through *real* rural villages, where, though the roofs will not be thatch, they offer a much more authentic view. I guess Shirakawago is like Mt. Fuji. If you have lots of time to waste, it is worth going there just so you can cross it off of your list, but just like Mt. Fuji is much better to be viewed from any of the many smaller, un-spoiled, trail-filled mountains that surround it. Shirakawago is best experienced at the Tokyo Open Air museum of architecture. tatemonoen.jp/ If you are looking for a glimpse of what rural life is like in Japan, this is certainly *not* the place to go. Instead, just rent or buy a cheap bike and get off at the smallest train station within two hours from your home.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 23:41:34 +0000
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