We will guide you to the Gassho Village of Gokayama Ainokura, a World Heritage site. In the Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village in Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, there are 20 Gassho-zukuri houses still in existence, and you can see a variety of Gassho-zukuri houses. People still live in these gassho-zukuri houses.
Shirakawa-go, a World Heritage Site, is a village where 114 thatched gassho-zukuri houses still retain the nostalgic scenery of old Japan. The steeply sloped triangular roof, which is unique to regions with heavy snowfall, resembles the shape of hands joined together, which is why it is called a gassho-zukuri house. Feel free to stroll around the village for as long as you like. * You can also enter "Shirakawa-go Gassho-zukuri Minkaen".
During the walk, you can also enter the "Gassho-zukuri Minkaen". (Entrance fee is included) *The park is closed on Thursdays from December to March. (If the park is closed, we will give you our original mascot.)
Located on a hill in the northwest of Shirakawa-go, you can overlook the Shirakawa-go gassho village. The view from here is the one you often see on posters. The gassho-zukuri village of Ogimachi is colored by the nature of each season, making you feel as if you are in a fairy tale world.
We had a wonderful time on this tour! The scenery was beautiful, and visiting the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama was truly unforgettable. Everything was well organized, and the experience was comfortable and enjoyable. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area!
A worthwhile tour! Very interesting places to visit. Our guide was great. She provided detailed information to help us make the most of our tour.
An excellent w Amy to experience the beauty of these two sites, avoiding the need to queues for busses. our guide was informative, friendly and helpful.
A great day trip to experience such a unique other worldly place. We found the day sped past fast at the beginning of the day, the first village was a real window back to the past, very quiet and calming. The second village visit was for 3 hours, which we thought was a little too long. It was crowded with tourists.
Worst japanese experience ever. You need to book on other websites that do no work like Japan Bus Online. Information are completely unclear. The assistance doesn't speak English and there's no way to contact them by email
A great way for a full-day tour to exporting two Japanese cultural villages. Both our Guide and Driver made the ride enjoyable!
Good trip. Efficient way to see the sites which are must-sees. May need to come up with a more modern way of imparting information, perhaps by setting up a WhatsApp group so info can be distributed clearly. Pin meet points.
This was a great experience. Our guide was super helpful, kind and informative. And our drive drove the bus super smoothly, no nausea or car sick.
An incredible experience from beginning to end. The tour departed directly from Takayama by bus and included visits to both Ainokura and Shirakawa go, which made the day very convenient and complete. Both villages were beautiful, and visiting them together gave us a much better understanding of the region and its traditional architecture. Our guide was extremely attentive, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the entire tour. Everything was well organized, and we truly enjoyed the experience. Highly recommended!
The trip meets at Takayama station and is basically a bus tour to the beautiful villages of Shirakawago and Ainokura, with over three hours at the first and 75mins at Ainokura. Very interesting, plenty to do and very well organised. Shout out for our tour guide Yamashitasan, who did a great job. This place is very different. Highly recommended!
A good tour of both villages with very helpful information shared by our guide! Really appreciate her input on where to eat as well. Thanks.
What made this trip great was our guide Yamashita Yama. She marked on our maps all the great places to go in shitakawa-go which otherwise would have been confusing. She did a fabulous job.
Wonderful tour of Ainokura and Shirakawa-go. We were able to do a washi making experience in Ainokura and enjoy a traditional lunch at Shirakawa-go. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and helpful during the transit. Would recommend it if you are looking to visit these sites without driving yourself!
The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. You had more than enough time at each stop to take it all in without rushing.
It was well organized and guide was informative. The villages we visited were stunning!
Great tour, great value, very knowledgeable and accommodating guide.
Wonderful way to get to see the World Heritage Sites. Relaxing and out tour guide was knowledgeable and informative in both Japanese and English. We were very happy we took this tour/experience
Fantastic trip. Guide was amazing with her recommendations - even highlighted the map in different colours for us all.
We absolutely loved our day trip to Shirakawa-Go and Ainokura. The coach was comfortable and we had excellent views from the window, with the bus slowing down at photo spots. The tour guide was lovely and very helpful! Ainokura was definitely a highlight - although a much smaller village- it was much quieter and we were able to walk around some spots without anyone else being around. Just a short 10 minute uphill walk to the most amazing view of the village & Japanese Alps. Shirakawa-Go was definitely more crowded (& loud) but still very enjoyable. Sadly, most restaurants seemed to be closed when we visited but we were stilll able to try the Hida Beef skewer which was delicious. It’s 100% worth spending more time at the Museum area as it is much quieter and absolutely beautiful- you can also enter most of the buildings (+ free green tea inside the resting building). Definitely recommend trying the icecream shop too!
Relaxing tour, big clean bus, informative and friendly lady tour guide, best to go before or after golden week so no crowds
Easy way to visit 2 UNESCO world heritage sites without having to think about the logistics of getting there. Given enough free time to roam on your own. A guide onboard the bus with good English was very helpful. Ainokura was a highlight. Shirakawa-go was very touristy, but I am glad that I went there.
Very interesting, very beautiful, super nice and knowledgeable guide with good English and pleasant manners!
A very well organized tour. Good explanations of the two sites were provided and enough time given to tour the villages and viewpoints at a leisurely pace. Wonderful day!
The tour was amazing today, we really enjoyed the whole day and the guide was great! 100% recommend.
I did the tour on my own because my guide did not show up. I contacted the guide and called him, no response. I called Viator, they couldn't reach the guide either. So they refunded me money. Since I was at bus stop, I easily took bus on my own.
Great visit to the UNESCO site, our tour guide was amazing even in the pouring rain!
The guide on the coach was excellent, providing a thorough briefing before each visit. I tried the paper making washi experience which was simple and memorable. There was plenty of time at both sites, the weather was good and it was a relaxing day. Quite a long day for a limited variety experience. If using Tripadvisor, remember to exchange your voucher for the event tickets at the bus station.
Taken to 2 towns. Both very similar Walked around both Independently. A worthwhile day at own pace. Enjoyed
Terrific day trip. Finally, a tour that gives you plenty of time to walk around. A great way the see the UNESCO sights. Just remember to take your booked ticket to the ticket office to get your sticker and seat assignment. It takes 2 seconds but my ticket didn’t mention it but a kind Aussie clued me in.
Easy way to view the two villages. Bus was on time and very comfy. Our guide spoke good English and gave us plenty of explanation during the journey which meant we could explore the villages in our own time. Back at Takayama on time and happy.
The trip was very nice and well organized, and our tour guide was kind and professional. Thank you :) We would just recommend visiting the villages towards the end of April, in early summer, or in autumn. During this time of year, its beauty doesn’t really stand out due to the weather. So if you’re considering a visit in March, be prepared for muddy conditions. Of course, this is not the fault of the tour itself. :)
Totally worth it! Very professional, clean bus and was on time. The villages are lovely, well worth the trip. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful
A great tour, taking you back in time. We were lucky enough to see these places while there was plenty of snow. Both our driver and guide were very experienced and put us at ease. A comfortable tour bus. Thank you very much.
The tour guide was very informational and I’m very glad we were able to see Ainokura before heading to Shirakawago. Ainokura was very small but peaceful and the viewpoint was beautiful. Shirakawgo was absolutely mobbed with tour buses. It was very sad to see such a unique world heritage sight be overrun by tour buses. There were at least 30 buses in the parking lot the day of our tour. And there was an additional parking lot in the other side of town with more buses. All of the restaurants had long lines for lunch and stopped lunch service by 2pm. My suggestion would be as soon as you arrive in Shirakawago, head directly to a restaurant for lunch because as soon as 12:00-12:30pm hits it will be become very difficult to find somewhere to eat. At times I felt like I was in Times Square with the amount of people walking in the streets. I feel terribly for the residents that live there, it was an absolute zoo. Very different from the videos and photos I saw on social media. I will think twice before doing a tour like this again.
Great day visiting a UNESCO world heritage site. Shirakawago and Ainokura were blanketed in snow and felt like stepping into a storybook. Aunokura was less crowded than Shirakawago but both places had a magical feel to them. It was a semi guided tour but our guide and driver both did a great job in informing us where to go, what to see and getting there safely.
Lovely guide, safe comfortable bus ride, gorgeous stops in historical villages. Yummy food and great gift shops
The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. The tour itself allows time to explore and relax. Highly recommend this tour.
Wonderful day trip. Winter wonderland. Everything was great. Guide was knowledgeable. Bus driver felt safe. Great experience.
The guide was very helpful in explaining the layout, history and things to see. This tour is perfect for those who wish to be informed about the basics and then free to explore as per the timelines provided.
We booked this tour and at the arrival destination there was no tour operator. Nobody responded after contacting the tour operator as well. Our entire day got wasted because of this. Please dont book this. Its a horrible experience.
It was a comfortable bus trip up to the village with spectacular scenery just after first snow. Very informative, glad we did it.
Overall, we had a great experience. The tour guide was very helpful and informative. Would definitely recommend to others.
Credit card was charged more than what was indicated on Viator's confirmation email and no apparent way to contact Viator. External tour operator was fine.
Easy access and informative guide to an extraordinary and difficult to reach Unescorted attraction. Lovely in the fall and well worth the time.
The guide is very informative and adequate time is allowed in each stop to visit the area. The open-air museum, which is included in the ticker, is well worth visiting. We wish we had spent a bit more time there instead of wandering around in the village.
Such a well planned and informative tour. Wonderful and knowledgeable bi-lingual tour guide. Courteous and safe bus driver. Really appreciated the historical details and context.
It was a very nice tour. I appreciated the recommendations and presentation the tour guide gave during the drive. As a solo traveller, my only regret is that I didn’t hire a private tour guide. They drive you to the places and then you are free to do what you want. There are no interactions with the other customers. I also appreciated the discount coupon for ice cream and the entrance for a museum.
Good weather, unique experiences about the villages we visited, the tour guide (sorry, I can't remember her Japanese name) gave us clear and easy to understand history of the sites and she also gave us clear instructions about the time and place to return for departure. Job well done !!
It's great to visit both villages, you get 1hr at first village and 3 at shira The first is nice and quiet, only 5 minutes or so to walk from one side to the other, but full of the prayer houses and feels very attached to the mountain, quite picturesque Shira is crazy busy, very diff environment, but also gorgeous, you can feel away from the crowds sometimes, and i would recommend the museum village (which is free with the tour), very pretty. Shuttle from observatory is less busy You need to exchange your voucher for a train ticket, where your seats are preassigned Our tour hostess was very lovely and helpful and provided very detailed information and tips to maximise the time at each place. As it was perfect sunny conditions, the time was not quite enough for us, esp smaller Ainokura, and we could have spent much longer at both, but we thoroughly enjoyed the tour, thank you 😊
This was a great way to see the Shirakawa-go and Ainokura UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Our guide gave us information to independently navigate the sites without being led as a group. The Nohi Bus was comfortable, tidy and driven well.
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