Takayama Day Trip with Shirakawa-go and Kobe Beef Lunch

Experience Edo-period Japan in Takayama and the UNESCO-listed Shirakawa-go village. You will have lunch at your own expense in Takayama, a town filled with interesting sights and serving as the gateway to the Japanese Alps. Be sure to explore the Sanmachi Suji District, which consists of three streets in the heart of Takayama's Edo town, located just east of the Miya-gawa River. These streets are lined with traditional houses, shops, restaurants, sake breweries, and cafes.

Enjoy an included lunch featuring Kobe beef shabu-shabu — thinly sliced premium Kobe beef gently cooked in a flavorful hot pot. This is not a steak dish, but a traditional Japanese style of cooking where the beef is briefly swished in simmering broth, bringing out its delicate flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

Then you will head to the famous Shirakawa-go to explore the old gassho-zukuri (thatch-roofed) style houses that dot this mountain village. Surrounded by rice paddies, you can hear the sounds of insects and birds if you listen closely. Located in a mountainous region that was cut off from the rest of the world for a long period of time, these villages with their Gassho-style houses subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms. The large houses with their steeply pitched thatched roofs are the only examples of their kind in Japan. Despite economic upheavals, the villages of Ogimachi, Ainokura, and Suganuma are outstanding examples of a traditional way of life perfectly adapted to the environment and people's social and economic circumstances.

The encounter bridge is made of concrete and is narrow and swaying, making it thrilling.
It is an important bridge connecting the parking lot and Shirakawa-go.

The view from the observation deck in the countryside overlooking the valley scenery of forest-covered hills, rice fields, and village farms is beautiful.
It costs 300 yen one way by shuttle bus, but it takes 10 minutes to walk there.

A place where you can learn about the history of sericulture (silkworm raising) in Shirakawa-go.

This is a preserved area with wooden houses built in the gassho style in the late 19th century.

Have a wonderful time at this powerful shrine, which felt as if it were imbued with the power of a real god.