snowtopped gassho 雪をかぶった合掌造 (shirakawago, japan)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 10 February 2009 in Architecture.

With their steep thatched roofs and an architecture unique to this remote, mountain-ringed area of Japan, Shirakawago's Gassho-zukuri homes are a quaint sight to see. Since seeing photos of them some years ago, I had wanted to have a look at them in person; when I had moved to Gifu City, I kept thinking, "One of these weekends I shall go up north..."
...but never in fact did. Instead, it would be on a Saturday (this past, actually) nearly two years later that I went up to have a look. So, after a prosaic 5-hour or so bus ride from Tokyo, I could finally gaze out upon the community of these fine structures, huddled together as if for warmth amidst the snow.

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Shirakawago Village Website >>
UNESCO description >>

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