We wanted to stay over in Shirakawago after having heard so much about it. Be warned that the village is rather touristy and that there’s nothing much to do after dark. The gassho zukuri houses are still there, although many seem to have been converted to tourism uses – guest lodging, coffee houses, restaurants, souvenir shops or museum pieces. Make no mistake that they still exude a quaint historical charm, but because the serenity is completely ruined by day-tripper tourists, it’s unlikely that I’ll want to make a return visit someday.

Nodaniya itself looked rather impressive from the outside, although once you’re inside, I felt that there was really nothing much to distinguish it from any other minshuku. All guests were sequestered to the ground floor and so you couldn’t really admire the architectural delights of this kind of houses from inside the minshuku – for example, the steep thatched roof and the cross beams. For those, you’d have to visit one of the museums in... more