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OGIMACHI |
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In the shadow of the sacred mountain Hakusan, OGIMACHI village, some
30km northwest of Takayama, is where you'll find the largest collection
of gassho-zukuri houses within the Shirakawa-go area of the Sho-kawa
valley. Many of the thatched houses were moved here when threatened by
the damming of the Sho-kawa, and this makes for rather a contrived scene,
not helped by the major road that cuts through its centre, bringing a
daily overdose of tourists. It's not all about hype: the village is
populated by families living in most of the homes, farming rice and
other crops in the surrounding rice-fields.
A good way to start your explorations is by Shiking up to the lookout
spot ( tenbodai ), about ten minute's walk north of the main Gassho-Shuraku
bus stop, from where you can get a good view of the village's layout and
a great photo of the thatched houses. The Wada-ke (daily 9am-5pm ¥300),
with a lily pond in front, is the first of several "museum" houses
you'll pass on your way back to the village centre. Inside, lacquerware
and other household items used by the Wada family, who lived here for
over two hundred years, are displayed. Five minutes'walk further south
stands the five-storey Myozen-ji Temple Museum (daily 9am-5pm; 300).
This huge building was once the living quarters for the priests and
monks at the attached temple and in its upper floors you can see where
over a tonne of silk cocoons were cultivated a year. Gaps in the
floorboards allowed the smoke from the irori fire to permeate the whole
building, preserving the wood and thatch. The thatched temple is
connected by a narrow passageway to the main house and outside you'll
also notice a thatched belltower.
Continuing south of the temple will bring you to the village's main
shrine, Shirakawa Hachiman-jinja , next to which stands the Doburoku
Matsuri Exhibition Hall (May-Nov daily 9am 4pm 300), devoted to the
annual festival (Oct 14-19), which involves the making of doburoku , a
rough milky sake. The exhibition itself is small, but you can watch a
good video in Japanese about life in the village and try a drop of the
thick and potent alcohol on the way out. At the far southern end of
Ogimachi you'll find the ramshackle Museum of Daily Life (daily
9am-4.30pm; 300), where you can weave your way through all kinds of
intriguing junk, including bearskins and beautifully carved wooden
headrests.
Reached by a footbridge across on the west side of the Sho-kawa is the
Gassho-zukuri Folklore Park (April, May, July & Sep-Nov daily except
Thurs 8.40am-5pm; Aug daily 8am-6pm; Jan-March, June 38; Dec daily
exccept Thurs 9am-4pm; ¥700), an open-air museum of some 25 buildings
gathered together from around the region. This is a lifeless place to
wander around compared to the real village on the opposite riverbank,
but it is quiet and you can see demonstrations of handicrafts, such as
weaving and carving, in some of the buildings, as well as rest and have
a free cup of tea in the Nakano Chojiro family house near the entrance.
Just outside the park is the Minka-en , the village hall where you can
don an apron and learn how to make soba noodles. The two-hour sessions
cost ¥1800 and must be booked in advance (tel 05769/6-1231).
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