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SUGANUMA AND AINOKURA |
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Route 156 along the Sho-kawa valley tunnels through the mountains,
keeping course for the main part alongside the frequently dammed river
as it meanders north into the next prefecture of Toyama-ken and then
back again into Gifu-ken. Some 10km from Ogimachi, the road returns to
Toyama-ken and passes the quaint hamlet of SUGANUMA , just fourteen
houses, including some gassho-zukuri , beside a sharp bend in the river.
This is the smallest village of the three in the World Heritage Site,
but it still has two museums, the Gokayama Minzoku-kan and the Ensho-no-Yakata
(daily May-Nov 9am- 4pm; 210 for one, 300 for both). The former has more
artefacts from daily life, while the latter concentrates on the
production of gunpowder, made here because the remote location allowed
the ruling Kaga clan to keep it secret.
Some 4km from Suganuma, it's worth stopping off briefly in the modern
village of Kaminashi to inspect the Murakami-ke (daily except Wed
8.30am-5pm; ¥300), one of the oldest houses in the valley, dating from
1578. The owner gives guided tours around the tatami rooms, pointing out
the sunken pit beside the entrance where gunpowder was once made, and
finishing with spirited singing of folk-tunes accompanied by a
performance of the bin-zasara , a rattle made of wooden strips.
Last of the three World Heritage Site villages and possibly the
loveliest, is AINOKURA , 4km further north of Kaminashi. To reach the
village, you'll need to hike uphill for around thirty minutes from the
modern village of Shimonashi; you could also try hitching a lift, not a
problem since Ainokura attracts so many visitors. This is its main
problem. Despite the idyllic hillside location and lack of motorized
transport in the village itself, Ainokura can feel like hell on earth as
you battle past yet another group of camera-toting day-trippers. Catch
it on a quiet day, or after the crowds have gone home, and you'll think
quite the opposite.
Look out for the English map on a sign in the car park at the entrance
to the village - it shows various trails up into the surrounding hills.
There's nothing available in English from the giftshop in the white
building in the centre of the village that is also the minshuku
information centre; if you want to stay overnight in one of the thatched
houses, this is the place to head first. There's also the Ainokura
Minzoku-kan (daily 8.30am-5pm; ¥200), a tiny museum of daily life,
including examples of the handmade paper and toys local to the area.
The infrequent buses that run between Ogimachi and Takaoka also pass by
Ainokura and Suganuma. The JR Johana line runs from Takaoka to Johana,
where you can pick up a bus to the Gokayama area
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