Setogawa and Shirakabe Dozou Street — Attraction in Hida

The old centre of Hida town is an underrated and less popular attraction than many similar places in this region, and hence seems less visited than other heritage sites. There are relatively few tourist shops, restaurants or commercial operations along the old streets, which are tranquil (when we visited on a May afternoon), attractive, and beautifully maintained. There is a lot of history here and without the hustle and bustle of mass-market tourists it is much easier to appreciate. Small canals line the residential streets, and temples and shrines, sake distillers, candle-makers, warehouses and museums are scattered here and there to add to the ambience.

If you are driving, there is free parking opposite the Hidashi Bunkakoryu Center just north of the train tracks, and the station is also just a short walk from Shirakabe Dozogai Street if you come by train (15 minutes from Takayama I believe).

I enjoyed wandering this district more than the old Takayama town centre just because of the peace and quiet and lack of commercial development. Highly...

A traditional Japanese street which is 5 minute walk from train station. It is like quieter version of Takayama known by much less tourists. The Hida’s traditional buildings such as wine shops are standing here, forming a beautiful scenery. Architectural details such as cloud carvings on the white walls and lattice bay windows can be seen everywhere on the street, making the nostalgic atmosphere full of charm. On the other hand, you can see about 1,000 colorful carps swimming through the Seto River along the street. The town used to be polluted by factory wastewater in the era of industrial progress. Seto River had turned into a stinky ditch blocked by sediment. Fortunately, the local residents started to think about importance of environmental protection. They decided to clean the river and refused any local factory. Their efforts made the town becoming a beautiful town with colorful carps swimming in...

We arrived there during the Obon week (Wednesday). We arrived there around 10 am, and there was already a long line for their parking. It was especially crowded because the parking lot is under construction. We bypassed the parking and decided to park elsewhere. Though it was ten minutes walk (1,000 yen for parking), we felt it was worth the walk as the sightseeing bus was still at the bridge, meaning they hadn’t parked yet. We proceeded to go to the Main Street where there were many shops for snacks. It was my second visit, and I was surprised how crowded it was. Nonetheless, we were able to enjoy Shirakawa-go. Definitely arrive early if you don’t want to wait..before...