Iccha — Hotel in Shirakawa

Iccha is a mere 5-minute walk from the bus station/tourist information center. This has proven to be quite helpful during winter as it can be a challenge walking with luggage in deep snow. I was so thankful we decided to stay here since most of the other minshukus were a bit of an uphill climb past the main street. ||||We arrived at the inn 3 hours earlier than the check in time. The lady owner graciously informed us of the check in time, asked us to leave our luggage and sent us on our way. As it was raining, we asked to borrow rain boots that were available by the front entrance. These have proven quite useful in both rain and snow. ||||The owners, though unable to speak English, are both quite friendly and accommodating. They have tried their best to make us feel welcome and even adjusted to my brother and daughter's dietary preferences . The minshuku is really a traditional, family-run inn--clean, well-kept with just the comforts of home. ||||Our room had a veranda that looked out into the main street and a souvenir shop run by friendly, English speaking owners. It provided a good place to sit and stare at the mesmerizing winter scenery. Although the room had a portable, gas-powered heater, we opted not to use this as it smelled strongly of gasoline. The heated carpet and the thick futons were enough to keep us warm even during the cold, -6 degrees C evening. We will only turn the heater on after stepping in from outside. Otherwise, we were able to manage. ||||The dinner and breakfast were served in the common dining hall heated by a wooden stove also used to heat water (and I suppose was also used to grill fish, etc in the early days). Both breakfast and dinner were meticulously prepared and were delicious. The rice served was one of the best we have had during our Japan trip. The vegetable tempura was fresh and light. The mountain vegetables and the orange slices were worth craving for. ||||One thing that may be a draw-back is the single, common bathroom shared by everyone which can only be used between 4PM-9PM. This area also doubles as a laundry room during the day. There is no option to take a quick shower in the morning before departure. Also, if there are several guests during your stay, this may be a...

Lovely.||But maybe not suitable for a big, awkward foreigner who isn't good at sitting on floors, sharing washing space and sleeping on a thin mat with running water sounds outside the window :-)||||It's a small house in the village center, and if you come by car and tell the village parking guys the name of the house - which is actually "Icha"...not the "Issa" pronunciation of the famous haiku writer (the kanji is the same) - you can park right near.||||Small rooms, which are all wood - like being in a giant treasure box. Two rooms look out on the stream and waterwheel. The other rooms look to the small side street.||Very thin sleeping mats.||Very thin walls - you can hear the other guest conversations.||Shared wash basins and toilets.||Tiny bathroom that you can lock the door to - room or two people to bath.||||Amazing food!||Friendly couple owners.||Attractive main room - but you'll eat sitting on the floor with your legs somehow round/under tiny traditional serving tables.||Coffee at breakfast was limited to one cup.||||After the day trippers have gone, there you are in the village center...to wander and enjoy the charms of this...

We came to the village in mid March and it was still cold and snowing. We arrive at the town via bus from Takayama and were early for checking in but we were able to drop off our bags. Great host, very nice lady who immediately offered us the free use of their waterproof boots when they saw we had running shoes which will get bitterly cold and wet walking around in the early spring snow. The inn is run by just the old lady owner and her husband. She did all the cooking. Dinner was fantastic and breakfast was great too. Had a few round of rice refill on my bowl.

We spent a night only and decided to take a walk out after dinner for a view of the night dark sky in the village since we know the cities won’t offer us this dark sky opportunity. We were lucky the skies cleared up in the night and we had a fantastic experience looking at the stars. My son was lucky to manage to witness the starlink satellite streaming across the skies over the village. We also witness a fox scavenging around the houses at night in the snow.

Seeing the village in the snow is truly magical. Hope to come back in spring or summer when the village will be...