If you've been to Nagoya Castle and any other castle for that matter, you can be overwhelmed by the number of tourists. However, these castles have a traffic system, and the hordes of tourists do get to see all the sites. Shirakawa go is different. Hordes of bus loads of tourists. I believe that's because it is the cheapest and most affordable way to encounter and do any snow activity from Tokyo or Nagoya. But the place is not ready for this. One bus goes up to the observation deck/hill once every 20 minutes. That's a line of freezing underdressed tourists on top of the hill. There are not enough restaurants to cater to all tourists. So your standing in line in -degree weather waiting freezing for a place to eat. It's a small village with only one public parking space. Don't ever come here on your own vehicle. So I guess it's not going to be a pleasant experience anytime soon for anyone. Tourists lugging trollies. Children running thus way and that. All local.people probably locked behind their house doors. Unless you've never seen snow before. Nevertheless, the experience was good. Lily eventually found us a cafe whose meal choice was only beef curry.
Dear my guests, Thank you for posting your review and comments. It was chilly and sleety rain weather, but I felt that you would have enjoyed Shirakawago Village with snow. As you said, it is inconvenient for tourists to go to the observation area on foot or taking a small bus. Actually, cars Includes taxis used to be available to get to the observation deck, but unfortunately, one year ago, they were prohibited due to some rude driver's behavior. In addition, There aren't enough restaurants for lunch in the village due to overtourism. I tried to reserve your seats for lunch, but almost all restaurants don't accept booking. I hope your review will be a clue for Shirakawago Village to become more attractive place in the future. Thank you again to come to Takayama &Shirakawago in Gifu. Yuriko(Lily) Japan is currently experiencing over tourism and we are doing our best to handle the situation. Unfortunately, Japanese population size and resources make this difficult. If you are interested in visiting Japan but are worried about too many overseas visitors, JGA will be happy to assist you in the future years! Japan Guide Agency



































![Departing from Takayama [Regular sightseeing bus] World Heritage Sites Shirakawago and Gokayama Ainokura](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia-cdn.tripadvisor.com%2Fmedia%2Fattractions-splice-spp-720x480%2F11%2F22%2F89%2F94.jpg&w=3840&q=75)



