DAY 6 (4/6): RAINY AFTERNOON IN AINOKURA (相倉), Gokayama (五箇山), Nanto (南砺市), Toyama Prefecture (富山県), Japan, 2018.05.30

45 minutes of bus ride took us deeper into the valley of Gokayama (五箇山) in Toyama Prefecture. Our destination was Ainokura (相倉), one of the three villages with Gassho-zukuri houses inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Rain continued to pour down when we get off at Ainokuraguchi (相倉口) bus stop. We had no choice but to brave the elements and walk uphill into the village from the country highway. It took about 5 minutes to reach the village parking lot, and another 5 minutes to reach our guesthouse. After checking in, we rested a bit until the rain subsided a little.

Sandwiched between dense forests on a hill and the Sho River (庄川) that runs in a deep valley, Ainokura is a situated on a narrow plain surrounded by forests and mountains. With about about 30 preserved gassho-zukuri houses, the 450-year old village remains a quiet rural community with about 90 inhabitants as of 1994. The region around Ainokura was nearly impenetrable until 1925, when a road was built through the surrounding forests. Once a stronghold of silkworm production before the 1950s, the village has since become a self-sufficient rural community filled with rice paddies and flower fields. Today, a few houses are open to visitors as museums or guesthouses, but most of the village remain private, unlike Ogimachi of Shirakawa-go where most houses have been converted into tourism-related uses. The view of Ainokura from the adjacent hill may be less dramatic than the one from the Shiroyama Observatory Deck at Ogimachi, yet wandering in the remote village of Gokayama offers a much more tranquil and delightful experience as if going back in time.The rain was at times heavy as we entered Ainokura in mid afternoon.

Mist and clouds lingered around the surrounding mountains of Ainokura as we entered the village.

After a five minute walk from Ainokuraguchi (相倉口) bus stop, we reached the main parking lot of the village and a small visitor centre.

Rice paddies of different sizes and shapes filled up all the spaces between village homes.

Most gassho-zukuri houses remain as private homes of villagers.

One of the gassho-zukuri houses at the village centre is turned into a souvenir shop.

On a high ground at the village centre stands the Jinushi Shrine (地主神社), a Shinto shrine in the shade of tall trees.

Adjacent to the Jinushi Shrine (地主神社), a stepped path leads to a stone monument to commemorate the visit of a royal prince.

Sonen-ji Temple (相念寺) is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist temple at the heart of Ainokura.

Jodo Shinshu Buddhism (浄土真宗) is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It is the most popular branch of Buddhism in Japan.

The Sonen-ji Temple (相念寺) building was completed in 1859.

In Ainokura, there are several designated viewpoints, mostly on the slope or farming terraces right by the village.

We walked up to a few farming terraces to look for a desirable viewpoint for the village’s overview.

Some viewpoints required us to walk further uphill into the dense forest adjacent to Ainokura.

We followed a series of signs to reach the highest viewpoint uphill. The walk took about 15 minutes on a narrow paved road.

From the openings between trees, we could enjoy beautiful birdeye’s views of Ainokura.

From above, we could truly appreciated the thatched roofs of Ainokura, which are steeper than the ones in Shirakawa-go due to the heavier snowfall in Gokayama.

We truly sensed the remoteness of Ainokura with its surrounding mountains.

We wandered around Ainokura between periods of rain, but we didn’t entered any museums.

At the end of the village near our guesthouse, a downhill road led us to a large piece of mirror-like rice paddy. Sunlight was fading, reminding us that dinner was about to start at our guesthouse.