Saturday 13 December 2014

Shirakawago - Houses With No Nails

In the desolate snowclad region of the Shogawa River Valley, lies a village of rustic straw-roofed farmhouses. In the freezing chill of winter, the warm lights of these picturesque farmhouses is a welcome sight to any traveller.


Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, this valley spanning the Shirakawago and Gokayama regions is famous for their traditional Gasshō-Zukuri farmhouses, some of which are more than 250 years old.


Gasshō-Zukuri (合掌造) means "constructed like hands in prayer", as the farmhouses' steep thatched roofs resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer.


The architectural style developed over many generations and is designed to withstand the large amounts of heavy snow that falls in the region during winter. The roofs, made without nails, provided a large attic space used for cultivating silkworms.

 A similar-styled 18th-century Stöckli house in Bern, Switzerland in an area with heavy snowfall compared with the Takenaka-ke House in Suganuma Village...

Coming to a rustic and remote place, you'd expect the thatching to be done the traditional and amateur way. But no, here in Shirakawago, attention is paid to safety and professional to maintain the beauty and safety of the heritage site...

The Shogawa River Valley site spans the Gifu and Toyama prefectures and consists of 3 main villages: Gifu's Ogimachi (Shirakawago's largest village) and Gokayama's Suganuma and Ainokura villages in Toyama.


Ogimachi


Ogimachi is the largest village and main attraction of Shirakawago. It is also the transport hub of the Shirakawago region, where the bus lines from Takayama, Nagoya, Kanazawa and Takaoka meet.


Gasshō-Zukuri Minkaen is an open air museum across the river exhibiting farmhouses and other structures relocated to Ogimachi in order to save them from destruction...




The Shiroyama Viewpoint is north of the village centre and offers nice views of Ogimachi and its farmhouses...

Myozenji Temple, which is unique for its thatched roof rather than the typical tiled roof seen on most temples, is connected to the Myozenjike farmhouse next door where the priest of the temple lives...

Suganuma

Gokayama is a place of precipitous mountains and deep valleys located in the southeastern part of Toyama. It is believed that Gokayama, which means five valleys, was so named because there was a village among five valleys: Akao-Dani, KamiNashi-Dani, ShimoNashi-Dani, Otani, and Toga-Dani along the Shogawa River.



Suganuma, one of the main attractions of Gokayama, is made up of two areas, Suganuma Village and the Gokayama Gassho No Sato. Pleasant and easy to explore on foot, the two areas are connected to each other by a tunnel, which also connects to the parking lot on the hill overlooking the village via an elevator.


Like its sister villages, you can see the traditional Gasshō-Zukuri farmhouses in Suganuma Village. A few of them here have become restaurants, minshuku, and museums showing the daily life and the washi paper and gunpowder industries that sustained the region. 

Making saltpeter, an ingredient in gunpowder, was an important industry for the region during the Edo Period. This museum has exhibits on the procedures, tools and history of the industry in Gokayama...

The Folk Museum displays tools and household items used in daily life, 
e.g. for farming, raising silkworms and making washi paper...

On the other end of the tunnel, the Gokayama Gassho No Sato has a number of traditional farmhouses which have been relocated here in order to save them from destruction. Uninhabited, they are instead used by school groups who can stay overnight in the houses and experience activities from traditional Gokayama life.


Ainokura


Set far back in the valley, Ainokura is the most remote village in the Gokayama region. It is also the largest of the villages with nearly 20 Gasshō-Zukuri farmhouses. Many of them remain private residences, although a few have been converted into restaurants, museums, and minshuku. As it is less developed and harder to get to than Ogimachi, Ainokura is quieter and sees less tourist traffic, and offers similar attractions.

Ainokura Viewpoint

The viewpoint above Ainokura is a 5-10 minute walk up the mountain. The trail begins behind the information building at the parking lot, goes through a few fields and connects with a small road. If you continue up the hill on the road you will be rewarded with nice aerial views of the village.


Gokayama Washi

The Gokayama region has been well known for its washi paper since the art was brought here by Taira Clan refugees from Kyoto. At this store/factory you can watch how washi paper is made, or try your hand at making some yourself (advance notice required).


Murakami-Ke House

This farmhouse turned museum is known for its owner who gives tours of the house which end with performances of local folk songs accompanied by regional instruments.


Uta No Yakata

Uta No Yakata is a museum dedicated to the unique music of the Gokayama region. Videos of the traditional music and dance are show here. You can also learn to play some of the instruments such as the sasara.


Location Icons

A curtain with the iconic houses...

Even the manhole has these icons...


Throughout The Seasons

With the mountain mist...

In spring...

In summer...


In autumn...


In winter...


Sources

Accommodation

Credits

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Sunday 30 November 2014

Shikoku - The Churning Naruto Whirlpools

At the deep harbour near Sentosa one day, an empty drink cup toppled over the edge of the bridge. Surprisingly, it neither sank nor was carried away by the current.

Instead, it was sucked into the current and spun wildly round and round on the surface of the water.
Thus began my fascination with whirlpools.

In Japan, on a long suspension bridge spanning the width of the narrow straits of the Seto Inland Sea, lies a churning mass of water. The Naruto Whirlpools occur along the Shikoku coast of the Naruto Strait, and are created by the large volumes of water moving between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean between high and low tide, combined with the unique underwater geography of the narrow strait.

  
Due to the narrowness of the strait, the water rushes through the Naruto strait at a speed of about 13-15km/h four times per day, twice flowing in and twice flowing out. During the spring tide, the speed of the water may reach 20km/h, creating whirlpools of up to 20m in diameter. The current in the strait of the Naruto whirlpool is the fastest in Japan and the third fastest in the world after the Saltstraumen (Norway) and the Old Sow (Canada) whirlpools.

When's The Best Time?

According to the change of tides, the whirlpools occur roughly every six hours and can typically be seen once in the morning and once in the afternoon for an hour or two. The whirlpools vary in size, depending on the intensity of the tides. They tend to be larger in summer than in winter, and are largest during spring tides, which occur every two weeks. Under ideal conditions, whirlpools of up to 20 meters in diameters can be observed. 

The best view of the Naruto whirlpool can be observed when:
  1. In the spring season (end of March till end of April), or fall,
  2. At high tide and low tide occurring twice each day (best is 1.5 hours before and after the high tide) which is caused by combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun, and 
  3. When the Earth, Moon and Sun are approximately aligned which occurs approximately twice a month at the full moon and new moon. 
The Uzusio site indicates the best times to see the whirlpools up to 6 months ahead.

Times printed in red indicate good times to see strong whirlpools. 年 means year. 月 means month.

(Sample Calendar)


By Bridge

From Naruto Station, I take the bus to Naruto Park (Y310). Following the advice given on the Japan Guide pages, I bought the combination ticket and decided to first try out the bridge view.

External observation deck...

The Uzu no Michi is an enclosed walkway that extends under the Onaruto Bridge and overlooks the whirlpools.

It's quite exciting to walk with empty space on both sides of you
and the sea wind howling in the background...

At 45 meters above, the whirlpools below can be seen through glass windows set in the floor.

Several windows on the floor so no need fight with anyone to fight a good photo angle...

Can even see boats passing by below you.
You get kinda feel like Zeus in the movie Jason & The Argonauts...

By Boat

As the whirlpools are best viewed from a higher vantage point, it is recommended to take a "Wonder Naruto" boat tour which offers the best views from its upper first-class deck at an additional charge.
 
The Wonder Naruto Boat...
  
How we probably look from the shore...

When the boat starts off by the pier, everything is calm. There is only the sound of the boat engines and a few seagulls nearby...

Within minutes, we hear the swishing sounds of currents, 
which grow increasingly louder until we are right next to it!

Really awesome view to be up-close-and-personal next to a whirlpool!

You can even see two at a time! Sometimes you'll feel like you're being sucked into it!
  

Sources

A few of the better sources of information about the site include...
Where I obtain the information from...


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)