Toyama

Good Old Japan in Toyama

Nostalgic scenery of Ainokura Village

Takako Sakamoto Feb 18, 2015 - 1 min read

Literally, everything is white! They had 80 cm of snow in one night.

This is the inn 'Shoshichi' where I stayed the night. They can only accommodate two couples  per night.

A snow plow was working on the road from early morning. Snow on the private properties here must be shoveled up or blown away by property owners.

Removing snow like this is such hard work!

Jinushi Shrine, which is located in the center of the village. I wanted to visit here to see the stone monument with an inscription made by a prince, but snow was too deep to allow me a visit.

Breakfast consisting of mountain vegetables and Japanese pickles. Warm steam was rising off them!

The mountain vegetables were all salted, and still had a rich aroma of their own

As check-out time drew near I lingered at the irori fireplace for a last cup of coffee.

The hostess of this inn will turn 80 years old this year! I promised to come back again before leaving the inn.

At five o'clock in the morning, I woke up in an inn called, 'Shoshichi', where I stayed the night on February 8th, 2015, in the village of Gokayama Ainokura in Toyama Prefecture. 80 cm of snow fell the night I was there.

Before breakfast, I went outside and took photos of snow in the village. Only hotel guests are allowed to enter Ainokura Village from night to early morning, to prevent the confusion crowds might cause in a small village. Thanks to that, I was able to explore the village without fighting crowds! I only stayed for one night, but enjoyed it fully.

Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Villages

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...