Travel to Kanazawa and Gokayama Part 9: Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village in Gokayama

[Introduction]

I traveled to Kanazawa (Ishikawa Prefecture) and Gokayama (Toyama Prefecture) for three days and two nights. This was my first visit to Hokuriku District and I felt unique atmosphere there. In this article, I will write about Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village in Gokayama as part of Day 3.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1 (1) Kanazawa Station, Omi-cho Market and Oyama Jinja Shrine
* Day 1 (2) Buke Yashiki District, 21st Century Museum and D.T. Suzuki Museum
* Day 1 (3) Kanazawa Castle Park and Kanazawa Station (Illumination)
* Day 2 (1) Kenrokuen Garden
* Day 2 (2) Kanazawa Castle Park
* Day 2 (3) Higashi Chaya District and Kazue-machi Chaya District
* Day 2 (4) Higashi Chaya District and Kazue-machi Chaya District (Light-up)
* Day 3 (1) Gokayama: Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village
* Day 3 (2) Gokayama: Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village [This article]
* Day 3 (3) Kanazawa Station

[Travel Date]
2016.05.14-16

[Main Part]

Following the previous post, I continued to go around Gassho-zukuri Village in Gokayama. This time, I moved to Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village from Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village I posted in the previous article.

Access from Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village to Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village

There are two Gassho-zukuri Villages in Gokayama, which are Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village and Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village, and they are 12 km away from each other. There is a bus service called “World Heritage Bus”, which runs between Takaoka station and Shirakawa-go, and it stops near both Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village and Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village, so I used it.

When I walked about 5 minutes from the nearest bus stop, I saw Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village.

Go to observation deck

There is an observation deck, which should be one of the best view spots in Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village.

Here are some photos taken at the observation deck.

Strolling Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village

After the observation deck, I started to walk around Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village.

Shops such as souvenirs and restaurants.

Natural scenery.

I visited a folk museum.

There was also another folk museum.

Farming.

A Gassho-zukuri house with a classic car.

Other snaps.

To tell the truth, the weather forecast predicted it was going to rain, but I was so fortunate, because it started to rain just after I left Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village.

Then, I returned to Kanazawa station by bus.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village in Gokayama as part of Day 3. Suganuma Gassho-zukuri Village and Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village have unique feature each, so I would recommend you visit both places, if possible 🙂

Regarding Gassho-zukuri Village, Shirakawa-go, which is also designated as a World Heritage Site, is another famous spot. If you have a chance, I also recommend Shirakawa-go as well 🙂

In the next article, as the last article of a series of trip to Kanazawa and Gokayama, I will write about Kanazawa station and summarize my trip.

[Map]