Gokayama

Top Things to do

• Thatched-Roof Houses of Ainokura Village

  4.5

  287 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Ainokura

  There are more than 20 houses, characterized by their heavily slanted thatched roofs, in this village located on a long, narrow plateau of land in Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture. Here visitors can get a feel for the old traditional Japanese way of life and beautiful countryside nestled in the mountains with fields of rice and other crops surrounding the houses. Ainokura Village offers an inn, souvenir shop, tea house, and folk museum all in the thatched-roof style. The village light up event held every season is also a must-see. Together with the village of Suganuma, the Ainokura Village is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

• Tonami Tulip Park

  4.0

  96 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Tonamishi Hanazonomachi 1-32

  Tonami Tulip Park is a park located on National Route 359 in Hanazono Town, Tonami City. Around three million tulips of 700 different varieties are grown here each year; the Tonami Tulip Fair, which is held in spring each year, is a major attraction. Interesting sights inside the Park include the Tulip Tower, which has become a symbol of the Park, the Tulip Gallery, where visitors can view displays about tulips, etc., and the Waterwheel Garden, which features the five largest waterwheels in Japan.

• Etchu Gokayama Ainokura Gassho-style Village

  4.0

  53 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Ainokura 611

  A designated National Historic Site and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Etchu Gokayama Ainokura Gassho-style Village is also a place where local people continue to live as they have always done. The unique farmhouses with their thatched roofs embody the self-sufficient lifestyle of days gone by, and accumulated human wisdom. Recently, the Village has been illuminated in the evenings four or five times a month in alternate months.

• Gokayama Tourist Information Center

  4.0

  19 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Kaminashi 754

  Gokayama Tourist Information Center is located in the village of Minami-gokayama (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Toyama Prefecture. Besides providing information about tourist attractions, accommodation etc. in the area, the Center can also provide information regarding transportation services. In addition, the Center disseminates up-to-date information via Facebook, Twitter and other social networking services. The Murakami House, a traditional Gasshozukuri-style farmhouse which has been designated as a National Important Cultural Property, is nearby.

• Ainokura Folklore Museum

  4.0

  29 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Ainokura 352

  This folk history museum sits in a corner of the Ainokura Gassho-zukuri Village, a World Heritage site located in the mountains east from Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway's Gokayama Interchange via the Hietsukyo Gassho Scenic Route. It is notable for its two gassho-zukuri style buildings with straw-thatched roofs which were once a residence of the old Ozaki Family. The museum exhibits articles once used by villagers, as well as historical materials that convey the village's tradition of mutual aid. On the second floor, guests can get a close look at the unique framework and internal construction of gassho-zukuri buildings. The museum's second building, the Ainokura Traditional Industry Museum, contains historical materials about washi (Japanese paper) and saltpeter, two of Gokayama's traditional industries. Visitors at the museum can learn about the history of Japan through the wisdom and hardships of ancestors.

• Roadside Station Fukumitsu

  4.0

  34 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Nakanogo 21

  "This roadside station a 10-minute drive from Oyabe Interchange Station. The building, styled in the image of a rich farmer's mansion, is beloved by the nickname ""Nanto Ippukuchaya."" The farmer's market Ippuku-ichi, which offers fresh local fruits and vegetables, is popular with both tourists and locals. The Restaurant Tanpopo, located in an earthen storehouse-style building, offers a range of dishes made with local ingredients, as well as nostalgic sweets. "

• Taishi-do Temple

  4.5

  47 Reviews

  Toyama Nanto-shi Inami 3050 Inami Betsuin Zuisenji

  This temple hall was rebuilt in 1918 using the skills of Inami carving. The multi-story temple is roughly 29 meters on a side, with a total area of 840 square meters, and in the center of the main hall lies the foundation stone bestowed by Emperor Go-Komatsu, and a statue of the two year old Prince Shotoku bequeathed by Shakunyo. The two side shrines hold images of the founding abbot Shakunyo and Zensui-ji temple's former abbots. Every July 21-29, they hold a Taishiden-e ceremony.

• Gokayama Minzokukan (Gokayama Folklore Museum)

  3.5

  24 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Nantoshi Suganuma 436

  Gokayama Minzokukan (Gokayama Folk Museum) is situated in Sugunuma, a village of traditional Gasshozukuri-style farmhouses in Gokayama village, Toyama Prefecture. The Museum is located in the oldest Gasshozukuri-style house in the village, which was specially renovated for the purpose. On display inside the Museum are around 200 living utensils etc. that embody the wisdom of past generations. The adjacent “Potassium Nitrate Hall,” focused on the production of potassium nitrate (which was formerly an important industry in the Gokayama district), uses models and shadow-pictures to show how the raw material was collected, the process by which the potassium nitrate was made, and how the finished product was transported for sale.

• Roadside Station Tonami

  4.0

  26 Reviews

  Toyama Pref. Tonamishi Miyazawachou 3-9

  This roadside station in Miyazawacho, Tonami City, Toyama Prefecture is a five-minute drive from JR Johana Line Tonami Station. Its restaurant, Tonami Sodachi, offers cuisine made with ingredients from Tonami and Toyama Prefecture, such as their Okado somen noodle set meal and their Tonamino onion curry set meal lunches. At dinner, the restaurant offers banquet-style dinners featuring dishes such as butamotsu-nabe (pork tripe hot pot) and shabu-shabu (hot pot) made with Toyama grown pork. The station's other facilities includes a tourist information center, Promenade Momiji, a full-service steak house, Tonamino no Sato, a farmer's market offering local vegetables and other products, and a museum shop featuring souvenirs related to the area's famous tulips.