Stay in Gokayama, a World Heritage Site! A private experience plan to stay in a "Gassho-style guesthouse" and watch the traditional performing art "Kokiriko"

• Table of Contents
• Stay at a guesthouse in Ainokura Gassho-style village
• Kokiriko viewing and experience
• Recommended spots around Ainokura Gassho-style Village
• About the tour

Stay at a guesthouse in Ainokura Gassho-style village

You will stay in a World Heritage gassho-style house and eat meals by the hearth. The black-lacquered meal tray is filled with stewed vegetables and wild plants, and the fragrant aroma of freshly grilled rock trout over the charcoal fire in the hearth will whet your appetite.

Kokiriko viewing and experience

After the meal, there will be a performance of "Kokiriko Bushi," a traditional Gokayama performing art. You can almost feel the breath of the dancers as the folk song unfolds before your eyes, making for a very powerful performance. This is a luxurious experience exclusively for the guests staying at the hotel that day.

The costume is a samurai's attire from the Kamakura period, about 800 years ago, called hitatare. It is divided into upper and lower parts, and the bottom of the hakama is tied with a string, so it is called "Kukuri Hakama". The dancers wear a sturdy Ayagasa hat made of woven rush grass, which was used to protect the head when hunting. It is similar to a modern helmet. It is said that the mountain pheasant feathers decorating the hat are used to ward off evil or to boast about the size of the hunted prey.

The dancers hold a musical instrument called a "Sasara". It is made of 108 cypress boards joined together, and is struck by snapping it down the boards in a wavy motion. There are 108 boards because it represents the number of "108 earthly desires (bonnou = worries, material desires, and mental impurities) that humans have" according to Buddhist teachings. It is said that striking the bell will drive away worldly desires.

After the dance performance, you will have the chance to try playing the sasara and kokiriko. You will immediately start beating the sasara along with the music from the musicians. It is only when you try to play it yourself that you realize how difficult it is to dance while playing. There is a Japanese proverb that says, "Practice makes perfect," and as you learn to play by imitating others, a mysterious sense of unity is born. Playing the sasara can ward off bad luck, but the effect only lasts for one year. Everyone's smiles overlap with the words, "We look forward to seeing you again next year."
*The instrument held by the dancer is the sasara.

A commemorative photo with the hostess of the Gassho-style guesthouse

Recommended spots around Ainokura Gassho-style Village

Kihei Shop

Gokayama tofu is an indispensable ingredient in dishes for local festivals and Buddhist ceremonies, as well as in everyday meals. There are many Gokayama tofu shops in Gokayama. Be sure to stop by.

Sasara weaving experience

Sasara is one of the instruments used in Kokiriko. Dancers hold sasara in their hands and strike it while dancing. As a keepsake, why not try making an instrument?
108 pieces of boards, the same number as the number of human desires, are tied together with string and patiently woven. In this experience, you will weave a smaller sized sasara (72 pieces) to make a 60cm "sasara" that you can take home.
It is a mysterious instrument with a unique shape that is beautiful enough to be used as a decorative item, and recently many people have been buying it as interior decoration.
The finishing touches will be completed with the help of a craftsman.

Tengu's footprints

As you walk through the village admiring the Gassho-style buildings, you'll come across a large rock by the side of the road with a signpost up on it. The sign reads, "Tengu's Footprints." There are indentations in the rock that look just like footprints. Legend has it that these were footprints made when a tengu took off from Pointed Rock, stepped onto the rock with its left foot, and flew off to the opposite mountain. *Tengu: A monster said to live deep in the mountains. Its trademark is its red face and long nose.

Viewpoint

There are "Viewpoint" signs here and there in the village. These handmade signs convey that these are "special places" discovered by locals.

After passing through the side streets of shrines and temples and panting as I make my way up the steep hill between fields, I arrive at a small open space. Turning around, I see a number of thatched roofs stacked on top of each other beyond the thatched fields, and a scene unfolds that makes me feel like I've been transported back to old Japan. Unlike the main streets where tourists come and go, there are fields for household use and laundry hanging out to dry. Seeing the scenery of the side streets where you can feel the breath of the people who live here, I also begin to feel that we must not destroy this place that has been so carefully protected.

Old Gokayama Road

A signpost for the "Old Gokayama Kaido" standing deep inside the village. In the past, it took 4-5 hours to walk along the narrow mountain path to reach the town of Johana at the foot of the mountain.

Ainokura Traditional Industry Museum

Inside the Gassho-style building, old costumes, musical instruments used in folk songs, tools used in sericulture, old farm equipment, etc. are displayed. If you go up to the second floor, various tools of daily life are displayed, from earthenware to telephones from various eras, and you can see that although it is a village deep in the mountains, it has been a land rich in natural bounty where people's lives have taken root since ancient times.

About the tour

The tour is based on "lodging in a Gassho-style house and viewing the Kokiriko," and you can choose from four plans that combine this with taxi transfers from Kanazawa Station, an experience of making a traditional musical instrument with "sasara weaving," and a "Kokiriko Village Walking Tour" accompanied by an interpreter guide.

[A] Private taxi departing and arriving in Kanazawa + Kokiriko Village walking tour included

90,000 yen to 320,000 yen (tax included) / person
・Kokiriko experience (listening to folk songs and playing musical instruments)
・Private taxi from Kanazawa Station to Ainokura Gassho Village on the first day ・Private taxi from Ainokura Gassho Village to Kaminashi Village, and from Kaminashi Village to Kanazawa Station on the second day ・1 night stay at Gassho-style guesthouse with 2 meals (1 building reserved for exclusive use)
・Optional tours on the second day (guide-interpreter fee, sasara weaving experience, Gokayama tofu workshop tour, Murakami family tour, lunch (handmade soba noodles and Gokayama tofu), etc.)

[B] Private taxi departing and arriving in Kanazawa

70,000 yen to 300,000 yen (tax included) / person
・Kokiriko experience (listening to folk songs and playing musical instruments)
・Private taxi from Kanazawa Station to Ainokura Gassho Village on the first day ・Private taxi from Ainokura Gassho Village to Kaminashi Village, and from Kaminashi Village to Kanazawa Station on the second day ・1 night stay at Gassho-style guesthouse with 2 meals (1 building reserved for exclusive use)

[C] Kokiriko Village walking tour included

60,000 yen to 240,000 yen per person
・Kokiriko experience (listening to folk songs and playing musical instruments)
・Gassho-style guesthouse, 1 night, 2 meals (1 building reserved for exclusive use)
・Optional tours on the second day (guide-interpreter fee, sasara weaving experience, Gokayama tofu workshop tour, Murakami family tour, lunch, etc.)

[D] Accommodation only

40,000 yen to 190,000 yen per person
・Kokiriko experience (listening to folk songs and playing musical instruments)
・Gassho-style guesthouse, 1 night, 2 meals (1 building reserved for exclusive use)

Click here for tour application and detailed information