Shirakawago 2019: Ogimachi Village (荻町) Pt 1

The second stage of my bus tour through the mountains of central Japan brought me to the region of Shirakawago and the village of Ogimachi. My tour group had lunch at a restaurant near the Shiroyama Viewpoint and we also were given a little time to take some photos while we were there. It was still very cloudy but the rain was gone and from the viewpoint I got a really scenic look at the village below. Ogimachi is the largest of three famous mountain villages in this part of Japan and although tourism has become a major part of the local economy there are still farmers here that work the land.

Once everyone was done eating and taking photos from the viewpoint the bus took us down to the north edge of Ogimachi. We would have just over 90 minutes to explore the village and I decided that I was going to try to cover as much ground as possible. I started a zig-zagging pattern through the village on the east side of the main road, stopping regularly for photos and closer looks at the traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses.

A few of the gassho-zukuri farmhouses in Ogimachi have been converted into museums and one of the homes I visited was the Wada House. This house belonged to a wealthy local family and is the largest farmhouse in the village. The steep roofs of the house allow for a lot of space in the upper levels that were used for both storage and as a workplace.