20 May 2023

A Slice of Village Life at Shirakawa-Go

After a restful evening on board Heritage Adventurer we headed out for our excursion to the historic mountain town of Shirakawa-go. The ride to the village was a slice of life in this region. Especially interesting were the rice paddies dotted with houses. As we approached the mountains the rain set in - then, boom, we were through a tunnel and out the other side into full sunshine.

A stop at the overlook gave a panoramic view of the village and was the start of a walk down the hill through the lush forest - with helpful explanations from our botanical expert, Moshe, along the way. The village was an interesting mix of old and new, with the highlight being the traditional gassho-zukuri style thatched room A-frame houses. We were able to tour one of the most prominent of these to see how life revolved around the constantly tended fire with living space on the ground floor, sleeping space on the mezzanine, and working space on the upper floors including racks where the silkworms were tended. Truly a unique experience.

After a quick lunch back on board in the Bistro, we were off to visit the Geisha district of Kanazawa. As the city had escaped the worst of the destruction during World War II, there are many historic teahouses and other well-preserved buildings from the Edo Period (1603-1868) in the district.  We explored the alleyway and admired the goldwork for which the city is famous with the option to sample gold-leaf ice cream. Yum!

Back on board we met in the lounge for our first recap - featuring some background on Geisha, a briefing on tomorrow's plans, and a toast to the voyage at the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party.

We are quickly learning that the quality of the cuisine means that we will need to temper our appetites - or maybe not with the busy days filled with excursions planned.

Image (c): T.Todd