Ainokura Village (Gokayama)

photo by くろふね · CC BY 3.0

photo by 雷太 · CC BY 2.0

At Ainokura, in the municipality of Nanto, 20 gassho-zukuri houses with gabled roofs survive, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since December 1995 together with Suganuma and Shirakawa-gō.

The village is part of the ‘Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama’ site, inscribed by the UNESCO Committee in December 1995 together with nearby Suganuma, in Toyama, and Ogimachi, in the neighbouring prefecture of Gifu. It is a World Heritage Site where people still live: families live in the houses that you visit. You can get there by car in about 16 minutes from the Gokayama IC interchange, or by bus on the World Heritage Bus line.

Historic village of gassho-zukuri houses in the hamlet of Ainokura, municipality of Nanto, Toyama Prefecture (address 〒939-1915 富山県南砺市相倉611). Note: the place had been rejected in an earlier campaign for Gifu; three official sources (Gokayama Info, the Nanto tourist portal) confirm that it is administratively in Toyama, not in Gifu. It is part of the UNESCO site ‘Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō and Gokayama’, inscribed in December 1995 together with nearby Suganuma (Toyama) and Ogimachi, in Shirakawa-gō (Gifu). It has 20 gassho-zukuri houses; it is a World Heritage Site where families still live.

ℹ️ Stated hours: 8:30–17:00, open every day. Paid car park: car ¥1,000, medium bus ¥3,000, large bus ¥5,000, moped ¥300. By car, about 16 minutes from the Gokayama IC interchange towards Tonami; by bus, on the World Heritage Bus line to the Ainokura-guchi bus stop, then 5 minutes on foot. Preservation foundation: tel. 0763-66-2123.

🚉 Ainokuraguchi · 8 min walk

Sources: gokayama-info.jp · tabi-nanto.jp · gokayama-info.jp · nominatim.openstreetmap.org

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