Information about our trip to Suganuma and Shirakawago

Even though online resources in Japanese and English were helpful to plan our trip to Shirakawago on our own, I want to provide some details that I could not find online and might be helpful to others.

Route

We took the route Kyoto-Kanazawa(hotel)-Suganuma/Gassho no Sato-Shirakawago-Takayama(hotel)-Nagoya

Kyoto-Kanazawa: JR Thunderbird (2hrs)

Kanazawa-Suganuma: Nohi Bus (1hr, highway)

Suganuma-Shirakawago: Local bus (30 min., Kaetsuno bus company)

Shirakawago-Takayama: Nohi Bus (50 min., highway)

Most buses from Kanazawa station (bus stop Nr. 3) will not stop at Suganuma and will go straight to Shirakawago. However if you enjoy walking less crowded and peaceful smaller villages of Suganuma or even plan to go further into the mountain to the village of Ainokura, getting off is recommended.

We got the highway ticket reservations online: http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/

Kanazawa-Shirakawago-Takayama route: http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/shirakawago_kanazawa.html

We paid and got our tickets at a convenience store, which might be difficult to handle without Japanese knowledge. However, credit card payment is available and you should be able to get tickets at Kanazawa station (watch the opening hours).

Highway main routes map

Details about Suganuma and Gassho no Sato village(s)

Suganuma village and Gassho no Sato have two bus stops. At the eastern end of Suganuma the local bus (Kaetsuno bus company, Shuraku Mae bus stop) will stop and you will only see the bus stop sign of one direction in front of a waiting hut. So if you want to go to Shirakawago you have to move to the opposite side of the road (no bus sign). 1 hour is more than enough to explore the small village. We left our luggage at the information desk (no lockers here) for free and the ojiisan there gave us a small map and the Kaetsuno bus schedule. We were surprised to see that the local bus was almost empty all along the way (one local only) and even though they put effort in annoucing the stops in different languages (Korean, Chinese, English) noone bothered to ride the bus.

Highway buses from Toyama (or Johana) by Kaetsuno bus company and Nohi buses from Kanazawa (arrival 10:00 am) will stop at the parking lot between Gassho no sato and Suganuma village. You can enjoy the view and pass the local bus stop or you take the elevator from the parking lot going down to the tunnel. In the tunnel you can either walk to Gassho no sato on the left or Suganuma village on the right. Preparing for the trip, the Japan-Guide site was quite useful, but I wanted to provide more in detail, as the tunnel’s entrance coming from Suganuma village was not depicted very well. The sign leading to the elevator is actually leading to the tunnel which might be confusing without further knowledge.

Left to Gassho no Sato, right to Suganuma if you take the elevator down to the tunnel from the parking lot where highway buses stop

The tunnel connecting Gassho no Sato with Sugnuma village (and the parking lot)

Local bus stop in Suganuma (Shuraku Mae)

 

Local bus stop in Suganuma (Shuraku Mae)

Details about Shirakawago

All Kaetsuno and Nohi highway buses stop at the Shirakawa-go bus terminal, where lockers and tourist information are located. When we got there, only limited numbers of medium and big size lockers were available and our luggage (cabin size) would not fit in (a few cm too large). We asked at the information desk and they kindly stored it for us for 300 yen only (cheaper than medium 400 yen and large size locker 600 yen). Of course we had to be back at 17:00 at latest, because information AND the public toilet close at that time. Their last highway buses without reservations leave at 17:00, those with at 17:20 to Takayama and 17:30 to Kanazawa. However, most souvenir shops and restaurants at Shirakawago were already closed at 16:30, so there is not much to do in town except for strolling around or walking up to the observation viewpoint. Even if you have lunch, 3 hours is usually enough to visit. I personally preferred the Kanda house to the Wada house that you can enter for a small fee of 300 yen. Kanda has been opened to the public rather recently and is an impressive Gassho no tsukuri house. They maintain a fireplace on ground level that should protect the house from insects that might damage the wooden structure and offer free herbal tea. Sit and relax while enjoying the atmosphere.

The Kanda house with its roof construction and fireplace

Shuttle bus to the observation desk

We paid 200 yen for a one-way trip with the shuttle bus from Shirakawago bus center. Recommended for uphill (downhill is an easy walk anyway).

Local buses (Kaetsuno line bus) stop in the center of Shirakawago (Ogimachi bus stop and Ogimachi shrine Bus stop), which is quite close to the shuttle-bus stop. However as we transferred from Suganuma with the local bus, we had to walk over the new bridge to the highway bus terminal to stow our luggage. It’s about a 5 min walk.

View from the observation desk

For visitors going from Takaoka or transfer between Gokayama (Suganuma, Ainokura etc.) and Shirakawago:

Some might ask, why bother and go via Johana station as shown in the PDF. Many foreigners will have the JR Rail Pass and even though it is not the most comfortable way to travel, going via JR Johana station is cheaper because you can use your pass until that station and transfer to the bus from there. We decided to save time and go by bus via Kanazawa while enjoying the full cherry blossom in Kenrokuen Gardens.

Resources

Map and overview also in English: http://www.kaetsunou.co.jp/bus/sekaiisan-kippu.pdf

Suganuma Japan-Guide details: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5954.html

Tour packages are also available, but they usually start and end in Takayama:

http://www.isitetakayama.com/

http://www.nouhibus.co.jp/english/

For visitors from Toyama or transfer between Gokayama (Suganuma, Ainokura etc.) and Shirakawago:

http://www.kaetsunou.co.jp/(Kaetsuno bus, Japanese only)

http://www.kaetsunou.co.jp/nori/201404-11.html (Shirakawago Local bus, Japanese only)

http://shirakawa-go.org/wp-content/uploads/kankouinfo20131009_01.pdf (Kaetsuno world heritage bus, Japanese only, connecting Toyama with Shirakawago via Johana). PDF also includes local bus schedule.

Translations for the Shirakawago local bus PDF:

4 local buses/day on weekdays

1 local bus/day on Sat/Sun/holidays

高岡駅前②番のりば Takaoka Station, Bus platform 2

城端駅前 Johana station

相倉口 Ainokura

菅沼 Suganuma

荻町合掌集落 Ogimachi Gassho Shuraku (Shirakawago)