Gokayama photos
 

I've been making new photo pages and added a page of photos from our recent day trip to Ainokura in Gokayama, Toyama prefecture.
http://web.mac.com/teaghanmackenzie/...er%202006.html

Kim:

Beautiful pics, looks like a lovely time of year in that area.

Did you stay in one of the Gasshozukuri? If so can you recommend one?

We are thinking of staying overnight in Ogimachi or Ainokura in April and we are just looking for some fresh info.

Aloha!

Great pix, Kim, thanks. Nice and green. Surprising that a place like that exists in Japan. Teaghan is growing up.

Ainokura is even more rural than Ainokura, it appears. Tourists more often go to Ogimachi and that is good and not so good. Good because of the facilities available (the tourist office, the museum, signs in English, town map, shuttle from the museum to the lookout). Does look like Ainokura is prepared for tourists (old ladies with floppy hats is a sure sign).

There are 8 places to stay. It was easy too look at them all as the village is so small. It is much smaller than Shirakawa-go yet sees plenty of tourists, most on a 1 hour stop on a bus tour. It is very friendly.

I made notes on my map about the places to stay...just based on looks really. Nakaya looks nicest to me as it is at the far end of the village and is quietest. 0763-66-2457. My next choice would be Choyomon, next to the Tengu footprint 0763-66-2206. Ainokuruya is next to the public parking lot and is not to my liking because of that..lots of tourist traffic in the shop and restaurnat. Yomoshiro is cute and set next to rice fields 0763-66-2377. The tourist association 0763-66-2468...don't count on there being an English speaker. Aknokura preservation foundation 0763-66-2123.

The museum information and town map are available in English.

Oh, ok, so they are pretty well set up. The people at the tourist office in S-go spoke no English either.

What's the significance of the V sign that all young Japanese people adopt when pictures are taken?

Nothing really. When they get their photo taken, they make the peace sign and say peace in much the same we might say cheese.

nice pics, thanks