Enjoy a 3 day and 2 nights trip to Nanto City in Toyama Prefecture - Visit Johana, Inami, and UNESCO World Heritage Site Gokayama

The best spot to visit first would be Johana Hikiyama Hall. We recommend that you check out the documentary about Johana's Hikiyama Festival that screens in the hall's lobby.

The festival is a 300 year old tradition. It begins on the 4th of May every year and climaxes the next day with the main event, an almost otherworldly parade where 6 festival floats march through the streets led by the 'Iori Yatai' floats, whose advance is accompanied by song and the playing of flutes and shamisens.

According to the director, "the floats are derived from ancient Kyoto culture, while the music is derived from ancient Tokyo culture", which makes this parade a chance to see a fusion of the cultures of East & West Japan. In 2016 this festival was among 33 selected by UNESCO to be designated as Intangible Cultural Heritages. Before walking through the streets of Johana yourself, why not check out some footage of the festival floats as they parade through the town.

The floats are covered in extravagant decorations. See the subtle craftsmanship of the woodwork and Johana lacquering

First, let's visit the temple that Johana was first built around. Constructed 540 years ago, the grounds are home to 370 year old drooping cherry trees. When the trees blooms in the spring, the temple hosts the 'Weeping Cherry Tree Festival', where they open up the usually off-limits 'Shikidaimon Gate' for visitors.

Zentoku-ji is also home to over 10,000 'treasures'. These treasures consist of articles connected to the great priest Rennyo and items donated by the Kaga Domain's Maeda Clan. These treasures are put on display and explained in July every year during the temple's 'Mushiboshi Sermons'.
Furthermore, in an act of astonishing dedication the temple hosts 2 sermons a day, in the morning and afternoon, every single day of the year without fail. Anyone is free to sit in and listen, so it's definitely worth visiting during those hours.

Heading out the temple gates at Zentoku-ji and walking right will take you to Ima-machi Street. With its traditional earthen storehouses, white plaster walls and stone pavements, this street has a refined atmosphere and is said to be the most popular of Johana's many streets & alleys. The 4 incredibly photogenic storehouses on Ima-machi Street were built by the Nomura Family, who ran the Nomura Bank, and their plaster walls and latticework make them powerful symbols and reminders of ancient Johana.

Located right behind Johana Hikiyama Hall, this spot is right on the festival floats' parade route. It's no wonder then that the stone pavement here seems to faintly bear the marks of old wheel tracks. Just seeing them brings to mind the image of those 7 metre tall, 6 ton floats as they silently creak along the pavement.

Tucked away in a quiet yet beautiful rural area not far from the heart of Johana, Maki No Oto is a tiny little inn where you can enjoy some french cuisine and wood-fired rice, relax in the bath while looking out over serene scenery, and much more (reservations limited three groups per day).

Formerly farmers on this land, the owner and his family run this inn together and take pride in both their hospitality and their cooking, which is made from fresh seasonal ingredients that include vegetables picked from their private garden.
Please visit their website for more details on accommodation plans and prices.

The history of woodworking in Inami can be traced all the way back to the fire that burned down Zuisen-ji Temple in 1763. In order to rebuild it, a wood sculptor by the name of Sanshiro Maekawa was dispatched from Hongan-ji Temple in Kyoto to teach his craft to the local carpenters. And so began Inami's wood carving tradition.

Since then the temple has undergone multiple reconstructions and accumulated many fine examples of Inami woodworking. Countless examples of these exquisite carving techniques remain standing to this day for us to view at the main hall, the Taishi hall and the temple gates. In particular, Maekawa's own 'Unsui-ippiki-ryu' (dragon) is a work with such subtle yet bold craftsmanship, and even now it watches over us from atop the temple's front gates.

If you take a walk down Yokamachidori Street leading towards Zuisen-ji Temple, you'll see countless woodcarver's workshops lining the streets.
Here, in this place where young craftsmen from across the country come to learn the trade, it could be said that town itself is walking side by side with the art of woodworking. Much like how the town's woodworking developed with the numerous reconstructions of Zuisen-ji Temple, the key to carrying the craft on into the future lies in the process of creation.

The master cuts the wood down into a rough shape, then the apprentice carves the final product; this tried and true system is still alive and well here. So it might surprise you when you spot a sign hanging from a woodcarver's workshop saying "Come on in!". You might think that an invitation like that is only supposed to be for acquaintances, but you'll be surprised at just how open the woodcarver's workshops in Inami really are. You creak open the front door and are greeted with a "Good morning!" as you step inside. The craftsman continues his work and invites you to watch. This common scenario really makes you appreciate the sophisticated & open-minded nature of Inami's woodworking culture. In these woodcarver's workshops, you can immerse yourself in a comforting sense of quietude between the gentle swings of their mallets.

After hearing about the woodcarving workshop available in Inami, I stopped by for a visit right away. Under the guidance of their artisans, you can use genuine woodworking tools to create your own wooden sake cup by hand. They also have a little program set up where you can head to the Wakakoma Brewery on Yokamachidori Street afterwards to try out some local sake.

The Gokayama area consists of 2 villages, Ainokura and Suganuma, and the understated beauty found in the scenery there makes it one of Japan's most beloved spots. Gokayama exemplifies a living, breathing World Heritage Site, from the people living in the well-maintained thatched roof houses, to the rice fields, the ponds, the forests and more. The fact that the villages are alive and well is why there are rules that ask visitors to refrain from entering the area in the early morning and after sunset.

The name 'Gassho-zukuri' comes from the word 'gassho', meaning 'hands clasped in prayer', which is what these roofs are said to resemble. The roofs are sloped at a steep 60 degree angle, which allows them to withstand huge snowfalls of up to 3 metres.
There are buses departing from Johana to both Gokayama and Shirakawa-go, so you can easily visit these World Heritage Sites at your leisure.

This ancient Gokayama building is said to have been built around 400 years ago. The house is both a dwelling and a place of industry, as they produce many useful materials inside. The top floor is home to a silk farm, the dirt floor is used for making washi paper, and nitre (used in the creation of gunpowder) is produced under the floor of the building.

Murakami House is a fantastic place to get a glimpse of life in ancient times; floors 1-3 have several thousand items on display that have been in use since the Edo period. You can even listen to stories from the head of the Murakami household about the house's history, such as the house's status as vassals of the Kaga Domain, what life in winter was like, how they produced gunpowder for weapons, how there used to be 20-25 people living there, and much more.

Another thing you absolutely must experience in Gokayama is the art of making washi paper, which was formerly a winter industry.
The high quality and highly coveted paper that is 'Gokayama Washi' is made from special 'Kozo' mulberry trees, and as you'd expect from paper that was used to make sliding doors that needed to protect from rain, wind and snow, its strength and flexibility is second to none. Nowadays it's used for things like furniture, accessories and even restoring ancient documents.

At the World Heritage Site of Gokayama you can enjoy some old-fashioned local cuisine of wild vegetables and river fish while sat around the hearth, indulge in a relaxing soak after your meal in the hot springs, then retire to your room in one of the areas many types of accommodation, including 'gassho-zukuri' style lodgings, hot-spring hotels and more.

Gokasansou is one such hotel where they pride themselves on their old-fashioned hospitality and open-air hot springs. It's located close by to the Murakami House, making it a great choice for those sightseeing in Gokayama.