Toyama

Suganuma Gassho Village in Toyama

Snow-covered traditional village in Gokayama

Takako Sakamoto Feb 19, 2015 - 1 min read

<p>The souvenir shop was the only place that had some colors in the all-white village</p>

<p>It had been warm till the day before I visited, and I found that the snow on the roofs had slipped off, and snow on the roads melted away</p>

<p>Even then, this snowy scenery impressed me, as I live in a place with no snow</p>

<p>In the house in front, gunpowder is produced, and there is a history museum about it</p>

<p>When I was walking down the street along the river to the village the mist went up the mountains in the far distance</p>

<p>I climbed the hill which was made of shoveled-up snow, and looked down at the village from the top</p>

<p>Icicle art was hanging from the eaves of each house</p>

<p>There were small holes dug in snow walls to put in light bulbs for night-time illumination</p>

<p>Thatched roof providing warmth in the cold season</p>

During February 7th to 9th in 2015, I visited Gassho-style villages in Hokuriku Region after a business trip in the area.

This photo story concerns Suganuma village which I visited on February 8th. I was looking forward to seeing snow on the thatched roofs, which are the symbol of Gassho-style village. However I found that the snow had slipped onto the ground due to the warmer weather with sun and rain which preceded my visit. Since it couldn't be helped, I went ahead and explored the village. Gassho villages are so named because the steeply slanting thatched roofs resemble two hands joined together in prayer ( 合掌 gassho). I could see that!

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...