Name: [Hidden Japan] Staying a Night in Gokayama Ainokura Village (Full Itinerary)
Uploaded: 2026-01-22T18:20:36.000Z
Duration: 10 min 3 s
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It's Makayla, and today we're at Kanazawa Station.

Now, today we're not staying in Kanazawa.

We're gonna head into the mountains for a very unique overnight plan.

Ainokura Gashazukuri Village is one of several preserved Gassho Zukuri villages found in the mountainous Gokayama region of Toyama Prefecture.

It's a place where the scale is small, the pace is slow, and

the architecture and landscape feel closely tied to everyday life instead of touristy spectacle.

So we have arrived at Ainokura Vil village in Gokayama.

It was just about an hour from Kanazawa Station by car.

So this is a beautiful village that is actually also a World Heritage site.

And what's really surprising is that it's not crowded, it's not busy, it hasn't been discovered by the tourists yet.

And for a few lucky people, you can actually spend the night in Ainokura Village.

So I live and work in the Gasho village now.

So the benefit of having the privilege of staying overnight in this village is that you get to enjoy scenery that day trippers, day tourists don't get to see.

So we're walking to our Gasho, the place that we're staying for the night, and

Tonight we are staying at a minshuku, a bed and breakfast style homestay called nakaya that hosts one group at a time for private and authentic homestay experiences inside their historic Gassho Zukuri home.

It's a cozy shelter away from the snow, especially during the colder days.

And the hot meal is prepared with care and effort, featuring local vegetables called sansai that are found in the surrounding mountains.

You don't really realize how hungry you are until the food's laid out in front of you, and

After dinner, we were treated to a private Kokiriko performance.

The Kokiriko Bushi is believed to be Japan's oldest folk song with roots in ritual performances from over 1,400 years ago.

Originating here in the Kokayama region, it was traditionally performed to pray for good harvest and community prosperity, and

is still danced to today with simple wooden instruments and drums.

My favorite part was this percussion instrument called the Sasara, made from wooden cypress slats that create a unique rattling sound, symbolizing the sound of nature or Buddhist desires, essential for the rhythmic performance.

Once you get the hang of it, it's a really cool instrument.

The next morning, I got up early to see the village one more time.

The peace, the quiet, and the morning sun.

The morning light is really something, and so peaceful.

After my morning walk, I went back to my minshiku and my breakfast was already laid out waiting for me, which was amazing.

So one of the charms of the Ainokura village is that it isn't touristy.

There's no shops around except for the souvenir spot.

Let's go inside and take a look and see what it looks like.

So even though this is a souvenir shop, a lot of the souvenirs skew towards very traditional handmade analog items.

It feels like you've just kind of gone back in time.

After leaving the village, we decided to check out the nearby Gokayama Tourist center to see if there were any fun activities to try.

Starting at the Murakami House, an authentic Gasho style house said to be over 300 years old.

It's interesting how the house was built so that the smoke from the first floor could escape through different openings in the house.

But coming up here, I feel like my eyes are burning a bit.

Then we stopped to try some famous Gokayama tofu.

A little bit of olive oil and salt is all you need to make it into a delicious snack.

I had the opportunity to make my very own Sasara instrument.

The same instrument that we saw the night before.

Anyone can book this experience and make wood for themselves, by the way.

This is actually really cool because last night when I was playing with the one at the stay, I thought like, I really want to buy one of these.

And finally, to end the trip, we stopped by Zipencha for some of their handmade buckwheat soba noodles served with mountain vegetables, Gokayama, tofu and tempura.

This lunch is so popular, it can actually sell out quickly.

So if you can grab a seat here, I think it's really worth coming.

I had a great time here in Gokayama, but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

I do think this is a really beautiful, unique location, and

it's a great step out of the city into the beautiful, authentic, untouched countryside region of Japan.

And it's something that I think a lot of other people haven't experienced.

So if you're looking for something that you can tell other people about when you go back home, something that you did that was truly unique, authentic, intimate, this is a great choice.

I'm gonna put a link in the description box below to all the tourism information so you can try and plan this trip for yourself.

And if you do make it out here, please let me know how it was and what you enjoyed, or if you've been.

If you've discovered anything that you think other people would like, write it in the comments below.

Thank you so much, and I'll talk to you again soon.