Wada House

Located near the bus stop at the north of the village, Wada House is one of Shirakawa-go’s historical thatched-roofed residences that were turned into museums and opened to the public. However, only 2 floors of the main building are available for visits as Wada House’s owners still live here. The ground floor, especially, displays:

• The central irori hearth;
• The family’s Buddhist altar; and,
• A small Japanese garden, a feature that is quite rare in Shirakawa-go.

The estate also includes other constructions, such as an outbuilding and a traditional kura warehouse.

While on a small scale, the exhibition offers an interesting insight of the past Edo period (1603 – 1868), when the inhabitants of Ogimachi mountain village thrived through trade and sericulture: the cultivation of silkworm. An educational staging introduces the silk farming process, from the growing of mulberry trees to the spinning of silk on a loom, to the final product.

The gassho-zukuri style house is well-maintained, be it on the inside and on the outside. The view on the big thatched-roof is impressive, as well as the tangling of the beams whose every detail can be admired. One has to take off shoes to visit inside the house, and preferably wear socks to walk on the perfectly preserved tatamis and wooden floors. On a side note, the stairs are quite steep.

Observatory on the village at the 2nd floor

Upstairs, olden times tools and objects are displayed to recreate the daily life of farmers, shopkeepers and of the head of the village. The Wada family belonged to the wealthiest class, after building its initial wealth in the making and production of saltpeter (potassium nitrate) necessary to make canon powder. Later, they would be in charge of controlling the transit of peoples and goods to and from the village for the government.

Visitors will enjoy the panoramic view on the village offered by the window at the 2nd floor. As the house is indeed at the northern entrance of the historical zone, it is perfectly located to give a beautiful unobstructed view on the other traditional houses, the fields, the rice paddies and the mountains.

Within walking distance, you’ll also find the famous Shiroyama observation deck, on the heights of the ruins of Ogimachi Castle 🏯, a place that remains popular among Japanese and international tourists for its "postcard" view on Shirakawa-go.