雪のない白川郷

On the 28th of January, I went to Shirakawa village, which is designated as a World Heritage Site. I had always imagined a beautiful scene, with the village covered in deep snow. Sadly, there was only a little bit of snow on the fields and hillsides surrounding the village. What is worse, the roofs and roads of the village were bare.

This winter season, we have experienced rather unusual weather, in that there was little or no snow on the ski slopes. As well, in January, cherry trees in the Izu peninsula were in full bloom.

On certain days, the village of Shirakawa offers visitors a “light-up” service at dusk. I got to see it, but somehow, with only a little snow, it just wasn’t what I had hoped for.

(this picture is a light-up scene at 5:30PM)