Shirakawa-go with gassho style houses starts to invite tourists again

Discount programs are provided for accommodations and expenditures in Shirakawa-go

Shirakawa village in Gifu prefecture is well known for the UNESCO world heritage area, Shirakawa-go, where a number of gassho style houses are preserved in their original form since around 1800. 

Shirakawa-go with gassho style houses starts to invite tourists again

It is one of Japan's leading tourism destinations with tourists who visited the village having reached 2.15 million last year. However, the spread of new coronavirus infections subdued consumption activities in the village significantly in 2020. 

The Japanese government has been promoting “Go to Travel Campaign” to support tourism industry in Japan since July. Village officials hope that the national campaign will improve business conditions for guesthouses, inns and other tourism facilities in the village. 

In addition, Shirakawa village has been running “Shirakawa-go accommodation discount campaign” with a total discount of 100 million yen since July 1. In this campaign, accommodation fee will be cut in half (up to 5,000 yen) if the reservations are made through the Shirakawa-go Tourist Association's site.

Tourists will be rewarded for QR code payments in Shirakawa-go

Besides discounts on accommodations, QR code payments are also discounted at tourist facilities such as Shirakawa-go Gassho-zukuri Minkaen, restaurants and souvenir shops in Shirakawa village by "Shirakawa-go QR Cashless Discount Campaign" started in July 10. 

QR code payments at registered shops and facilities will be discounted by 30% up to 3,000 yen in each payment. Last year, more than 2 million people visited Shirakawa-go for sightseeing, of which about 1 million were foreign tourists. Those campaigns aim to revitalize consumption activities in the village by attracting mainly Japanese tourists.  

Shirakawa-go with gassho style houses starts to invite tourists again

Village officials are convinced that tourism industry of the village can endure this predicament brought by the pandemic taking advantage of government support. They also look forward overseas tourists to come back again boosting consumption in the village battered by the spread of new coronavirus infection when the pandemic subsides.

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