Ogimachi is the largest village in Shirakawa-go, a deep valley in the mountains of Gifu where the houses wear steep thatched roofs like hands pressed together in prayer. The style is called gassho-zukuri, praying hands, and the angle of about sixty degrees is a response to heavy snow, which can pile up for months. The roofs are made of thatch more than a metre thick, and the villagers once re-thatched them together in a communal effort, a custom still observed.
Many of the houses are large, three or four storeys, and the upper floors were used for raising silkworms, as well as for saltpetre production in the past, which was an industry of the Hida mountains and supplied gunpowder to feudal lords. Families lived together in big households, and the buildings were framed with wooden beams lashed with rope, without nails. UNESCO listed the village together with Gokayama in Toyama in 1995, and some of the houses are now museums, while others remain family homes, shops and inns.
The valley is spectacular in every season. Spring brings water to the rice paddies, and green hills around the houses. Summer is warm and lush, autumn burns red and gold, and in winter the village sits under deep snow, with special evening illuminations on a few weekends that attract large crowds by reservation. Visiting on a weekday in early morning gives you the village almost to yourself, with mist along the river Sho.
For riders, the approach is good, along Route 156 from the south or 158 from Takayama, through tunnels and gorges, and the roads are well surfaced. Parking for motorbikes is available at the edge of the village, and a small fee may be charged. Fuel stations are scarce in the valley, so fill up in Takayama or along the way. A bowl of soba or a dish of local river fish is a pleasant lunch. Please remember that people live and work here, so be quiet, and do not wander into private houses or fields.