The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go Gassho Style Houses, Shirakawa-mura

Beautiful place to spend the day. Pretty easy to reach via the bus system or by car. The entire area is walkable after you park your car. If you come in the wintertime and stay in the area overnight, you can experience seeing the houses lit up at night.

Great time of the year to visit if you like rice fields. Though quite commercialized, it still has a slow pace farm village vibe to it. Probably also because there aren't many tourists at the moment. Bus schedule is quite sparse, so do plan ahead how long you plan to stay. We spent about 4 hours here strolling around, taking photos, ate lunch, and just relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Can probably see the whole place in 2 hours if really in a hurry, but I recommend spending longer, grab lunch/coffee/tea/desserts if you have time. Also, amazing that there is a rest house maintained by the locals if you need a shaded place to take a break, which is pretty cool.