is a village located in à Âno District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is best known for being the site of Shirakawa-gà Â, a small, traditional village showcasing a building style known as gasshà Â-zukuri. Together with Gokayama in Nanto, Toyama, it is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
, the village had an estimated population of 1,630 in 588 households and a population density of 4.6 persons per km<sup>2</sup>. The total area of the village was .
Shirakawa is a mountain village located in far northern Gifu Prefecture, bordering Ishikawa Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture on the Ryà Âhaku Mountains. Mount Hakusan is the highest elevation at . The village's area is 95.7% mountainous forests, and its steep places are characteristic. In between the mountains flows the Shà  River, which continues to the north into Nanto, Toyama. Most of the population is in its river valley. Since the opening of Hida Tunnel, Shirakawa can be reached within 50 minutes from Takayama, Gifu compared to the earlier three hour drive, and only an hour to Nanto in Toyama.
Shirakawa Village has a humid continental climate (Koppen Dfa). It features four distinct seasons with winter being its most recognized. Shirakawa is noted as one of the snowiest places in Japan. Yearly average snowfall amounts average out in excess of with snowbanks developing well over 2 meters tall. As a consequence of the frequent heavy snow, characteristically thick thatched roofed gasshà Â-zukuri (Ã¥ÂÂæÂÂé ãÂÂ) houses were created. With the Hakusan National Park mountain ranges as a background, these sites are major tourist attractions.
Per Japanese census data, the population of Shirakawa has decreased over the past 50 years, with a small uptick around the year 2000.
The area around Shirakawa was part of traditional Hida Province. During the post-Meiji restoration cadastral reforms, the area was organized into à Âno District, Gifu. The village of Shirakawa was formed on July 1, 1897, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.
The only major agricultural product in the area is rice. Initially, local rice was often mixed by agricultural cooperatives with rice from Takayama and the adjacent Hida. The local mixed rice that was put on the market was thus initially labelled as "Hida Koshihikari". However, after some legal efforts, a local brand, "Shirakawa-go Koshihikari", was born. The initiative focused on the "independence" of local rice production and rice-related trade and the creation of a sweet industry based on the local rice production.
There are many reasons why the village survived over the years without becoming a ghost town. However, one of the main reasons was due to the tourism-related income generated by gassho-zukuri villages. This kind of architecture has been significantly famous amongst tourists over the years. Tourism grew in the area especially for this reason; increasing even more after the area became a UNESCO site in 1995. Thus, the local economy is dominated strongly by seasonal tourism, improving the local financial conditions of the village yearly. The industry is so big that 70% of the residents work in the tourist industry.
However, the increasing number of visitors has resulted in damage to the area from pollution, and by local inhabitants turning their homes into hostels, gift shops and parking lots, which in turn has endangered its World Heritage status. There is also a fear growing that the change to catering to tourists will harm the charm of the area's simplicity and fundamental Japanese scenery.
It is also worth noting that 95% of visitors are day trippers, and the average consumption per person is only a few thousand yen. Thus the growth, whilst there, is not exponential, especially due to the fact that there are only few local products, and most souvenirs are bought from outside the area and resold.
Shirakawa has one combined public elementary/junior high school, Shirakawa-go Gakuen (), operated by the village government.
The former Hirase Elementary School () is now the Southern District Cultural Center ().
The village does not have a high school.
World Heritage Site Bus is run by this company from Takaoka Station (Toyama) via Shin-Takaoka Station.