Shiroyama Castle Tower Observation Deck

Hock Sing Tan in the last week

This place do nit required ticket to enter. We took a bus (about 10 minutes trip) from town to here at 290 yen per person. Upon arrival, there was a team specialising in taking photos for tourists. The team will take a photo first for us without any charges. Then we have the options to buy at 2000 yen or not. After paying the 2000 yen, We received a largo photo with a QR code to download. For those who didn't pay, they still received a small photo free of charge. We didn't take the bus when downhill as it was an easy walk about 7 minutes. Moreover, we could stop at any point if there was a good photo spot. There was a selfie photo booth that was quite interesting. 700 yen per play, and we could get a hard copy of the photo and download softcover and some video

Cee 2 months ago

Only 20 mins walk from Shirakawa-go bus terminal. It offers stunning views of the village.

Liudas Vitartas 3 months ago

After arriving in Shirakawa, a place where you can view the village from above. 15-20 minutes from the bus stop to the viewpoints, a leisurely climb up the mountain and you are already there. Is one free place where you can see the village from above, but it is not very convenient. In some meters there is a comfortable refreshment area, where are places to sit and this can be done after buying a drink, ice cream or a snack. I would suggest trying the local Shirakawa beer. Delicious beer, beautiful views and a pleasant half-hour of time. A little advice - If you want to avoid the sun directly in your eyes, you should come to this place in the afternoon.

sg jh 4 months ago

This is the first stop, we took the shuttle bus to here and walk down to the village, which is much an easier path. Overall, we spent about 4+ hours here.

M Waye 4 months ago

Visited in late October 2023, just before full fall foliage came. We started in this observation deck because we couldn't find parking at the main parking lot. The parking lot is much smaller here, maybe 10 to 15 car/ larger vans. We got lucky. The obersvation deck give you an overview of the entire village. This is where the brochure photo comes from. If you pay for a drink/ food, you get the prime viewing spot. in my opinion, the best 500jpy spent - I get less people shoving me around, hot coffee, and center view of the entire village. Bathroom is free. There is a souvenir shop attached to the cafe where Higurashi stickers littered the area - I had fun searching for my Easter eggs. From here you can walk downhill to the village and a right turn would end up near Wada House, one of the larger exhibition house. The walk is on slope and about 10mins down or 15mins up. Excellent to burn off your breakfast/early lunch/ ice cream do you can get more snacks when you reach the village and vice versa. If you are pressed for time, this is a excellent place to visit to get a feel of the historic village.