Shirakawa-go Winter Light-Up 2027 Confirmed

Name: Shirakawa-go Winter Light-Up 2027
Start: 2027-01-11T17:30:00+09:00
End: 2027-01-31
Location: Ogimachi village (Shirakawa-go World Heritage Site)

白川郷ライトアップ — Shirakawa, Gifu (Tokai)

Last updated: Sun, October 4, 2026

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Dates: Jan 11, Jan 17, Jan 24, Jan 31, 2027
Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Venue: Ogimachi village (Shirakawa-go World Heritage Site) (白川村荻町地区)
Tickets: Advance reservation only, through an in-village stay, a car or taxi park reservation, or a bus tour. No tickets on the day.
Official site: shirakawa-go.gr.jp

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Advance reservation only — through an in-village stay, a car or taxi park reservation, or a bus tour. There are no tickets on the day, and turning up without a reservation gets you turned away.

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On four winter evenings, the thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouses of Shirakawa-go are lit up against the snow — one of Japan's most photographed winter scenes. The 41st light-up in 2027 is held on January 11, 17, 24 and 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM, and entry is by advance reservation only.

Background

Shirakawa-go's Ogimachi village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site where people still live in the steep-roofed farmhouses. Because of the crowds, the light-up is now run with full advance reservation and colour-coded entry tickets valid for one day only; no tickets are sold on the day.

Getting there

Shirakawa-go is served by highway buses from Takayama, Kanazawa and Toyama. On light-up days a gate closes the village from 3:30 PM to anyone without an entry ticket — if you come by route bus for daytime sightseeing, take one that arrives by 3:20 PM.

Tips

There are five ways in, all booked in advance: stay overnight in the village, reserve a car park space, reserve a taxi park space, join a route-bus operator's light-up tour, or join a travel agency bus tour. Turning up without a reservation gets you turned away.
The famous view from the Ogimachi Castle Ruins Observatory is only for holders of an observatory ticket, which comes only with an in-village stay plan or a route-bus tour that includes it — it is not sold on its own.
Village stays for the light-up are allocated by lottery, not first-come booking: entries open October 1, 2026 at 1:00 PM and close October 31 at 11:59 PM (one entry per person, by email). Only winners are contacted, by email on November 10, and then book and pay by card on a dedicated page.
The first round of car park reservations sold out on September 10; the second round goes on sale online on December 1, 2026 at 1:00 PM.
Studless snow tyres are mandatory for cars, tripods are banned on the observatory, and drones are prohibited over the village. The event can be cancelled if a major cold wave disrupts transport.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Sun, October 4, 2026