Shokawa River

The river Shokawa gives its name to the valley where the historic villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama, including the World Heritage site Ogimachi with its 59 gassho zukuri houses, settled. That day I got up early and went to the little Nodaniya garden, where I was staying and without taking off the yukata, Japanese pyjamas, I went for a walk around. One of the most amazing panoramic views that I enjoyed that morning was the Shokawa River with some of the traditional Japanese houses in the background. The name of this river coincides with that of a genus of small dinosaur fossils they found in this area.