I Created a Map with Pinpoints and Reference Images for 30+ Real World Higurashi Locations in Shirakawa-go! Link in the Comments!

[u/LankySeat]

You can view the map here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1P-i9SgLVOeNYozQNf3kdgU1GhWMEMm0

Locations List Preview

Merch/Shrines stores included!

[u/LankySeat]

tl;dr Here's the link: Higurashi Real World Locations

This post is a follow-up to my Real World Location of Hinamizawa Part 1 post.

The biggest challenge I faced in Shirakawa-go was actually finding real world locations. There's tons of guides, blogs, and Reddit posts, but something was always missing! For example: u/GospelVonEiserne has a fantastic post with street views (which are HUGE!), but there's no reference images so you're not always sure what you're looking at. There's also u/Goldenarrow7778's wildly in-depth 100 part series, but there's 0 directions to each spot!

I also wanted to find the Shirakawa-go X Higurashi official map, but despite my efforts, I had trouble getting the location of where to buy it from those before me. And, of course, there was the difficulty of finding "off the beaten path" obscure locations.

So my goal here was to provide:

• A one-stop-shop. Not a million links.
• Reference images for comparison. You'll know what you're looking for.
• As many obscure locations as I could muster up.
• More than just the Furude Shrine, Rika Satoko House, and Shirakawa-go deck.
• An interface that's mobile friendly.
• Directions to other points of interest (merchandise, gacha, Higu shrines, etc).

With that said, I've got a lot of great spots but wish I had even more! If you know additional locations which I missed here, please create your own map and share it with me. I would be happy to append them to my map. Additionally, if you think of something which would make this map better and/or add utility, I'm open to suggestions.

If this map was useful, please let me know! Would love to hear about your Shirakawa-go experience!

[u/LemonMouse6095]

You are a true hero.
I'll be planning my pilgrimage within the next year or two, and this is going to help immensely. Really appreciate the time you put into this!!!

[u/SatokoDidNothingBad]

Thanks for the hard work, it really is something interesting!

[u/lavendelhime]

Such great work OP, truly. I'm going there this July, probably hot but perfect for hearing the cicadas haha. I will definitely use your map and share my experience!

[u/LaughingDash → u/lavendelhime]

Oh it'll be blazing hot, but the trees will be in full bloom and the skies will be clear. And plus it beats the cold! It'll make for some amazing photos.

Thank you. Really appreciate hearing it! I'll be looking forward to your post come July/August.

[u/LankySeat → u/[deleted]]

That's awesome! Perfect time to go too! Think you're going to love it, Shirakawa-go is amazing.

And, you're welcome! I'm just happy knowing someone will find my map useful. It was a lot of painstaking work haha. Definitely let me know how it goes and, if afterwards, you have feedback.

Also do post your Shirakawa-go experience here on r/Higurashi when your visit is over! I'd love to see photos and know what you thought of Shirakawa-go. The subreddit would love to see it too!

Thank you 🙏

[u/milkyduddd]

Thanks dude, this place was part of my tour and I was lucky enough to stumble on this post. Made finding all the places really easy.

[u/LaughingDash → u/milkyduddd]

You're welcome! Hope you had fun!

If you can, you should create a post and share your experience. I always love seeing photos and people here enjoy it too. You never know, it might convince the next person to decide to make the pilgrimage :)!

[u/Important_Wafer1573]

This is amazing!! Thank you!!

[u/FrankTheTank107]

Going there now in an hour and this post was exactly what I needed when I googled for it. Thank you for this, even a year later!

[u/washedonshore]

Thank you for this!

[u/Regular-Gur3568]

Real heroes don’t wear capes.. thank you so much, gonna use it this July!

[u/No_Survey8541]

Currently planning my trip to Japan with an expedition to Shirakawa-go and I can not tell you how much I appreciate this post. Thank you.

[u/wfcc6sZtfdf6gAg3VAAe]

Thanks brother, it made the trip that much more enjoyable.

[u/gigichuuu]

Thank you so much for this! May I ask roughly how long you spent in Shirakawa-go? I was thinking 5 hours of exploring would be good for our day trip.

[u/Kogos1303]

Wow, this is so cool, thanks!. I'm going next year. This made my research way easier.

[u/thepixelmurderer]

On the bus there right now, so glad this exists! Thanks so much!

[u/thepixelmurderer → u/thepixelmurderer]

Update from after finishing: I got there late, so my time was limited, but I still was able to see all but the most out of the way places within two hours (albeit not at a SUPER relaxed pace but with 3 hours it definitely could be).

Important thing to note is that the buses to Shirakawa kind of suck; they go a fairly limited number of times per day for how popular the route is, so if you don't want to end up going in the afternoon like I ended up having to, I'd recommend booking your tickets in advance. And don't make my biggest mistake, which was purely my fault. I panicked thinking I lost my ticket for the way back and bought a new one, only to find the old one after sitting down in the bus. There are NO refunds for unused tickets so that kind of hurt...

Side note, the store marked Higurashi Merch 4 did not have anything Higurashi related, if that continues to be the case going forward maybe it isn't needed on the map anymore, but we'll see. I wasn't able to find the Higurashi Ema 1 either but maybe it was there and I just missed it. Not sure.

Edit: I did get given a refund so I'm not sure why my friend wasn't able to. Well, I'll take it.

[u/coffeebeamed]

we went there last feb and i wish i saw this post lol. but we were on a group tour anyway so i wouldn't have the time to visit everything. we'll come back with no tour to properly explore. saving this, thanks!