Hakusan Shirakawago White Road

The Hakusan Shirakawago White Road (白山白川郷ホワイトロード), formerly the Hakusan Super Rindo, is a winding mountain toll road that connects Hakusan City in Ishikawa Prefecture with Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture. The well maintained, 33.3 kilometer long road rises to over 1400 meters above sea level and offers visitors sweeping panoramic views, hiking trails and a variety of waterfalls along the way.

The Hakusan Shirakawago White Road is open from early June through mid November. The road is beautiful during the summer when the surrounding forests are lush and green; however, it is at its best during the autumn months when the trees are ablaze with autumn colors (koyo). The leaves usually begin to change around the higher elevations in late September and gradually make their way down into the valleys over the course of a month.

On the Gifu side of the mountains the road is extremely curvy and there are few stops along the way. The road quickly gains elevation leading to a tunnel that connects the two prefectures. A 40 minute hiking trail leads from the tunnel entrance to the summit of Sanboiwadake, a 1736 meter high set of nearby peaks. The trail continues on from there for another 15 hours to the summit of Mount Hakusan.

The Ishikawa side of the road passes by several waterfalls. The largest, Fukubeno Otaki, is an 86 meter tall column of water that cascades down next to the road. However the highlight of the Super Rindo may be the riverside Oyadaninoyu hot spring. This mixed gender bath is a steep, 15 minute walk down into the valley from the road, and offers beautiful views onto the Ubagataki Waterfall across the river. Note that there are no changing facilities and the bath is visible from along the trail to the waterfall.