We were fortunate to visit Seto House on the way to Hakone where we helped locals make lunch. This centuries old home once belonged to an important leader and his family. At the entry, there’s a small mill that still works and gardens are in the back. The stove used to cook our rice has been used for over 300 years. This place is now the villages community center.

A few days later, we went to Ainokura in the Gokayama Valley , where there are 20 steep thatched roof homes in this World Heritage site. Some of the Gassho-style houses are now B&Bs. The villagers devised their own fire-hydrant system, since the biggest danger to thatch homes is fire. There’s a shinto shrine and Buddhist temples here too. It was a beautiful day with tree colors just starting to change and grass thatch stacked to dry in the fields.

The last place, 5- storey Iwase House, has a 350 year-old heritage in the production of gunpowder and a close connection to the Sammuri and Shoguns. There’s a back entrance for the Sammuri and fake rooms to hide or escape. The upper floors are completely open with the middle floor used for staff sleeping areas but the upper floors were used for silk worm production and other agriculture needs.

Thatched homes ( Kayabuki Minka) have been built in Japan for over 5,000 years, which was a surprise to me. The roof is densely packed and can last 20 years or longer. The rain only penetrates and rots the very top layer, so the roof is never completely stripped. Some communities chip in to help each other, but more often masters who have learned the craft are hired and payment subsidized by the government. Gassho homes are places of invisible energy. The immense roof without interior divisions represents the willingness to have an open mind and resembles praying hands.Traditional dancers at Iwase house use ancient instruments called “Kokoriko” made out of hundreds of wood clappers.

The dance was once upon a time performed by unmarried girls with lyrics about love and for wishes to be granted.