Gassho no Yado Shoshichi is a 200-year-old thatched gassho-zukuri farmhouse run as a guesthouse in Ainokura, one of the World Heritage gassho villages of Gokayama in Nanto, Toyama. Dinner is eaten around an irori hearth with mountain vegetables and char. Before you book, three things matter: there is no online booking, so you send a request; a stay is capped at four guests; and you pay at the inn, by cash, PayPay or card.
What kind of stay is Shoshichi?
Who runs it, and what is the house like?
The inn calls itself a minshuku, a family-run guesthouse, inside the Ainokura gassho village. The house is about 11 m tall and two stories. The ground floor has high ceilings and has been renovated for comfort, and the inn says guests with limited mobility can relax there. Upstairs you can see the underside of the thatched roof, whose timbers are tied with straw rope and natural materials such as neso rather than nails or clamps. The host, Ikehata, writes a storyteller’s blog, and the inn describes dinner as a meal shared with a storyteller.
How many guests does it take?
There are four Japanese-style rooms, and the sliding doors can be removed to join two rooms into one large space. Stays are kept small, with up to four guests a night. If you want the house to yourselves, say so in your request and the inn will tell you how it works on your dates.
Shoshichi at a glance
| Item | Official information |
|---|---|
| Address | 421 Ainokura, Nanto, Toyama |
| Building | Gassho-zukuri farmhouse, about 200 years old |
| Rooms | 4 Japanese-style rooms; up to 4 guests a night |
| Check-in / out | 15:00 / 10:00 |
| Price | 33,000 yen per person (2–4 guests), 66,000 yen for one guest; dinner, breakfast, tax and service included |
| Bath | Large bath across the street |
| Payment | Cash, PayPay, credit or debit card, at the inn |
| Parking | Free |
| Booking | Inquiry form or email; no online booking |
From the official Japanese and English pages, read October 20, 2026.
Dinner around the irori at Shoshichi
What is served at dinner?
Dinner is served in a Japanese room of about 20 tatami mats with an irori hearth, and table seats are also available. The inn names freshly salt-grilled iwana char, tempura of mountain vegetables, mountain udo with sesame, carp sashimi, Gokayama tofu, and pickles made from vegetables the proprietress grows in her own field. The mountain vegetables change with the season, and early spring has the most.
What about drinks and breakfast?
You can order iwana kotsuzake, hot sake poured over a grilled char, from 2,000 yen, by the day before. Local Sansharaku sake, shochu, wine and soft drinks are also listed. Both meals are included, but the official pages do not describe breakfast.
Can the inn handle allergies or a special diet?
The official pages do not mention allergies, vegetarian or halal meals. Write your needs in your request before you book.
The bath at Shoshichi
Where is the bath, and can families use it together?
The large bath is across the street from the house, which the inn describes as clean and spacious. Families can bathe together if they ask. Yukata (adult sizes), towels, bath towels, toothbrushes and razors are provided.
Is it a hot spring, and is there a bathing tax?
The official pages do not say whether the bath is a hot spring, give its hours, or mention tattoos. Nanto’s tax ordinance sets a bathing tax of 150 yen per person per day at mineral-spring baths, with under-12s exempt, but the inn does not say whether it applies here, so ask. Our onsen bathing tax guide explains the tax.
Prices, children, cancellation and payment
What do children cost?
There is no separate child rate, and infants stay free. For children aged 2 to 5 who do not need meals, the inn asks you to discuss it with them.
What is the cancellation policy?
50 percent of the room charge from 7 days to 1 day before, and 100 percent on the day. No fee is listed for earlier cancellations. See our hotel cancellation guide for how these rules work in Japan.
How do I pay?
At the inn, by cash, PayPay, credit card or debit card. The Japanese price page lists JCB, AMEX, Diners, UnionPay, Discover, Visa, Mastercard and J-Debit.
Getting to Shoshichi in Ainokura, Gokayama
The inn is at 421 Ainokura. By car it is about 20 minutes from Johana Station on the JR Johana Line, and about 90 minutes from Komatsu Airport or Toyama Airport; the inn notes there is no airport limousine. The official pages do not mention buses or a pickup, so ask how to arrive if you are not driving. The inn has free parking, and the village car park lists 500 yen per car as a preservation contribution. For the wider area, see our Toyama guide.
Nearby, the inn lists the Ainokura Folk Museum one minute on foot, the Gokayama washi paper cooperative about 5 minutes by car, Murakami House about 10 minutes, and Iwase House about 20 minutes. Gokayama’s autumn festivals run from September 23 to 26 in the Shimonashi and Kaminashi districts.
What foreign guests should know before staying at Shoshichi
- Book by sending a request; there is no instant confirmation. Allow time for a reply and include your dates, the number of guests and your arrival time.
- The bath is across the street, not inside your room.
- Order iwana kotsuzake by the day before.
- Plan your transport: the inn gives car times only.
- If you are comparing thatched stays, our Shirakawa-go farmhouse stay guide covers the neighboring village.
Frequently asked questions
How do I book Shoshichi?
How much does a night at Shoshichi cost?
What time is check-in at Shoshichi?
Is the bath at Shoshichi a hot spring?
What is the cancellation policy at Shoshichi?
Bottom line (2026): Shoshichi is a small, family-run gassho-zukuri guesthouse in Ainokura with an irori dinner of char and mountain vegetables, at 33,000 yen per person with two meals. Book through the official English inquiry form, plan your transport, and ask about the bath before you go.
Sources
Every fact on this page is from Shoshichi’s official pages: home (Japanese), stay, prices, access, sightseeing, English home, English rates and the official English inquiry form, plus the City of Nanto tax ordinance. All were read on October 20, 2026. Prices and rules change; check the official site before you book.
Tokyo to Osaka, Tokyo to Kyushu, Tokyo to Hokkaido — day by day — plus seven places most visitors never reach.
- 12 pages, 80 photographs, every stop linked to its guide
- Every price and opening hour read from the official page
- Re-issued monthly, so it does not go stale in your inbox
Free. One email a month, plus the rare change that matters. Unsubscribe with one click in any email. By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy.
