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Joe Steinbring

Nanto

A steep thatched farmhouse above terraced rice paddies in a green mountain valley.
Ainokura, one of the thatched villages that share a World Heritage listing with Shirakawa-go.2026 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring
Static offline map showing Nanto in Japan with a location pin.

Nanto, in the mountains of Toyama, takes in both the woodcarvers’ town of Inami and the thatched villages of Gokayama. On July 22, 2026, my nephew and I started the morning in Inami, on the street of woodcarvers’ shops that leads up to Zuisen-ji, the temple their craft grew up around. By midday we were in Ainokura, one of the gassho-zukuri villages of Gokayama, where I tried my hand at making washi, the local paper, from mulberry fiber, and looked out over the rice paddies, before going on to Shirakawa-go.

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  • A papermaker smooths a wet sheet of paper set with colored flower shapes as visitors watch.

    Washi, handmade paper, is one of Gokayama’s traditional crafts.

    2026 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

  • A long path lined with white lanterns and colored streamers leads to a huge temple hall.

    Zuisen-ji, the temple that made Inami a town of woodcarvers.

    2026 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

  • An old paved street of wooden shopfronts, with carved wood and stone pieces outside a corner shop.

    The street up to Zuisen-ji, lined with woodcarvers’ shops.

    2026 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

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