Agriculture The only major
agricultural product in the area is
rice. Initially, local rice was often mixed by
agricultural cooperatives with rice from
Takayama and the adjacent
Hida. The local mixed rice that was put on the market was thus initially labelled as "Hida Koshihikari". However, after some legal efforts, a local brand, "Shirakawa-go Koshihikari", was born. The initiative focused on the "independence" of local rice production and rice-related trade and the creation of a sweet industry based on the local rice production.
Tourism There are many reasons why the village survived over the years without becoming a
ghost town. However, one of the main reasons was due to the tourism-related income generated by
gassho-zukuri villages. This kind of architecture has been significantly famous amongst tourists over the years. Tourism grew in the area especially for this reason; increasing even more after the area became a UNESCO site in 1995. Thus, the local economy is dominated strongly by seasonal tourism, improving the local financial conditions of the village yearly. The industry is so big that 70% of the residents work in the tourist industry. However, the increasing number of visitors has resulted in damage to the area from pollution, and by local inhabitants turning their homes into hostels, gift shops and parking lots, which in turn has endangered its World Heritage status. There is also a fear growing that the change to catering to tourists will harm the charm of the area's simplicity and fundamental Japanese scenery. It is also worth noting that 95% of visitors are day trippers, and the average consumption per person is only a few thousand yen. Thus the growth, whilst there, is not exponential, especially due to the fact that there are only few local products, and most souvenirs are bought from outside the area and resold. ==Education==