It was time to leave the spa resort area of Hakone and head to our next destination.
The cheapest way to get to Odawarra was by bus, but we were not sure if we would be able to get on with all of our luggage (when the bus is full, the driver just won’t let you on). Also a cheap option would have been to take the train, but this would have meant lugging our bags up a steep hill for 10 minutes - and no one was too keen for that.
Hence, we tried a taxi and luckily one was available to take us to the station. Definitely the easiest option, although a bit pricey. It was a pretty drive down the mountain, with cute towns and lots of cherry blossoms everywhere. On arrival At Odawarra we had time for a coffee before heading to the platform. Several of the Shinkansen whizzed by - they are so fast!!
We then boarded our own Shinkansen and the seats were very comfortable. Our first leg was 2 hours to Nagoya. (Love train travel - relaxing with plenty to see!). We had a very quick transit in Nagoya and made our second train with only 2 minutes to spare.
The train to Takayama was not as new, but still comfortable. The scenery as we neared Takayama was spectacular.
Takayama is a city in Japan's mountainous Gifu Prefecture. The narrow streets of its Sanmachi Suji historic district are lined with wooden merchants’ houses dating to the Edo Period, along with many small museums. The city is famed for its biannual Takayama Festival, going back to at least the mid-1600s, celebrating spring and fall with parades featuring ornate, gilded floats and puppet shows.
Takayama retains a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities, especially in its beautifully preserved old town. It ranks as a prime candidate among travelers wishing to add a rural element into their itineraries.
Takayama gained importance as a source of high-quality timber and highly skilled carpenters during the feudal ages. For these important resources, the city was put under direct control of the shogun and enjoyed quite a bit of prosperity considering its remote mountain location.
As our hotel provides free Asahi on tap between 5pm and 11pm, we began our evening in the hotel bar. We had previously booked a well rated Hida beef restaurant for dinner. It was very popular and the type of restaurant where you sit cross legged on the floor and cook your own meal on a grill in front of you. This was an excellent meal which we thoroughly enjoyed before returning to our hotel for more Asahi.
The following day, we had booked bus tickets to the Unesco world heritage listed Shirakawa-go.
Shirakawa-go Ogimachi is the largest hamlet of gassho-zukuri style houses in Japan. The name gassho-zukuri literally means "like praying hands." Each house is a masterpiece of carpentry. They are built without nails—every beam slots neatly into the next.
We first took the shuttle up to the Observatory lookout and had a coffee/snack up there overlooking the snow covered mountains and down onto Shirakawa-go. We then spent a few hours wandering through the cute and historic town with cafes and restaurants and shops in many of the old wooden buildings. Other buildings house museums and yet, many residents live here also and are going about their lives. We broke this up with a stop in a cafe (shoes off on the tatami mats sitting on chairs with no legs on the floor) and lunch at a cosy little restaurant. All in all, It’s a very enjoyable day trip from Takayama and lovely to see this world heritage site.
Weather wise, we are in the Alps and it only stopped snowing a week or so ago. Hence, plenty of snow on the mountains and a lot of it lying on the ground in places. This also means that it is too early here yet for the cherry blossoms.
We caught the 2.45pm bus back to Takayama and enjoyed the shopping in the Old Town. Cooking smells are everywhere with many of the shops selling snacks like hida beef on skewers. This area is very unique. For our final night, we had a few free Asahi at the bar, and went to find a restaurant. There are many restaurants, but they only take a few people at a time and require a booking.
We did find a Thai restaurant with enough room for the 4 us, which was yummy.
On our final morning, we visited the Miyagawa Market. This is one of 2 daily morning markets in Takayama - this one held along the picturesque river. There were craft stalls and food stalls - Tim trying the octopus dumplings. We found a place overlooking the river that served a basic western breakfast for $5 (neither of us too keen on the traditional Japanese breakfast our hotel serves). Whilst we are not here for the famous festival, there are preparations underway and we saw one of the beautiful and ornate floats that are used.
It was then time to check out. Whilst Bernie and Joan found their rooms here at the Hotel Wood Takayama traumatizing (their words!) we quite liked it. Its a new hotel with a zen theme, the beds were of a futon style so quite firm, there was a laundry so we are leaving here with bags full of clean clothes, public onsens (we didn’t use these however because the hotel is full and the onsens were always occupied - and none of us felt like doing the naked onsen thing with strangers). There is a Family Mart next door for snacks, and literally located only a few steps away from the Old Town. The winner however was definitely the freeflowing sake and Asahi beer until 11pm. Takayama is quite sleepy so once dinner is over, there is no nightlife so at least the hotel provides that!
We would highly recommend Takayama and Shirakawa-Go on a Japan trip!
Rachel
2024-04-07
Some of the food definitely looks different! Glad there was free flowing beer. Do you like the Sake?