A race around Japan

[CaptainCurtis]

I spent the balance of the afternoon wandering through the streets of the Old Town (Sannomachi). The houses date back to the Edo period, and have been wonderfully preserved despite many being converted into boutiques, sake breweries and restaurants.







One of my stops was at Harada Sake Brewery, which allowed you to taste up to 9 different sake varieties for just ¥450. As an added bonus, you got to keep the tasting cup. I can't say I'm mad for sake just yet, but lets revisit that towards the end of the trip.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Oh that museum looks awesome. Don't worry too much about skipping on Nagoya, not missing alot

Not to be confused with the Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum - they sure look similar though.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Dinner was at Center4 Hamburgers. I can't say I expected to have a burger in Takayama (or even Japan more broadly), but this place came highly recommended and truly lived up to the hype. The decor can only be described as eclectic, featuring antiques, American memorabilia and fantastic burgers. I had the specialty Hida beef burger, which at ¥2,850 wasn't cheap, but was oh so delicious. Up there with one of the best burgers I've ever had. Potato wedges were nice and crunchy.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few random snaps from around Takayama.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 12 - Takayama

Today could be summed up with 2 words - food and walking. I guess the one enables me to do the other? The morning started with a stroll down to the Miyagawa Market (along the Miyagawa River - see pics above). I'm not sure if I was early, but the stalls were completely uninspiring. Feeling unsatisfied, I walked to Falò Coffee Brewers for my first hot coffee of the trip and sourdough toast for breakfast. The hotel offers an Asian breakfast for an extra charge, but I am not the biggest fan of Asian brekkies, so did not include it in my stay. Thankfully the weather here is much cooler than I had experienced previously, and the humidity non-existent. As such, I went for a cappuccino instead of the cold brews and iced lattes I had been having previously - the coffee was great, although a little cold for my liking. The barista spoke good English and the setting was scandi-like.



I then took off on the 3km walk to the Hida Folk Village (Hida no Sato), an open-air museum that showcases the traditional architectural and construction techniques traditionally used in Japan. There are over 30 houses on display, all built during the Edo period and ultimately relocated from their original locations to create the museum. Entry cost ¥700. I probably spent 90 minutes here, learning to distinguish thatch from shingle, and so much more.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few more from Hida Folk Village.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

By this point, I had been waiting 12 days to do a hike in Japan. When I came across the walk to the
Matsukura Castle Ruins, I didn't need much convincing. The starting point is right next to the Hida Folk village. The trail is about 2.5km each way, so nothing crazy, but had about 300m of elevation gain thrown in.



Not a sign you want to find at the mid-way point.



Pushed ahead anyway. The views at the top were beautiful. Unfortunately it was starting to rain, and not wanting a repeat of the episode at Shinjuku Gyoen, I took off relatively promptly. Thankfully, the rain didn't develop much beyond a light drizzle.

 

[drron]

Actually we found Nagoya to be very interesting with the Toyota museum, Noritake museum, the castle and Arimatsu village for tye dying.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I then walked back into town, stopping at the Nohi bus terminal to purchase my bus ticket for tomorrow. My next step is Kanazawa, and while I could have taken the train via Toyama, I wanted to take the bus so that I could stop in Shirakawago for a few hours. The tickets weren't cheap, coming in at ¥5,200 (whereas the train would have been free with my JR pass), but the stop should be worthwhile.

I stopped at Hidagyu No Komori, a little stall along the river that sold hida beef skewers for ¥550 each. Delicious.



Lunch was at Menya TOTO. The 30 minute wait was well worth it. The Takayama ramen was pretty light, not too salty and had curly noodles.



After the late lunch it was back to the hotel to relax the feet, address a fire drill at work and catch up on this TR. Not wanting to leave Takayama without a real hida beef experience, I went out for a quick dinner at Aji-no-Yohei, a steakhouse attached to a sake brewery across the road from the hotel. I had the 70g hida beef set, which wasn't particularly cheap for the size of the steak. The beef was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Buttery. Soft. Fatty. Unlike any other meat I've had before, but very different to what I'm used to in Australia.



And with that, we're now back up to date! 25,000 steps today (~20km), think I've earned this.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Actually we found Nagoya to be very interesting with the Toyota museum, Noritake museum, the castle and Arimatsu village for tye dying.

I would've liked to see the Toyota museum, the castle and Atsuta Shrine. Plus stops in Inuyama and Gifu. Next time I guess.

 

[Matt_01]

A cracker of a TR, we have been to Japan several times and I will always read TRs posted by others as there is just so many things to see. Takayama and Gero are great spots also FWIW if you ever get the chance to visit Takayama during the Spring or Autumn Festival it is a very different place. I took Mrs&MissM to Takayama during the Autumn Festival several years back and MrsM found the crowds overwhelming. I had warned her this was a major festival and there would be crowds which she has not seen before but is considered quite normal for major festivals in Japan.

 

[Matt_01]

Actually we found Nagoya to be very interesting

If you haven't been there already the Tokugawa Museum in Nagoya is also worth visit.

 

[trendwhore]

If you haven't been there already the Tokugawa Museum in Nagoya is also worth visit.

Will add to the list

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Quick review of Hotel Wood Takayama before moving on. I originally booked this place at close to $200 per night. I was randomly checking all of my accommodation about a month before leaving, and noticed I could re-book at just below $100 per night, which I was pretty happy with given its great location.

My room, a standard single, was generously sized. The mattress was incredibly hard, with the hotels website promoting:

Each room contains bedding fully constructed of Japanese “airweave” material beloved by athletes around the world. They will ensure you get a good-night’s sleep.

I'm not so sure about that. Way too hard for my liking. Otherwise the room was perfectly decent.



There was an expansive lobby area, offering free drinks from 5PM until 10. Sake, beer, coffee, tea, juice, soft drinks etc. A really nice area to relax and unwind.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Day 13 - Shirakawago & Kanazawa

Time to leave the lovely Takayama and head to Kanazawa, with a quick stop in Shirakawago. Coffee and toast with butter and jam supplied by Coffee Don. Run by a nice fella, with Arabic/Turkish decor inside.



I had the 8:50AM bus from Takayama to Shirakawago, taking approx 50 minutes to get there. Shirakawago is a UNESCO world heritage site, famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri farmhouses. Gassho-zukuri translates to "prayer hands", as the steep thatched roofs of the houses resemble the hands of Buddhist monks pressed together in prayer. The houses are designed to tolerate the winter snow that the region is known for.



First up was the short but steep hike up to the Ogimachi Castle observation deck, offering fantastic views of the village.



Then it was down into the village to explore. A number of the houses are open to the public, generally for a small cost, but I didn't enter any of them.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

A few more from around Shirakawago.

 

[pagingjoan]

A few more from around Shirakawago.

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Great pics.
Looks as if your weather was rather like ours there - although it was high 30s until the rain arrived.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the weather was pretty miserable, so I decided to camp out the remaining 40 minutes or so I had until the next bus inside Kyushu Coffee Shop. Coffee and a lemon baumkuchen tided me over while the rain came down.



The view from inside wasn't bad.



Then it was back to the bus terminal for the just-over-an-hour ride to Kanazawa Station.



I would definitely recommend visiting Shirakawago if you're ever in the area. You definitely don't need to spend a night there though, nor do you need a full day. 2-4 hours is plenty.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Great pics.
Looks as if your weather was rather like ours there - although it was high 30s until the rain arrived.

Weather was indeed grim, although the temperature was the saving grace... low 20's!

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I walked the 1km or so from Kanazawa Station to Mitsui Garden Hotel Kanazawa, dropping off my bags. The Japanese sure don't deviate from their traditions, as check-in was denied at 2PM. I went out for a stroll, arriving at Myoryuji Temple (Ninjadera, Ninja Temple). You can imagine my disappointment when I learned that there weren't any ninja on display! While I didn't have a reservation, I managed to squeeze in for the tour. Built in 1643, Myoryuji was both a fully functioning temple, and a secret military outpost for the local rulers. Its many deceptive defense's earned it the nickname Ninja Temple.

The entrance fee was ¥1,000 and the tour went for about 40 minutes. While the tour was run in Japanese, English guidebooks were available. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside the temple, so you'll have to visit for yourself.

Dinner was at Pizzeria e Trattoria DaTAKE - thank you @desafinado74 for the recommendation. The prosciutto pizza was seriously good, far better than I ever could have thought I'd find in Japan. Wine was an Aussie riesling, although can't remember any more than that. There was a lovely violin and cello duo playing music for about 15 minutes, felt just like I was in Italy. Will post a video another time.