15 WHAT TO SEE AND DO IN TAKAYAMA, THE HEART OF THE JAPANESE ALPS

Rober complained and complained 'in Takayama there are only haystacks (?!)'But I knew the trip there would be worth it. And I, I'm always right. Less that time I wanted to mix gin, vodka, peach juice, Coke and Fanta. Or the other one in which I wanted to do a non-tourist trekking in Myanmar and ended up throwing our guide to the mud. Or when ... we better leave it. But about Takayama he was right. If you want to check it out, here is a list of the best 15 things to see and do in Takayama:

Arriving was not exactly fast: night bus from Hiroshima to Tokyo, another night bus to Toyama, and from there a local train ... they had just canceled due to high winds! So we bought a bus ticket, then we canceled it because the trains had circulated again, then they canceled them again and we got the bus ticket again and in the end we went by train because they worked again.

Meanwhile, at my side, Rober discovered in the guide I was reading that Kanazawa had a wonderful ninja neighborhood, and complained again that there were only haystacks in Takayama. - Not! That is Shirakawa-go, and they are not haystacks! -

Obviously, to continue the good run, the train was not direct and we stopped in a town lost by the Japanese Alps to change trains again. We had 3 hours of waiting ahead, 3 very long hours. Diluviaba, it was cold, there was nothing to do, not even a misera Wi-Fi connection at the station (to call it somehow). So we decided to go eat something, but obviously we found nothing. Until the Lety, what else does not but instinct 'comidero' has, opened the door of what seemed to be a garage and zas: it was a little restaurant ... One of ramen marching from the hand of an old woman who seemed taken from a Japanese manga !

A few hours later we finally rode the train, but it turned out to be express and our ticket was for local train. Moral: we are two pringaos! We paid the price difference, we watched as the landscape was dyed white while Rober looked at me with a reproachful face since - we are not even going to see haystacks because there is snow, with how cool it would have been to go to Kanazawa -.

First things first: in Takayama there are not only haystacks. In fact there are no haystacks. We found it very pleasant, and although it is quite touristy, you can breathe fresh air, tranquility, calmness and the normality that only a small city gives you. Here are a handful of things to see and do that are worthwhile:

1. Cross the Nakabashi Bridge and wander through one of the oldest neighborhoods in the country: Sanmachi Suji, with its wooden houses and the atmosphere of other times. It has an air to the Gion neighborhood in Kyoto, with its narrow, lively streets full of shops and restaurants.

2. Spread over these streets you will see traditional sake distilleries (you will recognize them by the cedar balls hanging at the entrance, called “sugitama"). Access is usually free and in some cases you can even bring a free tasting to your mouth. It will also allow you to see how these old buildings are inside, dark and somewhat dark and full of wooden beams. There are many, we point you these: Harada Sake Brewery or Funasaka Sake Brewery.

3. Here you can also visit the houses of former merchants, like the family house Yoshijima, or that of the family Kusakabe (which houses a museum of folk art from the Edo period), side by side. They are clear examples of how Japanese stately homes were once. ¥ 500 entry. Something further from the center are the family house Miyaji, and that of the family Matsumoto, both free.

4. If the day dawns rainy and you do not feel like taking a walk through the center of Takayama, a good alternative is explore the museums from the city. These are the most important:

• Fujii Folk Museum, entry 700 ¥
• Hida Takayama Town Museum, free and recommended
• Takayama Shōwa-kan Museum, 800 ¥

5. Although probably the most curious is the Takayama Festival Floats Exhibition Hall, a hall where 4 of the impressive hand carved floats are displayed (Yatai) that are used in the Takayama Matsuri festival, one of the most important and beautiful in the country. It costs 880 ¥ and includes audioguide. If you want to know more deeply about this celebration, you can visit the Matsuri no Mori Museum, south of Takayama.

6. Visit the Hida Kokubun-Ji temple, located in the center of the city and the oldest in Takayama. In its enclosure, the 3-level pagoda and a gingbo tree with more than 1,200 years of life stand out!

8. The Takayama Jin'ya It is one of the most important buildings in the city. It is, neither more nor less, than the only government office (in this case the one corresponding to Hida County) used during the Tokugawa shogunate that is still standing. Its entrance door is quite spectacular, and inside there are different rooms, including the warehouse where rice bags were kept (which at that time was the way to collect taxes) and a torture room. Admission costs ¥ 440.

9. If you don't have the possibility to go to Shirakawa-go, a great alternative is the open-air museum Hida no Sato (Hida Folk Village). It is a reproduction of a typical village in the area of ​​Hida, with its small houses gassho (better known by Rober as "haystacks") around a lake, built on the outskirts of Takayama. The entrance costs ¥ 700 and you can go walking (2.5km) or by bus (¥ 210 per way).

10. Go through the giant torii and hallucinates with him Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine: a complex of temples and shrines surrounded by trees that are the main reason why Takayama is known as the 'little Kyoto'. Possibly the visit we enjoy the most.

11. The semi-covered street Honmachi Dori It is where the little atmosphere of the city is concentrated when night falls. There are several restaurants specializing in different cuisines and at good prices, just give it a spin and choose your favorite.

12. Get lost for your morning markets. The Jinyamae It is a very small market of local fruit and vegetables that is mounted in front of the Takayama Jin'ya. And the Miyagawa Morning Market, on the banks of the Miyagawa River, much more touristy, with some small restaurants, food stalls and souvenir shops where you could not miss the nice ones sarubobo dolls.

13. If you open your senses well, your trip to Japan is likely to smell like grilled meat (yakiniku). And in Takayama you have to try if or if the hida veal, one of the most quoted in the world. As you can guess, it is not something that the pocket allows to do every day, but there are different cuts with more or less high prices and a whim from time to time is healthy (then stay if you want three days to boat noodles). There are quite a few restaurants specialized in veal from Hida in Takayama, these are the ones that were recommended in the hostel:

• Ajikura tengoku, we saw the menu of the day for ¥ 2,780, with meat, vegetables, soup, rice and dessert.
• MaruakiIt was the one we tried and we recommended it. They have a menu of the day for ¥ 2,880 with various cuts of veal (180gr), vegetables and rice. In the end, we get 400gr in total, more rice, vegetables, soup ... and we almost have enough! Conclusion: if you are going to eat meat, stop eating vegetables ...
• Butchers Hida Takayama
• Yakumi-ya

14. The other culinary specialty is the takayama ramen, which uses local products such as leek, bamboo stalks and chicken stock and sardines. To top off, they put some good pieces of grilled pork and a crusty seaweed sheet. A good place to try it is the restaurant Kajibashi (dishes from 700 ¥).

15. Escape the bears! Well, this was not within the initial plan, but when we saw a sign while we went up to the Shiroyama park we cuddled a tad. Beware of bears? But that what eeeeees? As soon as we saw it we accelerated the passage, Lety stopped complaining about the climb and reached the top as Jesús Calleja in the Picos de Europa. And yes, from there there are beautiful views of the surroundings, and a nature walk never hurts. By the way, at the top you can see the ruins of the ancient castle of Takayama, but don't expect much ...

Here you have a map with everything to see and do in Takayama

If we had to choose between Takayama and Kanazawa, perhaps we would stay with the latter. Nevertheless we believe that Takayama has a good handful of things to see and do, and here we have told you the most important ones 😉