This is my 5th visit to Japan. It is also one that I had the most number of days there; and making the most number of moves around the country on its public transport. Appreciate Chai Noi for initiating the trip and making the transport arrangements such as the Flight and JR Ticket, and being the accommodating room mate. Thanks to Teck Siew for her thoughtful and thorough planning and travelling tips that allowed me to venture into new places without the need to do much pre-trip planning. Grateful to Juejing, for his patience and for being a very reliable human GPS (at times, even better than GoogleMap)! Of course, a big thank you to the great company of the Wong and Koh families, too :)

(D7/D8) Takayama 高山

Days 7 & 8: 9 & 10 December 2016



Hida Takayama (official website)
Here, we learnt to pronounce a new chinese character (the 2nd character)

The Old Town


The old town, Sanmachi (Furi-Machi-nami) is a nationally recognised important historical building preservation area. The old houses that remained are made of wood/ timber and were coated in with soot, resulting the black appearance. Almost all these houses are converted into shops that sell a range of local produce like handicrafts, accessories, wine and miso (which is one of the highlights in this town).









Crispy rice crackers


Guess what is he promoting?

Miso paste - when heated up on a leave with some spring onion sparkled on top - creates a nice taste that goes very well with hot rice or porridge.




Takayama Jinya - Historical Government House
 This was a local governor’s office during the Edo period. There once were more than 60 similar buildings in Japan, however Takayama Jinya is the only one left today. It was in official use from 1692 to 1969.

What is a Jinya? Prefectural and district governors used it as an office to govern Hida during the Edo period. The present building complex is called “Jinya” that includes residential space and storehouses for rice paid as tax.
(extracted from source)










The interior is very spacious - it's about partitioning the space with many sliding doors. Very few furniture are left. One can just walk along the corridor to see the sections that were used for various purposes - e.g. areas used by the judges, the storage area for rice, residential section of the governor and his wife, as well as the still very well-maintained courtyard.






Miyagawa Morning Market
















Sarubobo means “monkey baby,” and is the mascot of the Hida Region. Sarubobo dolls were traditionally made by mothers for their daughters as charms blessing happy marriage and smooth birth delivery. Sarubobo dolls also are said to prevent sickness and accident, due to the phonetic pair “saru,” which means both monkey, and prevention.
(extracted from source)



Walking in the not-so-old town...  the street was decorated with christmas ornaments and filled with christmas corals and songs, creating a Christmasy atmosphere - a huge contrast to the old town.










This place is known for its Hida Beef!
“Hida-gyu” (Hida Beef) is the specific name given to beef from a black-haired Japanese cattle breed, that has been raised in Gifu Prefecture for at least 14 months. Hida-gyu is required to have been confirmed and certified as Yield Score of Grade A or B by the Hida Beef Brand Promotion Conference, and have a Firmness and Texture Grade of 5, 4 or 3 as graded by the Japan Meat Grading Association.
(extracted from source)





An interesting find on the street...

No, no... He's not an actor.... Without taking a good look on the white 'stuff' he was holding to, it looked as if he was the 'car park attendant' for bicycles...

They operate in pair!

Ops! Entering a shop house...

 Okay, it's much more clearer now... he's a priest!

Hm... Looks like business quite good huh?


The Floats

The Takayama Festival (高山祭, Takayama Matsuri) is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful festivals alongside Kyoto's Gion Matsuri and the Chichibu Yomatsuri. It is held twice a year in spring and autumn in the old town of Takayama and attracts large numbers of spectators.

Unfortunately, we missed the festival. Nevertheless, two floats were on display at the rail station.
Look! How elaborate they were!







1 comment:

  1. It was a brilliant idea to use the takkyubin Japan service to move our larger pieces of luggage. Efficient as it is reputed for, our luggage arrived safely at the next hotel before us. And in the meanwhile, we were able to zip from spot to spot on the Shinkansen with only our overnight bags. What a load off the arms!

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