Takayama & Kamikochi

The next stop on our trip through the Japanese Alps was Takayama. Takayama is one of the few cities in Japan that has a really well preserved historic part (most Japanese cities are pretty modern, with quite few historic buildings - that's the price you have to pay in an earthquake-prone country that was also pretty badly devastated during WW2 I suppose), so we were quite looking forward to visiting the place.

After a breathtakingly scenic bus drive through some gorgeus Alpine Landscapes, brightly clad in autumn colours (rather reminding me of the Finnish ruska), we finally arrived in Takayama, around lunchtime. We started off by trying to find our Ryokan (in a historic and traditional place like this, why stay anywhere else but a traditional Japanese Inn?). After eventually finding our Ryokan (everything was written in Kanjis in the area where our hotel was located, making it a bit hard for gaijins like us to find our way....)  and checking in, we headed to a nearby ramen restaurant for a hearty & filling lunch.

After randomly walking around in the delightful historic parts of town (just as nice and atmospheric as the photos would lead you to believe), we headed off to Takayama Jinya, one of the main attractions in town. It's a kind of Edo-era administrative building complex, from where Takayama was governed. Very interesting place to visit, both from a historical but also from an architectural point of view (it's a fine example of Edo-era architecture).

After some more random strolling about (Takayama is great for that), we decided to embark upon the Higashiyama walking course, which is a nice footpath at the outskirts of Takayama, going through the temple district. So far, we hadn't seen that many temples/shrines (which normally make up fair chunk of the touristy visits on any trip to Japan - a bit like churches in Florence, if you like), but on this short trek, we got out fair share. The walk ended up in a nice little naturally park on a small hilltop, from where we found eventually found our way back into town after getting a bit lost at one point... Quite a wonderful way to spend a sunny afternoon (yes, the sun was back, yippee!).

For dinner, we ended up in a nice enough Izakaya near the train station, where we got to try a local speciality - Hida beef (a somewhat cheaper flavour of meat compared to Kobe beef).

The next day, we put on our hiking shoes, jumped on the bus and headed off to Kamikochi natural park. It's supposed to be one of the nicest places to experience the Japanese Alps, so expectations were high. And we were not disappointed - on the contrary. This place is just amazing. The landscapes we saw during our bus ride the day before were just a foretaste compared to the beauty of this place...

We decided to do a 3-4 hour hike to give ourselves enough time to properly enjoy the place but make it back well before night fall. For lunch we picked up some bento boxes from a shop by the bus station. In the beginning, the hordes of tourists was a little bit off-putting, but once we got a bit further away from the bus station, the crowds got more spares, and we were taken in by the grandeur of the landscapes - looking all the more spectacular thanks to the blazing autumn colours. The hightlight was probably a very-well named place called mirror lake - where the majestic mountains were reflected in the calm waters of the pond. A truly wonderful place.

For dinner, we went for place recommended in our guide book, called Suzuya. Unsurprisingly, the fact that the place was referred to in a guide book, meant that the staff spoke English, the menu was in English, and the place was full of tourists. Which was a bit of a put-off, actually ;-) But nonetheless, the food was great, as always in Japan. And for once we knew exactly what we were eating ;)

The next day, time to change Ryokan. Each holiday, we go to one high-class Ryokan - which is more or less the same as your bog-standard version (that are quite easy on the wallet, cheaper than western-style hotels) except that they are rather exclusive (you have a lady dressed in a nice kimono that shows you around your room, an excellent kaiseki dinner, usually a private bath and well, the places are just really fancy) and also not so easy on the wallet ;-).

But that was for later - time for some exercise first - we'd decided to go on a guided bike tour to explore the country side around Takayama for a bit. It was great fun - our friendly and knowledgeable guide Hiro also spoke an excellent English which helped (he'd studied in the United States). The tour took us through the outskirts of Takayama, out into the beautiful countryside, with traditional farmhouses, rice fields - we even got to see some of those Hida beef cows I so enjoy eating... ;-)

After returning our bikes, we made our way to the other "must attraction" in Takayama - the Hida Folk museum. The place is a bit like a Japanese version of Seurasaari (or is it the other way around?) - it's an outdoors museum where they've basically displaced historical countryside type buildings from around Takayama. It's a pretty cool place to walk around, especially if you don't have time to head out to see the "real countryside". The Gassho-Zukuri type houses that are found in the nearby area around Shirakawago (where we were planning to head tomorrow, actually). Excellent museum!

Then it was time to head for our Ryokan - called Seibei Ryokan. As explained before, this was a Ryokan of a more exclusive kind - a night in one of these places is something I would strongly recommend to anybody wanting an authentic Japanese experience - if your wallet can sustain the cost, that is. Mathilde got to pick her Yukatan - and then a very nice lady showed us our room. Much to our disappointment, we didn't have a private bath (the private/outdoor baths are often found only at onsen resorts in the countryside, which makes sense I suppose). The room (or rather our living quarters - we had three rooms at our disposal actually) was as classy as is to be expected at this type of establishment.

After a short stay at the communal bath, it was time to go for our Kaiseki meal
- the highlight of a stay in these establishments. Kaiseki is Japanes Haut Cuisine, a multi-course feast to the senses and taste buds. Often the dishes being served are often prepared with such care that it seems a pity to eat them (well, I'm exaggerating a bit - I've never really hesitated about eating anything in Japan - especially not during a Kaiseki meal!). And this time? Well, certainly the food was delicious, but I think we've had better meals on previous trips to Japan. To qualify the meal as a disappointment would be an exaggeration though - it was still delicious. But compared to previous experiences, we felt something was missing.

The breakfasts served at these establishments is also quite a spectacle - if somewhat less spectacular than the dinner. As was the case this time as well. Still, the best breakfast of the trip, I reckon! Alas, then it was time to check out and head off to catch our bus to Shirakawago. We left, relaxted, satisfied & happy with our farewell gifts (I got a cool shuriken keyring), but feeling a bit less impressed by our luxury Ryokan visit compared to our previous trips to Japan. (on reflection, I think it's probably on the whole a better idea to visit these Ryokans in Onsen resorts rather than in cities).

We shall miss Takayama, possibly the most chilled out and pleasant Japanese town I've been to so far!