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Published: December 16th 2009
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Beautiful Shirakawa-go
A village of 600 up in the mountains of Japan... After four and half days of sightseeing in and around Kyoto, and what felt like seven straight days of endless walking, it was time to relax. At the recommendation of Kyoko, my host from Tokyo, I decided to check out Takayama up in the mountainous countryside of Japan.
Now Takayama is not some off the map destination, but having come from places such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, this city, absent of skyscrapers and with a population just under 100,000, was the perfect spot to rest my feet and catch my breath. I arrived after dark in the coldest weather I had been in since my time in South America and fortunately (as the tourist information office would be closed) I had some rough directions from the train station to my arranged lodging, thanks to Chiaki who I had met in Tokyo. (Chiaki was a lifesaver. She pretty much laid out a daily itinerary for me and even helped me call to make reservations at my Takayama lodging where they spoke no English - thank you Chiaki!) With some help from a friendly stranger on the street, I found what I was looking for... Murasaki Ryokan. A ryokan is a
traditional Japanese inn. They vary in luxuriousness, but all have that Japanese feel. I was greeted at my ryokan by a Japanese man with a big smile who spoke no English at all. I took my shoes off and slipped on the provided footwear for walking around the building. My room consisted of a fold up futon mat on the floor, a space heater, a mirror and a small table with hot water, green tea and tea cups... simple but everything I needed.
I threw down my pack and headed out in search of food. The city is split by the Miyagawa River and the areas within a few blocks of the river seemed to be the busiest. I found a noodle shop and along with a big bowl of udon, I ordered some Hida beef nigiri. The Takayama area, like other areas of Japan, is well known for its beef. The marbled with fat Hida beef of the Takayama area fetches a steep price and is often served rare, as it was for this meal as nigiri sushi. It was certainly delicious... sweet, fatty and tender. I wolfed down my meal, and now stuffed, warmed up, and exhausted
Torii on the river in Takayama
Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine up ahead from a day of travel and a week on my feet, I went back to my ryokan and passed right out.
With a good night sleep under my belt, I woke up early to explore the two morning markets in the city. I first went to the Jinya-mae Morning Markets. Nothing extravagant here... just some fruit, miso pastes, and japanese pickles. Lucky for me, I LOVE Japanese pickles. Everytime we go to Kintaros here on Kauai, everybody winds up passing me their pickled radishes. With the markets offering up free samples of an endless variety of Japanese pickles, I was really enjoying myself. Mostly made from a large radish called daikon, they came dyed every variety of color and in several slightly varying tastes. After the Jinya-mae markets, I then went to the Miyagawa markets along the river. Pretty much more of the same, but that was fine with me. Along with sampling pickles, apples, miso and sake, I snacked on a soy-mochi kabob and a Hida beef skewer.
I spent the rest of my day walking around... through the Old City, through Kitayama Park for an elevated view of the city, to a few shrines and Shiroyama
Hida Beef
Famous in the area. It is marbles with fat and could be found rare on many a menu. Park. With an early start and a small city to cover, I had covered most of the sites by early afternoon. Feeling content with my day, I found a cozy coffee shop to get out of the cold, and spent the next several hours sipping a green tea latte, journaling and reading.
After a few hours off my feet relaxing, I decided I was in the mood to get a few drinks of sake and grab some "bar" food for dinner. A very nice English speaking Japanese girl named Yukari who worked at the coffee shop gave me a ride to a nearby Izakaya - this was exactly what I was looking for! I walked in and stares rolled my way as I, the only foreigner in the building, grabbed a seat at the bar. The bar tender/chef who stood in front of me understood just enough English for me to communicate with him and so I didn't have to wait long to get him to pour me a hefty glass of cold sake. I had never been a big fan of sake (although I've always had an appreciation for the sake bomb), but I definitely left Japan with
an educated palette... cold sake is definitely my preference. I sipped my sake and for whatever reason this really made the wasted man beside me laugh. I could tell he wanted to talk, but he was both too drunk and spoke no english, so I continued to sip my sake and he continued to laugh at me. A few sakes later and after some tasty Izakaya bar food (octopus sashimi, a pickle omelette, and some grilled pork skewers), I made my way back to my Ryokan for some green tea and sleep.
The next morning, again following Chiaki's advice, I took an hour bus trip from Takayama to a small village called Shirakawa-go. This tiny mountain tourist destination is home to 600 people and famous for its traditional gassho-zukuri traditional Japanese style buildings. They were beautiful and I'll let the photos do most of the talking in regard to these high A-frame structures. A couple quick hours around Shirakawa-go was more than enough time to soak in the tiny village. Around lunch time, I hopped the bus back to Takayama and began a long day of traveling back to Tokyo. I grabbed my pack, hopped a train from Takayama
Jinya-mae Morning Markets
Great market in Takayama. Japanese pickles, apples, rice cakes and misos for sale. to Nagoya and then Nagoya back to Tokyo. A quick subway ride and 10 minute walk and I was back where my trip had started at Kyoko's apartment.
Once again, Kyoko was playing guest to other couchsurfers as well. This time, two Colombianos... Guillermo and Camilo. We chatted away over a beautiful maki dinner spread Kyoko had laid out for us. And we also learned what a small couchsurfing world it is out there! Friends of mine I had couchsurfed with in Ecuador, Rose & Cristian, had met Camilo at a couchsurfing event in Armenia, Colombia. Meanwhile, here Camilo and I are randomly meeting in Tokyo. We found this coincidence amazing and beautiful... it made the world (not just the couchsurfing world) seem so small with such a small degree of seperation between two strangers unexpectedly meeting in a big city in a part of the world they are both unfamiliar with.
The following day was my final day and the only thing on the agenda was to find a couple of souvenirs. Well of course Chiaki had much more in mind. She escorted Camilo, Guillermo and I through Ueno Park to the Yanaka cemetery and then through
Japanese pickles
I loved these... most made from Daikon and all with a slightly different flavor and color. They offered free samples of these all over town so I snacked on these every 10 feet while wondering through Takayama. the Asakusa district of the city, which happened to be the perfect area to souvenir shop. I scored an awesome traditional Japanese jacket at a Japanese thrift-type store. I was super stoked with this souvenir for myself (see photo). After a final meal with my couchsurfing friends, I said my goodbyes and began the journey back to Kauai, such a great place to return to
after after a vacation. I left Kyoko's apartment for the airport at 4 PM on Monday, November 30th, and landed on Kauai 13 hours later at 10:30 AM on Monday, November 30th...
Back to work and surf for now... but more adventures certainly await... As always, love and aloha from Kauai.
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Sleepy Tiger
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Excellent photos
Thanks for showing excellent photos. They reminded us of the our visit to Shirakawago a couple years ago. Happy Travelling.